Renaissance Revival

Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Milford // 1927 & 1941

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The Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Milford, Massachusetts, was formed in 1905 as a local Catholic church that was the Italian response to the Irish, Saint Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church nearby. The congregation struggled to build an edifice that could compete with its Irish counterpart a few blocks away, that was until 1927, when funding was secured and construction began on the church. Architect, John W. Donohue was selected by the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Springfield Diocese, to furnish the plans for the building, which was delayed by the Great Depression. The church, which was long unfinished as a one-story building with basement, was ultimately constructed after plans were finalized in 1941 by architect, Anthony J. DePace, but construction did not begin until after WWII. Work on the upper church began in 1946 and it was dedicated in 1947. With its iconic Roman brick walls, red tile roof, bell tower, and entry staircase built of locally quarried Milford granite, the building showcases the Italian-American culture through its architecture.

Thom Block // 1891

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The Thom Block on Main Street in Downtown Milford, Massachusetts, is a historic mixed-use commercial block built of locally quarried Milford “pink” granite. The structure was constructed in 1891 by owner (and likely builder), James Thom, who arrived to Milford around 1889 and was hired by the Milford Pink Granite quarries as a foreman. Mr. Thom was the target of a vicious attack by a disgruntled quarry-worker and James would submit his resignation, turning his pursuits toward a local bicycle and horse racetrack and two of the town’s semi-professional baseball teams. He also got involved in real estate, in 1891 submitting plans for this building on Main Street that bears his name. Shortly after completion, a fire gutted the inside of the building and was rebuilt. Thom’s insurance did not fully cover the loss and he defaulted on the mortgage, selling the building and moved out of Milford. The Thom Block retains the polychromatic piers between storefronts and at the corner, which feature rounded granite blocks of polychromatic polished granite. The major ornament of the upper stories is a large plaque on the Main Street facade just above the recessed entrance with two Corinthian colonettes, spanned by a frieze and plinth on which “THOM” and “1891” are carved, respectively, showing us over a century later the original owner and his story.

Martha Silsbee House and Studio // c.1922

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Built from a historic stable building, this unique building on Lime Street in Beacon Hill served as a residence and studio for Martha Silsbee, a prominent New England watercolor and pastel artist. For her Boston residence, Martha Silsbee hired the firm of Richardson, Barott, and Richardson, an office founded by Philip and Frederic Richardson, sons of famed architect Henry Hobson Richardson, who had designed a house nearby with similar design elements years prior. Taking cues from Venetian architecture, the interior spaces were covered with cream-colored plaster with iron gates and walls lined with art. The design includes a massive studio window on the facade, which flooded Ms. Silsbee’s studio where she painted when not at her residence in the Dublin Artist Colony in New Hampshire. The facade also features pointed arches and artistic glass at the entrance. After her death, the property sold at auction. After WWII, the former studio and residence was purchased by Georges F. Doriot (1899-1987), a Parisian businessman who later taught at Harvard Business School and in 1946, founded the American Research and Development Corporation, the first publicly owned venture capital firm in the United States.

Harris and Mildred Livermore Mansion // 1919

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The four-story brick residence on Beaver Street in Beacon Hill was constructed in 1919 in the style of a Venetian palazzo for Harris Livermore, president of the Coastwise Transportation Corporation, and his wife, Mildred. The large home was designed by the firm of Richardson, Barott & Richardson, an office founded by Philip and Frederic Richardson, sons of famed architect Henry Hobson Richardson. The large mansion was featured in architectural publications, highlighting the popularity for Italian styles and the interior design of the home. The facade is finished in brick a stone base, with notable lancet windows with blind arches in groups of three and projecting oriel bays. At the fourth floor, two windows are surmounted by Venetian arches. After Harris Livermore died in 1929, the property was inherited by his daughter, Elizabeth, and her new husband F. Murray Forbes Jr., a prominent Boston attorney.

Henry Forbes Bigelow House // 1916

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This massive five-story, five-bay building at 142 Chestnut Street on the Flat of Beacon Hill is today, an 11-unit condominium building, but it was originally built as a single-family home, designed by a prominent Boston architect as his own residence. Henry Forbes Bigelow (1867-1929) was born in Clinton, Massachusetts and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1888. He was hired by the firm of Winslow & Wetherill and soon became a partner of the same firm, which changed its name to Winslow, Wetherill and Bigelow. The firm designed many commercial buildings, hotels, stately mansions, and academic buildings in the New England area. Henry F. Bigelow purchased a two-story stable and cleared the site to erect his home in 1915-1916. This building remained his primary residence until his death in 1929. After his death, the Bigelow heirs sold the Chestnut Street mansion to Bernard Brooker, President and Treasurer of the Building Finishing Corporation, a real estate development company, who converted the building into apartments, which were later converted again into the 11 condominium units. The handsome structure could be classified as Renaissance Revival in style with its cubic form, recessed central entrance, cornice-like window headers, limestone base and entry, iron balconies, and corbeled cornice. The building was designed with an enclosed courtyard with fountains, which today, provide a private space for residents.

Public Garden Apartments // 1917

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Located on the prominent corner of Beacon and Charles streets in Beacon Hill, the aptly named Public Garden Apartment Building overlooks one of the best shopping streets and public parks in the country. The handsome nine-story apartment building was constructed in 1917, replacing four townhouses previously on the site, and was developed by the legendary newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951), who had acquired three Boston-area newspapers in the early 20th century and for some reason, engaged in Boston real estate development, though he spent most of his time in New York and California. The building originally included a 15-room penthouse apartment on the top floor of the building, with the other floors divided into two apartments per-floor, suggests that Hearst may have thought to make it his Boston residence, though it is not clear if he ever did. Hearst hired architect, Harold Van Buren Magonigle, who apprenticed under Calvert Vaux, Rotch & Tilden, and McKim Mead & White, before opening his own practice in 1903, to design the Public Garden Apartments. The apartments inside were rented to upper-class residents, typically small, older families including widows and their unwed children almost all of whom, according to census records, employed between one and four live-in domestic servants to maintain their homes. The handsome multi-family building has walls of buff-colored brick masonry and sits upon a granite foundation with arched openings on the ground floor and bracketed cornice. Today, the building is a co-op and rents out space to the Friends of the Public Garden, one of the oldest public-private partnerships in the nation established in 1970, that takes care of, and advocate for the Boston Common, Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall for everyone to enjoy. 

Amos Lawrence Rowhouses // c.1877

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53-61 Monmouth Street

Amos A. Lawrence (1814-1886), a wealthy Boston merchant, owned land holdings in the present-day Longwood neighborhood of Brookline, just over the Muddy River from Boston, and developed the area into a wealthy and high-quality suburb. Lots were laid and Lawrence hired civil engineer, Ernest Bowditch, to plat for multiple sets of distinctive rowhouses surrounding a small green mall, which was later named Monmouth Court. Once the property was laid out, Amos Lawrence hired the Boston architects, J. Pickering Putnam and George T. Tilden, to design rowhouses for rental income. George Tilden was previously employed at the firm of Ware & Van Brunt, a firm that mastered and popularized the panel brick style in the Boston area in the 1870s and 1880s, and he clearly built upon this expertise for the rows for Amos Lawrence in Brookline. All four rows of houses are distinctive, yet compliment eachother stylistically with projecting bays. intricate brickwork, complex rooflines with dormers, and applied ornament. These two rows on the western side of Monmouth Court at 53-61 Monmouth Street and 19-27 Monmouth Court, were also likely the work of Putnam and Tilden, who practiced jointly for a couple years but published their work separately. Stylistically, the two Monmouth Street rows appear to be of the same architect, George Tilden with identical tilework and elements, and the two Monmouth Court rows as the work of Putnam with polychromatic segmental arches over the windows.

19-27 Monmouth Court

George Wightman Mansion // 1902

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Tucked within the historic Longwood neighborhood of Brookline, the George Wightman Mansion stands as a striking reminder of turn-of-the-century wealth and architectural ambition. The mansion was built in 1902 for industrialist George Henry Wightman (1855-1937), a steel magnate associated with Andrew Carnegie and was known as one of the “Carnegie Boys“, a close-knit and influential group of partners and executives who managed Carnegie Steel. Wightman retired around the time of building his Brookline house, which coincided with the formation of U.S. Steel, a merger which benefitted the Carnegie Corporation and its partners handsomely. With his expansive wealth and eyes set on retirement, George Wightman hired the prominent firm Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, to design his new mansion to live out the remainder of his life in solitude. The brick and stone Renaissance Revival/Beaux Arts style mansion sits atop large, elegantly landscaped grounds and is of a scale unlike anything else in the neighborhood. George H. Wightman was also known as the “Father of American Lawn Tennis” and his only son, George W. Wightman also played tennis at a high level. It was George W. Wightman’s wife however, who became a champion. She was Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, who won 45 U.S. titles during her life and founded the Wightman Cup, an annual team competition for British and American women from 1923 to 1989. Over time, the mansion’s role evolved alongside the community. After Wightman’s death in 1937, it transitioned from private home to institutional use, notably housing the Boston Hebrew College beginning in 1952, adding onto the building to the rear, and later becoming part of Boston University, serving as event space for the University. 

St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church // 1904

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St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in Wooster Square, New Haven, Connecticut, was established in 1889 to serve a burgeoning community of Italian immigrants and is said to be the oldest Italian Catholic church in the state. New Haven’s census of 1870 listed just ten Italian residents and by 1900, the census listed more than 5,000 Italian-born residents. Most of these Italian immigrants were drawn to New Haven for employment in the growing industrial and railroad industries and the proximity to New York, where many arriving immigrants passed through. New Haven’s Italian community centered around Wooster Square, where many today know all about the many Italian groceries and nationally known pizzerias. The Italian Community acquired a c.1855 church here by 1899 and following a fire, rebuilt the church in the current form. The New Haven-based architectural firm of Brown and Von Beren furnished plans for the Italian Renaissance Revival style renovations, which was completed in 1904 with bold central tower and stucco walls, retaining many original Italianate windows. The church has served as an important cultural and institutional landmark in New Haven for over 120 years and the congregation remains active.

Hopedale Central Fire Station // 1915

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Hopedale’s Renaissance Revival Central Fire Station on Dutcher Street was designed by Milford architect, Robert Allen Cook, a favorite of the Draper Corporation, who had oversaw the design of the Draper Company Offices just five years earlier. Very similar in style and detailing to the Draper Offices, Cook created a fire station of brick and terra cotta with a monumental hose tower at the corner, all in the Renaissance Revival style. The building was largely funded by the company, who was by far the largest employer in town and had funded many municipal and institutional buildings in the community as part of the company town. As fire prevention was important for the Draper Corporation, they even funded some of the first fire trucks in Massachusetts, even for such a small community. The town has done a great job preserving this architectural landmark for over 100 years. 

Draper Corporation Company Offices // 1910

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After decades of growth of the Draper Corporation in Hopedale, Massachusetts, in the late 19th century, the company began a massive building campaign of larger, architecturally significant (and most importantly, fireproof) buildings for company use. The original company office building, constructed in 1880, was outgrown and it was decided a new, larger company office was needed. Designed by Milford-based architect, Robert Allen Cook in 1910, the former office building was located across Hopedale Street from the main plant. This massive two-story brick building on a raised basement is an example of the Renaissance Revival style built of brick and terra cotta. The building closed along with the company in the mid-20th century, but as opposed to the main complex, was adaptively reused through a renovation as a senior living facility.

Miss Grace Nichols House // 1913

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Located at the western end of Chestnut Street in the Flat of Beacon Hill, you will find this stucco residence, one of the finest mansions in Boston. The four-story residence with two entrances is built of brick and covered with stucco and was constructed for Miss Grace Nichols (1874-1944), the daughter of John Howard Nichols, who worked for John Lowell Gardner (the husband of Isabella Stewart Gardner) as a merchant transporting goods between Boston and Chinese markets, before overseeing mills. As a single woman, Grace inherited much of her parents wealth upon their deaths, and in 1913, hired architect, William Chester Chase, to design her Beacon Hill home in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, similar to Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Fenway Court mansion (1903). Grace Nichols married Richard Pearson Strong, a Harvard professor and medical researcher, in 1936 and the couple lived here with servants until their deaths in 1944 and 1948 respectively. After their death, the building was either purchased by or willed to the Boston Society of Natural History and the New England Museum of Natural History, which moved out of their Berkeley Street location in 1946. The Nichols Mansion served as the new Boston Museum of Science until 1951, when the new and current museum was built between Boston and Cambridge. Today, the former Nichols mansion is five condominium units, with owners having one of the most enchanting and unique properties in the exclusive Beacon Hill neighborhood.

Villa Bella Vista // 1908

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Villa Bella Vista in Chester, Connecticut, stands as a striking and deeply personal interpretation of an Italian Villa, designed not by a professional architect, but by its remarkable owner, Eila Pierre. Known even among friends as Madame Pierre, she was a turn-of-the-century feminist of independent means who defied convention at nearly every turn. Drawing inspiration from the indigenous farmhouse architecture of northern Italy, Pierre personally designed the well-preserved stuccoed stone house, which was later constructed by local Italian immigrant masons who settled in Chester. Born Ila Rowland Stone (1870–1931), she was newly married to Reverend Dwight Stone, a Yale-educated minister of the town’s Congregational Church. Within just two years of marriage, it unraveled. Reverend Stone resigned his post, and by 1906, the couple’s uncontested divorce, scandalous for the time, was finalized. Casting off both marriage and social expectations, Ila reinvented herself as Eila Pierre. Despite the scandalous divorce and cheating rumors, she chose to remain in Chester and build a summer home that reflected her independence and worldview. Plans for Bella Vista were underway as early as 1904, when she purchased land on Old Depot Road. To prepare for the design, Pierre embarked on an extended tour of northern Italy, studying villas firsthand and bringing along a young local stone mason, Martin Lanzi, who later built his home across from Madame Pierre’s mansion. Villa Bella Vista, completed in 1908, includes common architectural details in the Italian Villa style with the campanile, or tower, the colonnaded piazza, and stone masonry that define the Latin prototype, all unique to Connecticut, which makes this home so special.

Brookline Village Fire Station // 1908

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Built in 1908 from plans by the architectural firm of Freeman, Funk and Wilcox, the Brookline Village Fire Station is a massive, red brick structure with white sandstone trim and a copper cornice. Located on Washington Street in Brookline Village, the station stands out for its high-style Italian Renaissance style, notable for the use of brackets and off-center hose-drying tower with arched openings. The station replaced an earlier hose house, and was built before the fire department shifted to fire trucks, but was adapted later for larger fire apparatus. The station is one of the finest in the Boston area, and the Town of Brookline have done a great job preserving this significant structure.

Happy Hollow Siphon House, Weston Aqueduct // 1903

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The Weston Aqueduct was designed to deliver water from the Sudbury Reservoir in Framingham to the Weston Reservoir in Weston, Massachusetts. Built between 1901 and 1903, the aqueduct was designed to provide water to the suburbs north of Boston. All of the buildings that shelter the aqueducts above-ground elements, including this structure in Wayland, were designed by the architectural firm of  Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, with landscaping along the route and at the reservoir designed by the Olmsted Brothers, landscape architects. This siphon house, known as the Happy Hollow Siphon House was built in 1903 and was an important part of the aqueduct system, as it transferred water through varied elevations using gravity and pressure to move the liquid without a pump. The aqueduct route is now a long, linear path and remains owned by the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority.