Trask Avenue

It is easy to imagine Somerville as the romanticized epitome of a certain type of early 20th century American small town, the kind featured in Norman Rockwell’s art, novels like Ragtime, and films such as The Music Man and It’s a Wonderful Life. A town filled with tree-lined streets and well-spaced grand houses. In those houses lived Father, Mother, and their four children, along with cranky Grampa or plucky Aunt Sarah or (occasionally) Mother’s rogue brother Charlie. After supper families would greet neighbors and window shop as they strolled down Main Street (yes, Main Street). In the dusk they would stop before the impressive Somerset County Courthouse, a symbol of strength and equitable justice. The wail of a distant train whistle would punctuate the air, a reminder of the wondrous industrial progress which helped sustain their blessed life. It is a pleasing image, this fantasy of Somerville over 100 years ago. Today, life holds no such romantic notions. The mills are closed; manufacturing has moved away. The grand houses remain, but many are rezoned for lawyers, doctors, consultants, and other small businesses. Main Street has transformed into a destination spot for fine cuisine and, not surprisingly, antiquing. Still, other storefronts sit empty as if unsure of their purpose. As you walk Somerville’s streets now, you realize it remains a quintessential modern American small town – one striving to find its niche in a fast changing world.

commercial property

private home