Standing at the intersection of Washington and Nahantan Streets in downtown Norwood is a wholesome experience. In a less flamboyant way, it’s like being at Fenway Park on the day of a big game: Jose Feliciano has just nailed the National Anthem, and “State of Maine” signs are bobbing in the right field grandstands. In both cases, there’s the sense you’re in the presence of a fundamentally American experience. On one corner of the intersection is the United Church of Norwood; directly across from it is St. Catherine of Siena Catholic church.
Across Washington Street from St. Catherine’s is the Norwood Municipal Building, an august Gothic structure so solid and sublime it inspires more reverence than either of the churches across the street. This majestic town hall includes a towering carillon with plangent bells that were made in England. On the fourth corner of the intersection is a monument as unusual as the gentle town common in which it stands and is typical of the New England genre. Atop a massive granite pedestal, stands the nuclear family: mom, dad and baby.
Their body language, accentuated in bronze contours, says they are strong, confident and inseparable. Flanking the pedestal on three sides are bronze soldiers, carrying guns, bandoleers and field equipment. The inscription reads, “Protectors of the American Way.” If this downtown intersection inspires the spirit, a mile-long strip of Route 1 that passes through Norwood stimulates the entrepreneurial juices. This bustling section of roadway is known locally and nationally as the “Automile,” a name copyrighted by the merchants along the strip, according to David Mahn, president of Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Mahn says Norwood’s Automile was the first place in the country where merchants, many of them in direct competition with each other, joined to a launch a cooperative advertising campaign. “There are variations of this idea all over the country, but they can’t use the name ‘Automile,’ because that belongs to Route 1 in Norwood,” Mahn explains. Although the many car dealerships along the strip advertise collectively, they also promote themselves individually.
Away from the commercialism of Route 1, Norwood is a vibrant residential town. “There’s an emphasis on family here,” says Mahn, also a Lutheran minister.
“People do things together. If someone says, ‘Let’s do something,’ it gets done.”
A prime example is the group, “Friends of St. Nick,” which raises money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. “Eight or nine of us got together about six years ago because we have a soft spot for Dana Farber,” says Robert Dempsey, a lifelong Norwood resident who operates an insurance company in the town.
(The bandstand in the common is named after Dempsey’s father, Walter J. Dempsey, who served for many years in town government). Each year, Friends of St. Nick holds a fundraising luncheon honoring a Norwood resident. Proceeds from the event ($60,000 in the past five years) are turned over to Dana Farber. Recently the world-renowned hospital named one of its rooms, “The Friends of St Nick of Norwood.”
Another example of Norwood’s community spirit is a group of senior citizens who travel to nursing homes and senior drop-in centers to entertain their peers. “They are called the ‘Irregular Singers,’ ” explains Olga Abdallah, whose mother is a member of the troupe. “They dress in costumes; they have a voluntary band; and they dance and sing all over town.”
Real estate agents say the Norwood housing market is stable for two reasons: new construction is minimal because of the dearth of developable land, and people tend to stay in Norwood once there.
“First-time home buyers are going to get more for their money in Norwood than anyplace else,” said Bruce Nelson, an agent with Prudential Prime Properties, who has been selling homes in Norwood for 25 years. “The biggest asset is the tax base: the residential tax rate actually went down three cents this year, from $11.79 to $11.76. The trash is still collected at no charge, and the town supplies its own electricity at a lower rate.”
Nelson points out that Norwood’s easy access to major highways and the presence of MBTA rail and bus lines make it an excellent location for commuters. Norwood even has its own airport that handles light commuter planes.
Despite these advantages, Norwood housing prices have remained relatively low and extremely stable. According to Banker & Tradesman statistics, the median home price changed by only $100 between 1995 and 1996. The median price was $168,000 in 1996, compared to $167,900 in 1995.
According to Nelson, three houses currently under construction in South Norwood will come on the market below $200,000. The lots are small and they are located on a busy street, but the houses will have three bedrooms, one and a half baths and a one-car garage “under.”
(Originally published in the Boston Globe)
