Poet Frost's home illegally converted to apartments

CNHI/SE Iowa

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December 29, 2011

Anonymous CNHI The Zope Gazette Thu Dec 29, 2011, 12:38 PM CST

LAWRENCE, Mass. — Authorities report that the late poet Robert Frost's home in this historic mill city is being used by a church group for illegal apartments.

City Inspector Gregory Arvanitis said he discovered four apartments in the Frost homestead had no electrical, plumbing or gas permits and inadequate exit.

He said the home, highlighted on the Robert Frost Walking Trail, is owned by the Anchor Baptist Church of Woburn, Mass.

Residents of the illegal apartments were evacuated and the church group ordered to restore the building to its original condition.

Frost was married in the home and his first of six children was born there. His mother ran a school in the front room for several years.

"It's an important building for the community because of its connection to Frost," said Mark Schoor of the Robert Frost Foundation.

Frost was a former U.S. poet laureate. He died in 1963, two years after delivering an iconic performance at President John F. Kennedy's inauguration.

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