Families once gathered in the great hall of the Cataldo Funeral Home in Somerville, MA to say goodbye to their dead.Yesterday, hundreds sat amid its cloth-covered walls to bid on the legacy of the historic funeral home.
As the auctioneers picked up the pace in the hall, buyers raised numbered strips of paper to put offers on antiques and vintage items that once belonged to Lillian Cataldo, one of the first women in the state to run a funeral home, and her husband, Frank.
More than 1,500 items from the house where the Cataldos raised their son and served grieving families were up for bid, including red velvet-covered kneeling chairs, a blue baby jumper, casket stands, and crystal chandeliers.
The auction made roughly $30,000 in sales, according to Klia Ververidis, a partner at Crown Auctions in Medford hired by the family three weeks ago to sell the items.
The lowest-bid item, a table lamp, went for $1; the highest was a pair of chandeliers at $1,800.
Among other items that brought in good prices were a box of Cadillac parts from the 1920s that sold for $700 and a large religious oil painting that got $795.
Buyers appreciated the bargains, as well as the unusual ambience of the Victorian funeral home.
“This doesn’t happen every day,’’ said Connie Ferreira, a 44-year-old college administrator from Melrose.
The funeral home on Broadway was the site of Fisher College in the 1920s. The Cataldos bought it in the 1950s.
Lillian Cataldo used to host local women there to discuss the stock market and make purchases, said Ververidis.
Lillian and Frank, who had moved their business from the North End, ran the funeral home on the two bottom floors and lived on the top two floors with their son, John.
The enormous Victorian house has a grand entranceway, a stately stairway, and the great hall, whose sliding walls could create enough room to host six to seven wakes at one time, said Ververidis.
Cataldo Funeral Home was on Broadway for more than a half a century, gaining a reputation for its reasonable prices and quality service, Ververidis said.
“They took care of their neighbors as neighbors,’’ she said.
Frank died in 1970 and Lillian in 1991. Six years ago, their son, John, who had taken over the business, also died. The house has not functioned as a funeral home for the past 15 years, said Ververdis.
The remaining family members — a grandson, granddaughter and great-granddaughter — plan to preserve the property and wanted to sell the items before work begins, Ververdis said.
Henry Cataldo, a grandson, greeted the auction with mixed emotions. He remembered growing up as a normal experience and said he is heartened that many will enjoy the items his parents left behind.
Yesterday, buyers came for the thrill of the bargain. Teachers, antiques dealers, and a priest were among the more than 250 people who stopped by to check it out.
Kevin Johnson, a 42-year-old real estate developer from Arlington, spent more than $400 on a small sturdy Victorian lamp with silk shade, a huge mirror, oak tables, and an Italian pottery set.
“It’s unfortunate that it has to go,’’ said Johnson, “but it has to go somewhere.’’
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