An East Boston neighborhood showcases its stock of triple-deckers.
Photographer: DenisTangneyJr/iStockphoto via Getty Images
Boston’s Beloved Triple-Deckers Are Next-Level Affordable Housing
Industrial cities of New England built thousands of these three-unit apartment buildings for immigrant families — until a backlash brought an end to the boom.
(This article is part of Bloomberg CityLab’s series exploring the iconic home designs that shaped global cities. Read more from the series. Get the next story sent to your inbox by subscribing to the CityLab Daily newsletter.)
It’s been a workhorse of affordable housing in urban New England for more than a century, and a building type that is as Boston as a Dunkin’ coffee. But in keeping with the city’s predilection for barstool debates, there’s disagreement about what to call it: Is it the triple-decker or the three-decker?