Decades after fire, Dorchester duplex may get back its other half

These days, the north face of 26 Trull St. is just a wall of siding. Decades ago, a fire destroyed half of the duplex that was originally built at 24-26 Trull. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

The side-by-side duplex is a common form of residential architecture in many Boston neighborhoods, clashing colors often meeting in the middle of the structure.

But few of those residences, also known as semi-detached houses, look anything like 26 Trull St. in Dorchester. Half of that duplex burned down more than three decades ago. Now, the city is looking for a developer to rebuild what fire destroyed.

“It would be really nice to have something besides an empty lot that people throw trash into,” said Catherine White, who has lived in the wood-shingled house with her family for 19 years.

The city foreclosed on the next-door lot in the early 1980s and has owned the property since. White said the city generally keeps the lot clean, but her home still prompts puzzled comments and double-takes from passers-by.

It’s easy to see why. The south side of the house has a classic sloped roof above the attic. But the north face, which once abutted another home, is an exposed, featureless wall of siding.

The north face of the house, which once abutted another home, is an exposed, featureless wall of siding.Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

White’s house has stood on its own since the early 1980s. A foreclosure notice from 1980 indicated that a house existed on the now-
vacant space, but a 1982 Globe story about a fire at a nearby property mentioned that 24 Trull St. had already burned down and was abandoned.

Before the fire, the house was distinctive for another reason. According to a report by the Boston Preservation Alliance, it was built in 1878 by John A. Fox, an influential architect who lived across the street and was commissioned for big projects like Provincetown Town Hall.

The city had included 24 Trull St. as one of several properties in a bid solicitation for developers interested in building simple, inexpensive housing. But the property was dropped from that portfolio earlier this year because of the expense of building a custom home there.

Now the city will offer 24 Trull St. for sale to developers on its own.

Whoever builds there, White is looking forward to finally having a next-door neighbor. “That would be nice,” she said with a laugh.