SEAN SULLIVAN PHOTOGRAPHY - EIGHTY-SIXED
The Abiding Place
Founded in 1927, the Metropolitan State Hospital in Waltham, MA was considered a state-of-the-art state hospital for individuals with mental illness in Massachusetts. The Administration Building, pictured here was built in 1928 and the hospital officially opened in the Fall of 1930.
Its buildings were designed in the Colonial Revival style with landscaping, based on the principles laid down by the Olmsted Brothers. The hospital closed in January 1992 due to the state's cost-cutting measures that relocated patients to a community-based setting. Except for the Administration Building, all of the hospital buildings have been demolished to make way for a new housing development.
No Time for the Mundane
Built in 1947, this private residence has been in disarray for over 30 years. The owner is an eccentric former academic that lives elsewhere and visits the property a couple of times a year. In the window of the house can be seen the head of a mannequin designed to fool people into thinking that the home is occupied.
Forgone
Built in 1900, the Trapelo Cottage was originally used as housing for the staff of the nearby Walter E. Fernald State School in Waltham, MA. At one time the school was the oldest state-funded organization for people with developmental disabilities in the Western Hemisphere. The cottage was turned into a daycare for the employees in the 1980’s until it was closed in 2007. The property is now owned by the City of Waltham as of 2014 and is slated for demolition.
Welcome Home
Sentinel
Mr. James Seery moved from Gardner Street to this house on Crafts Street in Newton, MA in the mid-1880’s. The building's small narrow windows and cropped eaves indicate 1840 built date. Mr. Seery worked as a laborer for Albert Brackett, a coal, grain, and hay dealer.
The Ghost House
Built in 1875, the Baldwin Cottage was originally used as housing for the staff of the nearby Walter E. Fernald School, it was turned into a preschool for the employees in the 1980’s until 2005 by Waverly Oaks Child Development. The cottage was demolished by the City of Waltham in the Spring of 2022.
Burning Down the House
On July 3, 2019, a fire ripped through the upper floors and roof of this apartment building, displacing 3 families. The property has been tied up in litigation ever since.
We Can't Unmix the Colors
Built in 1850, known historically as the Louis A. Brown House and later as the Mary A. Thompson House in Natick, MA. The owner, Louis A. Brown (b 1866), a shoe stitcher, resided at 247 North Main Street with his wife, Jennie (b 1867). In 1923, the property was sold to Mary A. Thompson. Mid-twentieth-century historical data indicated that Wesley B. Thompson, a civil engineer, and Mary's son, occupied the property at this time. The Thompson family maintained ownership of the property through much of the twentieth century, selling the property in 1987. The property has since been demolished to make way for new townhouses.
Tangled
The bounds of the property were laid out in 1948, with the house being built-in 1948-49 and the garage added in 1953. The neighborhood became very built up in the decades following World War II and many of the houses still standing on the street date from the mid-century. The house was owned by the same family until it was demolished in 2018. One family member served his country honorably in the Army during the Korean War and was awarded the Bronze Star.
Return to Mother Nature
Hidden I
William Lowe purchased the partial of land in 1860 and built the farmhouse in 1874. In 1884 he sold the house to Frederick and Catherine Voggt. Lowe was known as an extensive property owner in the area as he purchased the neighboring home, the Historic Hunting House which was built in 1831 and he purchased it in 1868. The surrounding properties are slated for demolition to make way for a new housing development.
Hidden II
Not Haunted
This 169-year-old house covering 6,115 square feet sports boarded-up windows and an old, ratty blue tarp covering the roof sold for $2.3 Million late last year. Built in 1854 this house was involved in a 2018 real estate scam that involved a convicted felon, a high-ranking police officer, a local attorney, and a wealthy real estate investor. The case revolved around forged signatures, altered documents, and ultimately transferring ownership of the property away from its rightful 80-year-old owner who originally bought it in the late 1960s. The scammer was sentenced to serve six to eight years in state prison in 2022.
Branching Out
Built in 1949, the Beacon Valve/Brass Co. Inc was a plumbing fixture company incorporated on April 11, 1943 - June 18th 2012. A low-income housing project was proposed to the city in 2010 but didn’t pass the planning stages.
Color of Night
262
The Webster Building, built in 1898 and home to G.K. Webster & Co., a silver company that made everything from flatware to thimbles and jewelry has long been vacant. The building has long been a source of worry for the town due to its poor condition. The site was offered for sale in 2014 for $889,000 and preliminary engineering has been completed to construct condominiums, apartments, or offices on the site. I imagine the holdup has been the cost to clean up the environmental hazards of the property.
Cursed
Pig 'N Whistle Diner
A 1952 Mountain View Diner, the Pig ’N Whistle Diner originated as the Circle Diner in Watertown, MA before moving to its current location on North Beacon St. in Brighton, MA. The diner had been featured in two Zippy the Pinhead cartoons from February and June 2001 featuring the interior and exterior of the diner. The diner has been closed since 2002 and there were rumblings in 2017 that the diner may see a rebirth but the building remains dilapidated.
The origin of the name comes from the Brighton Cattle Market. When the Boston & Worcester Railroad was constructed in 1834, livestock from all over New England was transported to Brighton. In 1884, the stockyards were moved to North Beacon St., next to the railroad, and remained there until they closed in 1967.
Beauty Mark
This barber shop has been mostly frozen in time since the late 90s when its owner passed away suddenly and his wife soon after. Looking inside it's just a space as the barber chairs have been removed. There's an apartment or two upstairs that is also abandoned by the looks of the overgrowth hanging over the entrance.