Historic Boston Incorporated 1999 Preservation Revolving Fund Casebook : Property Entries Online
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Work with owner, Dorchester Bay EDC, and Main Streets to ascertain and remedy structural issues based upon a comprehensive structural assessment and feasibility study. Advise same to ensure space is filled with active uses rather than let it deteriorate further, be torn down, turned into a parking lot, or become the site for a big box pharmacy.

One of only two empty structures in a thriving commercial district and a vital part of the neighborhood streetscape, Upham’s Corner Market, owned by John and Paul Cifrino, was the first one-stop "supermarket" in Boston and one of the first in the United States. The Cifrino brothers stocked a variety of merchandise in their 50,000 square foot store that small retailers traditionally had sold from separate neighborhood shops. The Cifrinos did not extend credit or make deliveries, and provided clerks only at the cash registers, but they offered a wide selection of high-quality goods and easily undercut their competitors. Most revolutionary of all was their embrace of America’s growing automobile culture in the 1920s: they built garage doors into the rear of the building to accommodate the delivery trucks that continuously replenished their stock and provided a large parking lot for the many customers who drove from all around Boston to shop at their popular store.

The Cifrino Brothers built Upham’s Corner Market in three distinct sections, numbered as 600, 610, and 618 Columbia Road. The present owner has rehabilitated 600 Columbia Road for use as rental residential space for artists. The other two sections are vacant and are for sale as a single property, with an asking price of $1.5 million. Residential conversion of 610-618 is unlikely. The triangular configuration of the block creates gradually longer footprints for 610 and 618, which would necessitate extremely long narrow residential units. Alternative uses, such as rehearsal space for local musicians, artists’ studio space, and a theater, have been suggested. Economically viable reuse will probably require a significant subsidy via a leasehold partnership with a public entity. Parking is a plus for the building: the original garage door openings at the rear are intact and there is abundant space for parking at the lower level of the building off of Ramsey Street.

Upham’s Corner is the commercial center of north Dorchester. Although several buildings in the neighborhood seem to have under-utilized upper floors, retail activity along Columbia Road and Dudley Street is lively, and includes restaurants, small shops, and national chain stores. The building is a short walk from the Upham's Corner station on the MBTA's Fairmount commuter rail line (8 minutes to downtown Boston), and is convenient to I-93. A city-owned parking lot is adjacent.

Preliminary feasibility studies (Dorchester Bay EDC & Upham's Corner Main Streets; Boston University Preservation Studies Program Adaptive Reuse class, 1999); National Register nomination form

Entry Completed: 04/30/1999