The Little Blue House
The Little Blue House
In 1998, Rick purchased “The Little Blue House” in Everett on Colby Avenue and has been practicing law from here ever since.
In 2011 we had the pleasure to meet Jack O’Donnell a man who grew up in the house. We shall share a bit of his tale of the house.
My Childhood Home
It was at 3625 Colby Avenue and is the earliest home I can really remember. It was basically a pretty simple house that had been added onto more than once and would see even more remodeling. The Sanborn Insurance maps indicate that it was standing by 1901, but not there in 1893. This was in the days of one wage earner, one car, one telephone and one toilet.
In the northeast corner was our telephone. It was metal with the dial mechanism and mouthpiece integrated into the front of it and a receiver piece on the left side. It was necessary to stand, unless one moved a stool into the corner.
Outside stairs led down to the back yard. The only access to the basement was an outside door beneath the back porch laundry room.
West from the section with a concrete floor was a crawl space of high dirt walls that were dug out over time and used to fill the yard south of the house. For a time as a child I could play “little cars” in the dirt floor part of the basement. I had an elaborate system of roads and towns down there. Every kid should’ve had such a basement.
The house still stands.
That’s amazing in itself because my dad, who was a real estate broker in 1965 put together a deal for a new funeral home. The mortuary never materialized and the four homes were sold and used for rentals. Many houses in the area met the wrecking ball.
Our old home is now an attorney’s office.
Who knows how long it will be there, but there’s no reason to think its demise is imminent.
Tour of Merrill Law
Office Information general, Little Blue House