Upper Falls is getting a community center!

by | Nov 19, 2015 | Newton | 8 comments

SaintEsFabulous news in Upper Falls tonight.

The historic St. Elizabeths Center building on Elliot St is a 19th century Greek Revival style house owned by the Mary Immaculate church on Elliot St.  In recent years it has been vacant and its fallen into serious disrepair.

The property has been on the market recently and there’s been lots of worries in the neighborhood that it would get condo-ized, knocked down, or otherwise broken up or destroyed.

At tonight’s Upper Falls Area Council meeting, local resident Christopher Osborne turned up and announced his family’s plans for the building.  He and his sister Karen have an agreement to purchase of the building from the Catholic Church.  They’ve got a wonderful plan to set up a non-profit to run the property and use the first and second floor as a community center for Upper Falls.  They’ve got plans for the top floor and the basement being used for some combination of residential or commercial rental to fund the center on an ongoing basis.

The Osborne family is very well known here in Upper Falls.  Karen is a lifelong Upper Falls booster who funds and works on all sorts of neighborhood projects – most notably the annual summertime neighborhood cookout/concert in Hemlock Gorge.  Local hero Christopher Osborne is one of the founders and the master chef of the annual Feast of the Falls.  Like his sister, Christopher is another longtime pillar of the neighborhood.

They’ve got a long road ahead of them with all the various regulatory, zoning, etc challenges but the train has just left the station on this great neighborhood project and from what I heard, the neighborhood Area Council was thrilled at the news tonight.

Over the last year, our Newton Nomadic Theater has performed at the Waban Library Center, the Auburndale Community Library and the Hyde Center.   Seeing each of these community centers in action made me totally envious of those neighborhoods.  Each of those institutions function as the heart of their neighborhoods – with all sorts of groups and activities coming and going on a day to day basis.  It’s something I sorely missed here in Upper Falls.

I’m thrilled to hear that we may have something comparable here in Upper Falls thanks to the Osborne family.

8 Comments

  1. Jerry Reilly
    Jerry Reilly on November 19, 2015 at 10:09 pm

    I just discovered an interesting fact about the building. This very big house was moved 70 years after it was built. Here’s the excerpt about it from Ken Newcomb’s Makers of the Mold

    Another member of the Greek Revival family of fine homes is found at 260 Elliot Street. This beautiful building was built on its original site on Elliot Street near Oak Street about the year 1838 by Dr. Samuel S. Whitney. Dr. Whitney had taken over the practice of Dr. Alfred Hosmer who had died November 27, 1837 after having served Upper Falls from 1829 until his death. Dr. Whitney lived in his new home for six years before moving to Dedham in 1844. Dr. Abraham D. Dearborn(e) bought his practice and his home and remained here for ten years, until 1854. Frank Barden, proprietor of a rolling mill and paper mill in the village, purchased the home in 1855 and lived here until he died on September 25, 1877 at the age of 71. Josiah B. Newell purchased the property at auction in May, 1885 for $6,300, and it remained in his family until Dr. William H. McOwen bought it in May, 1897. Dr. McOwen moved to Upper Falls in July, 1885 and was married there June 30, 1888. The property was purchased by the Mary Immaculate of Lourdes parish in 1909 and the house moved to its present location. The house had long been a showplace with its fine gardens, fish pond and stable. The building continues to serve the community in a very useful way as a parish hall and community center for the church, and is known today as St. Elizabeth’s Center.

  2. Greg Reibman
    Greg Reibman on November 19, 2015 at 10:52 pm

    That’s amazing news. Thanks Chris and Karen for taking the lead on this.

  3. JenAK
    JenAK on November 19, 2015 at 11:26 pm

    When Chris shared his and Karen’s plan at the meeting I could hardly believe my ears! A practical and pleasant gathering space for the Upper Falls would be invaluable in building community here, and has been at the top of my civic wishlist for years. Many many thanks to both of them for the generous impulse to both preserve this piece of Upper Falls history and to share it as a community resource.

  4. Newton Mom
    Newton Mom on November 20, 2015 at 7:29 am

    Awesome news! So happy to hear this and look forward to many years of having a community center in Upper Falls!

  5. Kathleen Maguire
    Kathleen Maguire on November 20, 2015 at 11:31 am

    Wow! This will be a Thanksgiving to remember for the community that has brought back the tradition of the community feast. Beautiful:)

  6. Lynn
    Lynn on November 21, 2015 at 8:11 am

    WOW! What Wonderful News! Thank You Chris & Karen, Wishing you a speedy and uneventful process. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help! :)

  7. BOB BURKE
    BOB BURKE on November 21, 2015 at 8:46 am

    I had so hoped something like this would happen. I’m a member of Friends of Hemlock Gorge so we got a full briefing from Chris &Karen a few weeks back at our regular monthly meeting that was held within Saint Elizabeth’s Center. I’m particularly pleased that the old marble fireplaces in the main rooms and bedrooms will be preserved. I loved looking at and touching these fireplaces when I was a kid. The Upper Falls renaissance continues thanks to great people like Chris, Karen, Shana, Jerry and countless others.

    I’m going to docket this as an item on next month’s meeting of the Highlands Area Council because I hope and trust that every other area council, community organization and civic association in Newton will put their full weight behind supporting Upper Falls on this issue. The Brigham House in Newton Highlands and the old branch libraries in Waban and Auburndale have added so much to greater community cohesion in all three villages.

  8. Moargaret Eadtman
    Moargaret Eadtman on March 5, 2016 at 12:40 pm

    I’m glad that the center is not going torn down .I lived in Newton for a long time.Thank You Chris and Karen for doing something good with center .This comes from Chris’s old friend Peggy Moreau Eastman Good Luck!!!!