Monday, January 28, 2013
The son of a former head of the Watertown Arsenal returned to his old home and brought a piece of history with him.
Recently, two things returned to the Commander’s Mansion in the Watertown Arsenal for the first time since the post-World War II years, and one will remain at the historic house. Rolfe Gerhardt lived in the house just after the war when his father, Col. William “Dutch” Gerhardt, served as commander of the U.S. Army facility. In mid-January, Rolfe and his wife Susan came down from Maine to look around his old abode. Gerhardt lived in the house from age 7 to 9 – 1946 to 1948 – and he still remembers the fun he and his brother had in the old home. “The basement was super spooky,” Gerhardt said. “We would play hide and seek there and have cap gun fights.” He also found the spot where the family’s Philco Radio stood and he would listen to shows…
Friday, August 3, 2012
The gardening and tree crews from the Mount Auburn Cemetery did some pruning around the Commander's Mansion this week.
Several gardeners and arbor specialists from Mount Auburn Cemetery spent the day helping out at the Commander's Mansion in the Watertown Arsenal on Wednesday. The focus of the work was the vines growing on the Grape Arbor and the trees around it, said Jonathan Webb, the arborculture supervisor at Mount Auburn Cemetery. "We tightened up the arbor – to make it look nicer, and more presentable – and the pear tree," Webb said. Along with Webb were Gardening Supervisor Daryl Sullivan, Jerry Mendenhall, Sean O'Connor and Carlos Algarin. The crew also removed invasive bittersweet vines from the arbor and made the area look cleaner. The arbor is a popular spot for couples to marry, and they enter through the arches of the arbor. "There were vines …
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Friday, May 18, 2012
The Grape Arbor is brighter and stronger after the volunteers from Tufts Health Plan went to work on it.
The Grape Arbor provides a lovely backdrop for couples tying the knot at the Commander's Mansion, and now it will shine almost as much as the bride and groom after volunteers from Tufts Health Plan fixed it up. On Thursday, around 67 employees from the Tufts Health Plan headquarters on Mt. Auburn Street spend the day working at the Commander's Mansion as well as nearby Arsenal Park sprucing up the facilities. The effort was part of the Tufts Health Plan's effort to do projects around the community, said Pam Giannatisis, senior manager of corporate communications. "The company pays us to do 8 hours of volunteer work (each year)," Giannatsis said. "We can do it on our own, but they also organize projects for employees so we can get a big …
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Commander's Mansion
440 Talcott Ave, Watertown, MA
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Monday, May 7, 2012
A group of volunteers helped clean up the outdoor facilities at the historic mansion in the Watertown Arsenal.
A group from Tufts Health Plan headed over to the Commander's Mansion to do some cleaning on the grounds of the Commander's Mansion, last week. The volunteers power washed the arbor next to the historic house that used to serve as the home for the commanding officer of the Watertown Arsenal when it was a U.S. Army facility. Even more volunteers from Tufts Health Plan will return next week to do more power washing and do repairs to the arbor, said Facility Manager Tammy McKenna, which often is used for weddings and other events at the Commander's Mansion.
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Commander's Mansion
440 Talcott Ave, Watertown, MA
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Thursday, April 19, 2012
A special tea event will be held at the Watertown house, hosted by Fancy That of Walpole.
Sarah Erlandson, proprietress of Fancy That in Walpole will host "Tea for Two" at the Commander's Mansion in Watertown on June 7. This is the ninth year that Fancy That hosted the special tea events, but until now the teas have only been held in Fancy That’s “Tea Boutique” in Walpole. “We are excited to be expanding our Afternoon Tea Event Series, which we are calling ‘Tea at Two’” Erlandson said. Along with the tea service, the event features Afternoon Tea catered by Bakers’ Best of Needham, paired with interesting speakers and presenters. Among the presenters will be local author Katrina Avila Munichiello reading from her new book “A Tea Reader: Living Life One Cup at a Time.” Erlandson will put on Tea for Two in the setting of …
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Commander's Mansion
440 Talcott Ave, Watertown, MA
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Friday, February 17, 2012
A bridge used in a New Repertory Theatre production will now become part of a garden at the Commander's Mansion where newlyweds can gather after their wedding.
Thursday, the Commander's Mansion received a gift that will make the facility a more attractive wedding spot, and will preserve a piece of the past for the New Repertory Theatre. The set for New Repertory Theatre's 2010 production of "Hot Mikado" featured a bridge in the middle of the stage, but since then it sat in the storage area at the Arsenal Center for the Arts. "Every time we do a load in and load out (of scenery) we have to move it," said Carter Miller, the light and sound supervisor at New Rep. Rather than just getting rid of the bridge, which was made for New Rep by Wooden Kiwi, the theater company wanted it to have a new home, said Harriet Sheets, managing director of the New Rep. "We talked to people about purchasing it, and …
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Commander's Mansion
440 Talcott Ave, Watertown, MA
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M C Stringfellow
8:25 am on Monday, January 28, 2013
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