3120 3rd Ave. So.: Edmund G. & Clara B. Babbidge House

A Healy house in its original, unrestored, condition.

Built: 1891
Cost estimate on building permit: $6,000

This is the sixteenth house that Healy built in the district. The first owners were Edmund Babbidge, a traveling agent, and his wife Clara. They lived in the house from 1891 to 1909. Also living in the house was Clara’s mother, Caroline Barnes, who is listed in city directories as “wid [i.e., widow], John.” Also living in the house was Harry Partridge, secretary-treasurer of the T. M. Partridge Lumber Company (sometimes shown in city directories as Wyman-Partridge Lumber Company). Harry was married to Edmund and Clara’s daughter, Jessie. The house was large enough for multiple family generations to live together.

This house’s exterior has not been restored, and it is said that the interior woodwork is intact and unpainted. The existing siding was installed in 1941 and the front porch was enclosed in 1950. The house was converted to a duplex in 1964, but has been used as a single-family house for many years. The current owner (in 2019) has lived here for 29 years.

Typical of Healy, the house has cross-gable construction with the side gables subordinated to the main ridge. Healy’s typical triptych of three front gable windows is probably unified by some details hidden under the siding. There is also Healy’s typical second floor bay and porch under the cantilevered gable. All ornament has been removed.

Because of the enclosed front porch, we cannot see the first-floor’s exterior features. Of what we can see, the most interesting feature is that the central bay on the south side is bowed on all three levels. Healy had done this previously on a house at 2936 Portland Avenue So.

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