The streets of Worcester

We began our tour with a stop outside of our most beloved former residence: 64 Fruit Street, apartment #2. The backstreets of Worcester were in their familiar winter mode: covered with snow, with two tire-ruts down the middle with a series of car-shaped clearings on each side. Back in the early 90's, these clearings would remain empty for most of the day, but competition for parking spots at night would be fierce. Some residents used to put chairs out in their favorite spots in an effort to hold them through the day. We saw no parking-space chairs during our visit, however. Judging from the new street signs, we deduced that the city had implemented a new parking permit scheme in the area, rationing out the spots in a more organized fashion. (And doubtless generating a bit of revenue for the city, as well.)

(A snowy road stretches off into the
distance, bounded by parked cars on either side.)

The snowy streets of Worcester.

Our old apartment was one of the countless wooden three-decker houses that seem to make up the majority of the buildings in Worcester. Someone once told me that this kind of house was so common in the city because a historical fire regulation prevented people from building taller than three stories -- the limit of what the ladder trucks of the time could reach.

We found that the owners had done some work on our old apartment: they had enclosed what had been an open porch at the front of the second floor, facing the street. I suppose this expansion gave them another room to rent. I'd hate to be the person who rented it, though: the pre-existing front room was always the coldest in the apartment. This new room, thrust out over the first-floor porch, must be even colder.

(An old but well-kept red three-level
wooden house stands in a close-packed row of other similar buildings.
An old and thin layer of snow covers much of the roof and the yard.)

Our most beloved former abode, 64 Fruit Street #2. Our apartment was the entire second floor of the red building.

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