1991 – "Twin Mulberry Trees … 13 Rm. Antique & Barn," $469,900
1991
An April 1991 Boston Globe “first ad” is the most affectionate description of the house in any surviving record:
NEWTON. 1st ad Exclusive! Twin mulberry trees, wrap around porch, bay windows and a curved double door welcome you to this wonderful renov. 13 rm. antique & barn on a quiet st. in the heart of the Centre. O.H. today 2–4, at 11 Chesley Rd., $469,900.
Two details matter to the house’s history. First, the barn was still standing in 1991 — the old estate outbuilding whose foundation now lies under the ivy. (A city permit to “demo garage” was issued in 1992, the year the house changed hands; whether that garage was the old barn or a separate structure is an open question.) Second, the ad fixes the house’s features — the wraparound porch, the bay windows, the curved double front door — as they stood at the start of the 1990s.
The Shevitz family, who had owned the house since 1983, found their buyers the following year: the house sold in July 1992 for $385,000 — a sizable drop from the asking price, as the early-‘90s real-estate slump bit.
Boston Globe, April 7, 1991.