7 with the BLC and the first hearing on the matter was scheduled for Tuesday of this week. The neighbors are taking the process step-by-step in order to preserve a home that has recently gone up for sale, a property that had as much significance in the past as in recent history when it was a top gathering point for so-called “Block-head” fans.ĭorchester resident and BLC Commissioner John Amodeo filed the petition, but he was not able to comment on the matter.Įarl Taylor, who is one of several people advancing the idea, said the home has significance through time, up to its 1990s heyday when so many teens and pre-teens would stand in front of 10 Melville Ave. just to get a glimpse of the Knights or any other members of the famed boy band. New Kids, Back in the Day- Brothers Jordan, left, and Jonathan Knight circa 1990. “I think it’s a significant house with its unique design and its architecture and its association with various people, starting with John W. Fields and going up to two New Kids on the Block members, the Knight brothers,” said Taylor, who is also president of the Dorchester Historical Society.
“In the recent past, the boy band connection is definitely an association worth celebrating.” “It’s an interesting building that should be designated,” he added. The home has some significant ownership and architectural history going back to 1880, when it was built by John W. A group of Dorchester neighbors have filed a petition with the Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) to make the former Melville Avenue home of New Kids on the Block phenoms Jonathan and Jordan Knight a city landmark site and the enthusiastic group believes they have the right stuff to make it happen. Fields, of the Fields Corner family, who was a successful leather merchant. It was designed by the architect George Meacham, who also designed the Boston Public Garden, and the twin to 10 Melville Ave., the celebrated and preserved Haskell House in Newton.Īll of those elements add up to a clear foundation for preservation, and potential landmark status, but clearly, the added wrinkle of having a prominent association with the New Kids on the Block – a band that is touring together again and reviving their 1980s and 1990s popularity – gives it added swagger. The home was sold to the Knight family in 1972, according to the Landmarks application. Allen Knight was a carpenter who later became a minister,” reads the Landmarks application.
“Marlene became a social worker and later managed the New Kids on the Block fan club. Their sons, Jonathan and Jordan, rose to international fame as members of the boy band New Kids on the Block. It eventually was certified as three-times platinum.” Their first album, New Kids on the Block, was released in the spring of 1986.
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