How would Worcester history change if triple-deckers did not exist? How was life in triple-deckers then and now? These are questions I first asked myself in this project. I wondered why triple-deckers make Worcester special. I focused on Green Island, a neighborhood that has from its beginnings housed communities of immigrant families. I wondered if a sense of community is present among residents today, as it was back in the early 1900’s. I found out that a sense of togetherness is still present, but it is nowhere near as strong as it was back then.
I had the chance to speak with Maureen Schwab and Lorraine Laurie, two residents who have lived in Worcester for their whole lives. I wondered what their experience had been like with their community. We met at Birch Tree Cafe right in the heart of the Canal District. We took our seats at the corner of the cafe overlooking Table Talk Pies on Green Street as we talked about how the community looked back then and now. Ms. Schwab is the fourth generation of her family living in the same triple decker. Ms. Schwab told me that the sense of community in Green Island has dwindled as people who cared about the neighborhood moved out. She used to know everyone in her neighborhood. It was easier to know your neighbors because there were more opportunities to interact with them. Before the 1970’s, Worcester was more of a walking town; in Green Island barely anyone had a car. This meant you would see people more often in your neighborhood when you went to the store or church. Each community was like a big family that took care of each other when they needed help. Neighborhoods in Worcester were specific to different ethnicities, and in those communities people could feel like they were back “home.” It was very welcoming and very different from other cities where you would have to transform yourself to fit in. Now there are all kinds of ethnicities in a neighborhood, which is good, but it’s very different than having a community where everyone spoke the same language and had the same values as you ( Maureen Schwab Personal Interview, March 31, 2023).
Other triple-decker residents agree. Long-time Worcester resident Joseph Volpe has been living in a triple-decker for over 60 years. The triple decker he still lives in was passed down to him from his parents. He raised his own children there, in the house he grew up in. Volpe recalls the sense of community back then: “Next-door neighborhood kids used to yell out their bedroom windows to talk to each other, food and pastries were always shared, and families could always rely on the other grown-ups who lived on the street to be babysitters if needed” (Campbell 9 ). Mr. Volpe’s experience shows that community was everything back then. It wasn’t unusual for neighbors to rely on each other to help their lives run smoothly. Stephen DiRado has also lived most of his life in a triple-decker in Worcester, and he wouldn’t change anything about it. “The triple-decker really fits into my lifestyle. It’s part of the whole idea of community and how I live.” DiRado loves the friends he made and the opportunities that came with living in a triple-decker. Life in a triple-decker, he said, “is about community. The triple-decker is classic for that” ( Campbell 10).
Such comments made me think about my personal experience. I too currently live in Worcester in a triple-decker, and this project led me to consider how my own community interacts. I realized my neighborhood is very split up, and I don’t have a relationship with any of my neighbors. The new custom is to stay in your area and to not trespass onto anyone’s property. I’m able to get my sense of community by living with my family in the same triple decker. That gives us the opportunity to support each other without having our surrounding neighbors to lean on. Still, it makes me wish for the days when everyone knew each other by name and actually took time to talk to their neighbors.
Lisa Villa, another Worcester resident, recently told me that in the early 1900s, it was mainly families that lived in triple-deckers so it was more likely that a landlord was a family member. So it usually was the tenants that would keep up with the maintenance of the building and the surrounding lot. They would come together and help each other clean and make sure their area is up to par. People from other triple-deckers would come and help others to make sure the neighborhood is maintained. It is more common now that landlords live in a separate neighborhood than their tenant. Rather than being an everyday presence, these landlords have to come by to maintain the lot. This again could diminish the sense of community and possibly lead to less loving care of a once shared family home.
After talking to and reading about these triple-decker residents, I can’t wait to see the ways I am able to help my own community get its charm back. Whether that is cleaning up triple-deckers or starting new friendships, the opportunities are are there. I hope that I’m able to inspire anyone to look at their surroundings and see what makes it special. There’s a reason my family gravitated towards Worcester, and that is to live amongst people who care about the community and want to see it succeed. A sense of community may not be as big as it was before, but it is still present. Given today’s problems of climate change and neighborhood crime, a strong sense of community is needed to help Green Island, and my own neighborhood, flourish once again.
Works cited:
Campbell, Stephanie Jarvis. “Feature: Worcester’s Triple-Deckers the ‘Backbone’ of City’s Housing.” Worcester Magazine, Worcester Magazine, 28 Nov. 2018, https://www.worcestermag.com/story/news/2018/11/29/feature-worcesters-triple-deckers-backbone-of-citys-housing/8038231007/.
Davidson, Adam. “What Happened to Worcester?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Apr. 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/magazine/what-happened-to-worcester.html.
Laurie, Lorraine Michele. The Island That Became a Neighborhood: A History of Green Island in Worcester, Massachusetts, 1826-1985. 1985.