When considered as a whole, Falmouth is a large town. It’s also a town which encompasses a variety of architectural styles. There’s the village center with the town green, ringed with large historic homes, and busy Main Street with shops and restaurants. Right next door, yet with a surprisingly different atmosphere, is Falmouth Heights which is filled with quaint cottages and has just a few commercial buildings. Many also consider the village of Woods Hole – with its ferry piers, the world-renowned Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and elegant turn-of-the-century homes – to be a part of Falmouth as well.
A review of the history of Falmouth reveals the reasons each of these areas have such distinctive architectural styles. Because of the ease which people could travel over water between Boston and the north-side towns of Sandwich and Barnstable Village, they began to be populated in the 1700s. It wasn’t until the railroad reached Falmouth in 1872 that any type of building boom occurred, beginning with the center. Because its first boom was driven primarily by wealthy urban residents, even the oldest homes in the town’s center have a sense of grandeur.
Falmouth Heights was Cape Cod’s first planned summer resort area. Acres and acres of land were purchased by investors who divided it into postage-stamp-sized lots meant for modest homes for middleclass city residents. An additional group of investors purchased much of the land in and around Woods Hole where subsequent land buyers were required to sign a document requiring that their homes would be built with a minimum value of $5,000. With this, Cape Cod’s “snob zoning” was born.
If you own a home, or are considering building or buying a home in Falmouth, this information is more than a fun history lesson. It means that there a zoning rules which must be considered and those rules can vary from one side of the town to the next. A custom-built home, or a custom renovation, on Cape Cod always has challenges. When it’s time to build or remodel a home in Falmouth, you need a Cape Cod custom builder with the experience to create a home which you love, and love to spend time in, while adroitly handle any challenges that are involved in the process. You need C.J. Riley Builder, Inc.
With more than 20 years of experience in custom building, home renovations, kitchen remodeling and building home additions and guest houses, C.J. and his crew understand the many facets which need to be addressed with a successful building project.
C.J. Riley is happy to provide the following services:
