Story by Diti Kohli After stepping into the Davenport Memorial Home, guests are greeted by smiling porpoises laid into the tile on the floor of the entrance and an intricate red rug in the foyer. Decades-old A.H. Davenport Company furniture and antiques furnish every visible corner of the building. Nestled prominently between the public library and the high school, the Salem Street mansion does not hide from Malden residents. But the senior living facility’s brick exterior and perfectly manicured lawn do not attract questions from locals. Rachel Burke, Davenport’s assistant administrator, said it is Malden’s best kept secret. “A lot of people know the building, but not what’s in the building,” she said. For 73 years, the Davenport has been a non-profit residential home for Malden senior citizens, while preserving the mansion’s centuries-old architecture and the culture it represented. The Salem Street mansion was once the family home of the Davenports, Malden natives with vast political influence who opened the First Baptist Church near the home. Patriarch A.H. Davenport founded the Davenport Furniture Company, which supplied furniture to famous […]
