Neoclassical

Frank S. Stevens School // 1908

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The Frank S. Stevens School in Swansea, Massachusetts, was one of a number of civic and institutional buildings donated to the small town by wealthy residents Frank and Elizabeth Stevens. Ten years after the death of her husband, Elizabeth Case Stevens retained her favorite architect, Henry Vaughan, to furnish plans for a new school building for the main village in her beloved town of Swansea, to be built in the memory of her late husband. Mr. Vaughan had already designed the town hall, library, and Episcopal church, and Mrs. Stevens thought it would be fitting for an architecturally appropriate public school to also be built in the quaint New England village. Neo-Classical in style, the one-story brick school building is distinguished for its full-height pedimented portico supported by classical Doric columns and a cupola atop the hipped roof. The school was eventually outgrown and is now the school administration building for the town’s three later public school buildings. 

Silas Peavy House // 1905

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Silas Peavy (1858-1939) was born in Waterville, Maine, and with his brothers, Gustavus and Leopold, worked at his father’s clothing and merchandise store. The family moved to the Boston area and established J. Peavy and Brothers, continuing the family business in Boston with locations in New York. In 1904, Silas Peavy purchased a house lot on Kent Street and hired the architectural firm of Hartwell & Richardson to design a house there for his family. Peavy likely moved to this neighborhood as it became a Jewish enclave around the turn of the 20th century. The Silas Peavy House is an excellent example of the Neo-Classical style with symmetrical facade, porte cochere on the side, and monumental elliptical portico supported by two-story Ionic columns.

Lancaster Central School // 1904

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Located across the Town Common from the iconic Bulfinch Church in Lancaster, Massachusetts, this handsome 1904 Colonial/Classical Revival style school building was designed in response to its neighbors and Colonial context of the town of Lancaster. At a Town Meeting in 1903, a local building committee determined that “Bulfinch Colonial” would be the best style for the architecture for a new high school that would be built in the town center, with Herbert Dudley Hale, selected as the architect for the planned two-story brick building. The Center School had been used continuously as a public school until 2001, when it outlived its utility as school facility in town, which was vacated for years until grant funding and a restoration of the building, now known as the Prescott Building, for Town Offices, including the Lancaster Historical Commission. The facade is dominated by its seven-bay symmetrical façade featuring brick
corner quoins, double-door entrance, and two-story white-painted brick pilasters framing the entrance and “supporting” the pediment that contains the town crest in high-relief.

Old Stone Bank // 1896

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The Old Stone Bank was founded in 1819 as the first savings bank in Providence, Rhode Island, but originally under the name, Providence Institution for Savings. A constantly growing volume of business influenced the erection, in 1854, of a building for the exclusive purposes of the bank at 86 South Main Street, near College Hill. Designed by C.J. and R.J. Hall, the original stone bank stood one-story tall with a gable roof. Success and further expansion of the institution led to the erection, in 1896, of the present building, which served as the main office. Designed by the local architectural firm of Stone, Carpenter & Willson, the present domed banking structure is said to have incorporated parts of the 1854 building, and expanded the rest to the landmark we see today. The Beaux Arts/Neo-Classical banking structure is constructed of granite, with a Classical pedimented entry of monumental Corinthian columns atop the staircase, but the highlight of the building has to be the gold-leaf-and-copper domed roof which partially served as a skylight for the banking hall inside. Offices relocated to a new building in the late 1960s. The banking institution closed in the 1980s and following acquisitions and insolvency, the main bank was sold in 1995 to Brown University for $1.15 million to house the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology‘s collection of Native American artifacts. Years later, Brown decided it was unfeasible to house the collection in the building as the necessary alterations would have altered the historic character of the building, they then sold the building to an LLC in 2009. The Old Stone Bank is now a single-family home. Yes, you heard that right. The new owners have lovingly preserved this architectural marvel for all to enjoy as they stroll the city.

Former Eli Whitney School // 1907

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Built a few decades after and located behind the Harvey School in Westborough, Massachusetts, the former Eli Whitney School is a landmark example of an educational building designed in the Neo-Classical style. Built between 1906-7, the school building replaced an earlier school on the site that was outgrown and outdated. Designed by architects Cooper & Bailey, the building stands two-stories tall with a central pedimented pavillion containing the entry that is framed by monumental fluted columns. The school was named after Eli Whitney, the famous American inventor, born in Westborough, who is widely known for inventing the cotton gin in 1793, one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution, and later moving to New Haven and manufacturing weapons. When Westborough schools consolidated into modern facilities in the second half of the 20th century, this building was then occupied by the YWCA, and have rented the facilities from the town until it was purchased in 2000.

Frederick P. Fish Mansion – New England Hebrew Academy // 1902

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One of the finest estates in Brookline can be found here in the Cottage Farm neighborhood, just steps from Boston and the Charles River. This brick mansion was built in 1902 for Frederick Perry Fish (1855-1930), a prominent lawyer who also served as president of American Telephone & Telegraph Corporation from 1901 to 1907. One of the leading patent attorneys of his age, representing such clients as Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and The Wright Brothers, by the time of his death he was believed to have appeared in more patent cases at the Supreme Court than any other lawyer. For his Brookline residence, Fish purchased an 1867 brick mansard-roofed home on the lot and hired the architectural firm of Winslow & Bigelow to ether modify the earlier home or demolish it and build entirely new. The result is this stately, three-story Neo-Classical mansion. Fish would die at his home in 1930, and the property would eventually be owned by the New England Hebrew Academy as a Jewish day school. While it is an institutional use, the facade is covered with climbing vines that are bad for the masonry and an asphalt paved front yard which detracts from the beauty of this estate. It appears to be near-original though, which is great to see!

“The Pillars” // c.1780

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Renovated in the early 20th century from a Federal style farmhouse, “The Pillars” in Canterbury, Connecticut, is an extravagant example of a Colonial Revival style residence in this quiet part of the state. The Pillars was the creation of Frank Edwin Miller (1856-1947) and his wife, Hattie Jenks Miller. The Miller’s retired here in 1913 after Hattie inherited the family homestead, which dated to the late 18th century, and they had the home renovated, adding the massive two-story columned porch and projecting entry. The house is a visual representation of the difference between Colonial and Colonial Revival styles as this home, the latter example, is a free interpretation of its prototype with exaggerated architectural details in a scale not seen centuries earlier.

Essex County Registry of Deeds // 1909

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The Essex County Registry of Deeds and Probate Courthouse on Federal Street in Salem, Massachusetts, was built in 1909 from plans by Boston architect, Clarence Blackall. The Neo-Classical courthouse adds to the rich tapestry of Civic buildings there, showcasing the ever-evolving tastes in architecture as the buildings become more contemporary as you move westward down the street. The two-story granite and cast-stone faced brick masonry building is cross-shaped in plan, consisting of a three-bay wide gable-end entrance with Ionic porch of six fluted columns supporting a dentilled entablature and pediment. The central bay within the entry porch contains a large double-door entrance with elaborate architrave and a scrolling pediment incorporating Classical motifs and a Greek god bust. The building underwent a massive restoration in 2017, and was renamed the Thaddeus Buczko Building after retired First Justice Thaddeus M. Buczko.

Hills Library – Andover Newton Theological School // 1895

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The Hills Library is a formal building standing at the summit of Institution Hill, so-named as the home of the Newton Theological Institution (and most recently as the Andover Newton Theological School). The library was constructed in 1895 from plans by architects Henry H. Kendall and Edward F. Stevens of the firm, Kendall & Stevens. Designed in 1894 in the Neo-Classical style, the library has a stately portico in the Ionic order with a pediment above. The building is constructed of yellow brick with stone and terracotta trimmings with banks of vertical windows. The library would be added onto at the rear, with the main entrance later closed for an accessible entrance in a rear addition. The building is now known as the Hanns Sachs Memorial Library for the current owners and stewards, the Boston Psychoanalytic Society & Institute (BPSI).

Stimson Memorial Hall // 1900

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Stimson Memorial Hall is a historic, Neo-Classical building on Shaker Road in the center of Gray, Maine. Built in 1900, it served for many years as the town’s main public meeting space, and is a prominent landmark in the town center. The hall was built as a gift to the town, primarily through the efforts of Abbie Stimson Ingalls, who had moved to Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, as a memorial to her late parents, Theophilus and Mary Stimson. The memorial hall was designed by Elzner and Anderson of Cincinnati, Ohio, and was built on land originally purchased by the local Universalist congregation. The upper level house the town library until the 1950s. The building was threatened in recent years, and as one of a handful of significant buildings remaining in the center of town, its preservation was important. It has some deferred maintenance but remains in good shape! Does anyone know what the building is/will be used for?

Ashby Public Library // 1902

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The Ashby Public Library in Ashby, Massachusetts, was built in 1902, completely funded by a donation from Edwin Chapman (1841-1915) who lived across the street from the new library. Mr. Chapman was raised in Ashby and became a wealthy Boston-area merchant in the meat trade by the late 19th century. Before this library was built, the town’s library collection was housed in the Wyman Tavern. The building was designed by architect Henry M. Francis in the Neoclassical style with Romanesque detail in brick and brownstone to make the building fireproof. The library was added onto in the rear in 2006 by The Galante Architecture Studio, which is recessed and mostly visible from the rear parking area. The addition is Modern in style to distinguish itself from the main library building.

Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library // 1923

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In 1906, the citizens of Boothbay Harbor voted to establish a free public library for all to enjoy. In 1923, the need for more library space, along with a desire for a World War I Memorial, led to the approval of a bond for the purchase of a 1842 Greek Revival style house on Oak Street. The building was remodelled for use as a library by the Boston architect William Stanley Parker, and was enlarged in 1966 to a design by Parker’s son, Stanley Jr. The temple-front, Neo-Classical entry was added at this time and harkens back to the original classical style Greek Revival home, while clearly showing a grander scale seen in the 20th century.

Second Church of Christ, Scientist, Roxbury // 1915

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Breaking ground in 1915, this early Modern church building must have turned heads when it was being built in Roxbury! In October, 1907, a fine lot of land with a house on it, at the corner of Elm Hill Avenue and Howland Street, was purchased for eighteen thousand dollars by a group of Christian Science followers. In October, 1911, a building committee of five was elected by the church, and by the summer of 1914 the building fund had made such satisfactory growth that ground was broken and work for the new structure begun in September. The congregation hired the illustrious architectural firm of Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge to design the edifice of classic and imposing design. Constructed of gray tapestry brick with limestone trimmings, the auditorium seated upwards of one thousand members, under the dome roof. Today, the building is occupied by Grace Church of All Nations.

Maynard Estate // 1901

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One of the largest summer estates in Ridgefield is this Neoclassical residence on Peaceable Street, which was built in 1901 for Effingham Maynard and his wife Helen. Maynard was a partner in Clark & Maynard, a New York publishing house. Local lore states that the Maynard Family hired New York architect Stanford White, to design this property, but no definitive proof could be located to substantiate that rumor. The Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm designed the grounds which were elaborate with gardens and outbuildings. The two unmarried Maynard daughters, Mary and Helen spent their summers here every year until their deaths in the 1950s.

Former Ridgefield Savings Bank Building // 1930

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Historically, bank buildings were built with architecture at the forefront to show members and prospective investors that their company instilled prosperity and longevity. Today, many new bank buildings are cookie-cutter designs and lack ornamentation or intrigue… The interwar Ridgefield Savings Bank on Main Street in Ridgefield, Connecticut, was built in 1930 from plans by architects Ralph Hawes and Ernest Strassie in the Neo-Classical style with Art Deco rounded corners and undecorated planes. Dominated by its Classical Ionic portico the bank building is a lasting commercial landmark on the town’s charming Main Street. It is now occupied by the Fairfield County Bank.