These Massachusetts three-deckers were built to house working-class families; Can they still?
When Worcester was a booming industrial city at the turn of the 20th century, three-decker homes were built to house working-class families near the factories.
The dwellings provided an affordable place for workers -- many of them immigrants -- to live, while staying away from "tenement" style apartments. With their ability to house multiple families, three-deckers made economic and social sense.