Melrose, Massachusetts

5 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 10 districts that have evolved around its commuter rail stations. But the city’s shining star is its downtown – a main street filled with bustling family-owned shops and a diverse selection of restaurants. “Downtown is probably Melrose’s most significant feature,” says Denise Gaffey, Melrose’s City Planner. “When people visit from out of town they speak most highly of it. It’s very compact, it has kind of a Victorian theme running through it with beautiful Victorian architecture and period lighting. We tend to have very few vacant properties in our downtown area, and even in our neighborhood business districts. When they do turn over, there’s very little lag time. That’s always been something that is really nice and very beneficial to the community.” When city residents aren’t shopping or taking part in the many weekend events the city has to offer, you’ll find a lot of them commuting into Courtesy of Raj Das, ED Photography