Back to Lin's Roots--Malden, Massachusetts!

After an enjoyable  visit to a friend of Maryke's in York Harbor, ME we drove south in heavy traffic on I-95.  We've been to Boston and seen the sights on two previous trips so we decided to do something different this time.  We stayed overnight at the Wakefield, MA Elks Lodge, which had something different from every other Elks Lodge we've stayed at—their own full size working fire engine!  They were readying it for a parade the next day so were testing the brand new siren they'd just installed and of course, the red lights! 

  

Wakefield is only about 10 miles from Malden, the city of Lin's birth many moons ago!  Malden is an old city which was settled by Puritans in 1640 on land purchased from the local Pennacook Indian tribe.  Malden was incorporated as a separate town in May 1649 and the name came from an early settler who emigrated from Maldon, England.  Malden is in Middlesex County and is 5 miles northwest of Boston.  During the American Revolution, Malden's citizens were heavily involved in early resistance to the oppression of Great Britain and was the first town to petition the colonial government to withdraw from the British Empire!

Lin's parents lived in Malden in 1940-42 and we had discovered the address from the 1940 Federal census.  349 Pleasant Street is a very large brick 3 story multi-unit (93 apartments)

U-shaped apartment building close to City Hall, churches, shopping and many other facilities. The building was new in 1929 and appears to be in good condition now.  

The census reported that the rent in 1940 was $42.50 a month and today Zillow estimates the rent to be $1459 monthly! In the early 1940s, Lin's father's U.S. Coast Guard officer career had him stationed in Boston, attending classes at Harvard and training Federal employees in weapons handling and markmanship. 

349 Pleasant Street turned out to be difficult to get to, since the city in recent times has created a split in 2 streets almost in front of the address with no parking.  City Hall at 200 Pleasant Street, a huge fortress of a building, was built in the mid-1970s across Pleasant Street 2 blocks away from the apartment building, cutting off the former busy shopping district. 

In 1940 Malden had a population of 58,010.  The 2010 population had increased slightly to 59,450.  Malden's ethnicity has changed considerably in that time from nearly 100% white to today's 52% white, 15% African American, 20% Asian and 9% Latino.  25% of today's households have children under 18.  In 2009, Malden was named the “Best City to Raise your Kids” in Massachusetts by Bloomberg/ Business Week magazine!

Lin was born in April 1941 at Malden Hospital, the major medical facility at that time.  The hospital, then called the Malden Medical Center, closed in 1999.   To find the site, we stopped at the main Malden Fire Dept. station and asked a fire lieutenant its location. 

We got directions and were sad to see a huge modern appearing building completely wrapped in chain link fence and deserted, except for a security patrol.  It is definitely on the market as a senior living facility, medical office building or a teardown to build residential housing or apartments.  It is located  near an attractive neighborhood and should certainly be reused, if possible. 

The City of Malden has a list of City Landmarks on its website and we decided to look at a few to get a better feeling for the city. Next to Lin's parent's apartment building at 338 Pleasant Street is the Wilbur Fiske Haven Mansion, a beautiful mansard roofed mansion built in 1866 by a leading Malden hadware distributor. It was located in the "Doctor's Row" and eventually was owned by doctors. It is currently for sale and unoccupied.

The Malden City Library, known as the Converse Memorial Building, after the city's first mayor who funded its construction.  It is still in use today, along with a larger modern building.  It contains part of the library collection and an art gallery.

The First Congregational Church at 184 Pleasant Street next to City Hall  It was founded in 1649 by early English settlers and is Malden's First Church and meeting house.   

The congregation has 360 years of continuous worship.

The First Parish Church at Elm and Pleasant Streets first began holding services in 1648 and is the oldest faith-based community in Malden, MA.  It is a Unitarian Universalist church.  The current church is the congregation's 4^th church and was built in 1909.  This church is one year older than the City of Malden at 366 years!

 
The Malden Spanish-American War Monument at Pleasant Street and Highland Avenue was erected in 1938, 40 years after the war, and is a bronze sculpture known as “The Hiker.”

Wilcox Hall at 80 Mountain Avenue was originally the home of William Wilcox.  In 1914, it became a social community center and home for young working women.  In 1988 it was given to the Malden YWCA.

Bell Rock Memorial Park on Wigglesworth Street was built in 1905 to commemorate Malden's veterans.  The location is historic, having held Malden's first two meeting houses and in 1658 a church bell was hung here as a warning signal.  The Flag Defender's Monument, a large bronze statue is the centerpiece up the steps while a memorial arch with tablets listing casualties of all the wars is on the far end of the park.  The park was laid out by Frederick Law Olmstead Jr.

Bell Rock Cemetery on Green Street, several blocks from the war memorial of the same name, is the city's oldest cemetery and contains pre-1649 burials.  It is adjacent to the Mystic River and was often the landing palce for early Malden settlers.   It was earlier called Malden Common Burying Ground.  30 Revolutionary War veterans are buried here.  Here are a few typical gravestones of   Malden's early citizens.

Here is a collage of a number of very beautiful homes we found in Malden.  Many are Victorian, but some are older.   We were pleased to see most Malden homes were well kept up.  There are a number of very handsome neighborhoods.  It was enjoyable visiting Lin's old “hometown!”

People watching in Malden: a three-fer!