For immigrants in Worcester, the triple-deckers were, according to fourth-generation Green Island triple-decker resident Maureen Schwab, an escape from “unimaginable conditions in Europe” during the mid-1800s while also being “safe and secure financially” (Schwab Personal Interview, 31 March 2023) since they did not require much land and permitted immigrants and the working-class to own property. Frequently, the owner would reside on one floor and rent out the other two units, which would pay for the property. Triple-deckers were popular with immigrants to Worcester, which over time included French-Canadians, Lithuanians, Poles, and other European immigrants, because they were affordable and created supportive communities. Due to the layout of the triple-deckers, multi-generational families were common, where one house may have held grandparents, an aunt and uncle, and their children, allowing for families to share resources and depend on one another. If a triple-decker was not constructed of a multi-generational family, then strong relations between neighbors were typically formed as a result of living close together and with a common purpose–working hard to earn a living and creating a new life in the United States.
Triple-deckers “made the neighborhood [of Green Island] a neighborhood” claims Lorraine Laurie (Laurie Personal Interview, 31 March 2023). In The Worcester Account (1954), Samuel Behrman describes the difference between living in a triple decker as opposed to a private home. He knew a woman who lived in “a house all to herself and her parents, and this made her automatically unapproachable” (Behrman 35). Even though this neighbor lived right down the street, Behrman felt the fact that she lived in a “private home” separated her from the community and any connection to its way of life. He could not relate or connect with her.
Life in the triple-deckers was no doubt not always seamless: one housing reform group in 1917 depicted the downside, for instance, of living on the middle floor, sandwiched between “‘tramping feet on the thin board floor overhead and the aroma of cooking from the lower floor. Children squabbled, mothers quarreled over yard use on wash day and clutter blocked the landings.’” It should be noted that this description seems to have been motivated by anti-immigration sentiments and a desire to ban triple-deckers, since they brought more immigrants to America’s cities (“Rise, Fall and Rebirth”). Nevertheless, one can believe that living in close proximity might result in conflicts. The possible inconveniences of triple-decker living may have well been offset by the support and low-cost housing they could provide.
The blend of families in triple-decker neighborhoods extended to other parts of the community. Cars were not a common means of transportation, so walking places, such as school and local markets, made the community closer. Millbury Street was a popular destination for people to interact, specifically Messier’s Diner which held “good times–the delicious food–the friendly manner–and the good name, Joe Messier” (Laurie 39). Lisa Villa, whose grandparents lived in a triple-decker facing Crompton Park adds, “Millbury Street was where you did all your shopping.” Stores like “Maurice the Pants Man” “had everything you needed” (Villa Personal Interview, 1 March 2023). Millbury Street was made more vibrant by its ethnic groceries that sold “old world delicacies,” like “Kauna Bread” where you could buy a loaf of pure rye bread that “weighed 12 lbs. and was delivered daily by railway express from Water Viliet, N.Y.” (Laurie 28). A strong sense of neighborhood community, beyond one’s particular home, was thus nurtured by the daily interactions. In turn, the dense settlement provided by the neighborhood’s triple-deckers helped to support the many businesses along Millbury Street.
Today, Green Island remains an immigrant community centered around its triple-deckers and ethnic grocery stores, restaurants, and churches along Millbury Street. Now-a-days the vibrant diversity Green Island brings to Worcester is through the current Latino residents. It is impressive that the historic identity of the neighborhood survives to this day. But in order for it to be able to continue to thrive, Green Island’s triple-deckers, that “made the neighborhood a neighborhood,” must remain affordable and a sensible choice for newcomers and hard-working families to reside and contribute to the heart of Worcester.
Works Cited
Behrman, Samuel N. The Worcester Account. Random House, 1954.
Capone, Vincenzo. “Dreams Can Come True.” Worcester Telegram and Gazette, NewsBank, 21 Jan. 1992, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&t=favorite%3AWTGWWWTL%21Worcester%2520Telegram%2520%2526%2520Gazette%2520Collection&sort=YMD_date%3AA&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=triple+decker&docref=news%2F0EADEA178D25E5B7.
Laurie, Lorraine Michele. Personal interview. 31 March 2023.
Laurie, Lorraine Michele. The Island that Became a Neighborhood: A History of Green Island in Worcester, Massachusetts. 1985.
Laurie, Lorraine Michele. “24 Sigel Street.” The Island that Became a Neighborhood: A History of Green Island in Worcester, Massachusetts. 1985.
“Messier’s Diner (Millbury Street).” Worcester Historical Museum, https://www.worcesterhistory.org/worcesters-history/worcesters-own/diners/attachment/messiers-diner-millbury-street/.
Schwab, Maureen. Personal interview. 31 March 2023.
“Scott Hayman (former Director of Real Estate Development, Somerville Community Corporation), Lecture: “On Affordable Housing in Worcester.” College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass.,12 April 2023.
“The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of the Triple Decker.” New England Historical Society, 28 Nov. 2022, https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/rise-fall-rebirth-new-england-triple-decker/.
“Three Deckers.” Worcester Historical Museum, 18 Mar. 2013, https://www.worcesterhistory.org/worcesters-history/worcesters-own/three-deckers/.
Villa, Lisa. Personal interview. 1 March 2023.