This small gambrel roofed home is located in the City’s smallest National Register District which consists of only eight structures which date from the early 18th to the early 19th century, a rare example of the 18th century residential character of the City.
For over a dozen years, the previous owners, Holyoke Insurance Company, sought to demolish the building to provide additional parking for their offices. A long protracted legal battle ensued, as the Salem Redevelopment Authority denied the request, with support from the Salem Historical Commission and Historic Salem, Inc. While the building was not demolished, it sat empty and deteriorating for years.
In the late 1990s, a concerted campaign by a determined neighborhood association revived efforts to save the house. Historic Salem, Inc., supporting their efforts, listed the Wendt House on our Most Endangered list in 2000, and subsequently nominated the house to PreservationMass’ Most Endangered List.
The City’s legal counsel spearheaded an innovated solution which resulted in the transfer of the house by Holyoke to the Salem Redevelopment Authority in exchange for access to parking spaces elsewhere. By July of 2004, Habitat for Humanity was selected to renovate the house in a historically appropriate manner. A local family has been selected to have an opportunity for affordable home ownership in a lovely historic home.
As of May 2006, the exterior of the house is complete with the building slated to be ready for occupancy in the summer of 2006. The house, with its wooden clapboards and fresh coat of paint, now stands as a proud contributing member of Salem’s smallest historic district.