2026 MLK Day of Service: The Elizabeth Peabody House

The Elizabeth Peabody House (EPH) was founded in 1896 as a space for community growth in Boston, as it was one of the first settlement houses in the city before relocating to Somerville in the 1950s.

Continuing on the legacy of its namesake, the Elizabeth Peabody House caters to low-income and immigrant families of the city, connecting them with essential services such as early childcare, youth programs for various stages of development, and an in-house food pantry. Serving the community through all of the stages of life for over a century. EPH is looking to continue serving for many years to come, expanding their resource pool to include infant care programming and teen programs. After an exterior renovation in 2023, the Elizabeth Peabody House is looking to reinforce and revitalize their second floor, as well as their mezzanine to take their community outreach to the next level.

Project Brief:

EPH regularly receives requests from neighborhood groups, playgroups, scout troops, nonprofit partners, and community leaders seeking space to gather. While they accommodate as many requests as possible, most groups must use active program classrooms. This requires working around preschool or after-school schedules or opening the building on weekends. The primary barrier is the unusable condition of our second floor, the building’s original sanctuary, which is structurally outdated, inaccessible, and unable to support regular community use.

This project aims to lay the groundwork for an upcoming transformation of the 2,000-squarefoot sanctuary into a flexible Community Hub that aligns with our mission and our new strategic plan. With PAYETTE’s partnership, EPH hopes to develop conceptual layouts and design-forward visual renderings that demonstrate how the space can support daily programming, events, cultural activities, community meetings, and the numerous requests for space we receive. These visuals will serve as foundational materials for a multimillion-dollar capital campaign planned for 2025 and 2026. If capacity allows, we also welcome high-level conceptual ideas for the mezzanine as a future expansion area.

Proposal:

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