Second Empire

Derby House Hotel // 1896

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The Derby House Hotel is located on Main Street in Derby Center, Vermont and was built in 1896 by Ms. Luvia A. Rickard, a widow. Since its construction, the hotel has been at the center of both the commercial and social activities of Derby Center and is one of the town’s few Second Empire style buildings. While built in the Second Empire style, then in declining use in Vermont, the Derby House Hotel was adorned with high-style touches including elaborately detailed porches and hardware. The rear section afforded extra living space, and a livery stable/barn provided for the guests’ horses and carriages. Luvia ran the hotel for extra income until her death in 1905. It appears that after, her son Harry took over the hotel for a few years until he sold the property to Albert C. Fellows, a local businessman. Tourism never really took-off in the early-mid decades of the 20th century, and the hotel was converted to apartments, a use that remains to this day.

Martha S. Haskell House // c.1870

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Martha Martin Stewart Haskell (1831-1906) was born in Derby, Vermont and was among the town’s most distinguished residents. Through her parents, Horace Stewart and Catherine Hinman, and her husband, businessman Carlos Haskell, who died in a tragic accident at the age of 41, Martha Haskell inherited a considerable fortune. She would build this stately Second Empire style mansion in the village after her husband’s untimely death and devoted much of her time to local affairs. Decades later, her idea to establish a public library and opera house for the benefit of the border communities came to fruition when she and her son funded and oversaw planning of the Haskell Free Library and Opera House, which was built a stone’s throw from her home.

Hutchings-Pfaff Mansion // c.1865

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In the mid-19th century, Roxbury was seen as a country retreat for wealthy Bostonians. Many purchased large estates of land and built mansions where they would find peace and solitude from the polluted Downtown areas. As the need increased for more workers, old farms and estates were subdivided, and single family homes, row houses, and multi-family homes sprang up to accommodate the growing population with the advent of trolley service in 1887. This is one of those estates that were demolished. This house was seemingly built for Colonel William Vinson Hutchings after the conclusion of the American Civil War. The stone mansion featured ample porches and a large stone stable amongst winding dirt paths and mature trees. The property was eventually purchased by Henry and Agnes Pfaff, of the Pfaff Brewing Company nearby. The lot was subdivided by 1895 with houselots carved out of the larger estate. By the 1930s, the stone mansion and stable were demolished, leaving just the stone gatehouse (next post) as the last survivor of this once great Roxbury estate.

Betteley Cottage // c.1883

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Albert Cabot Betteley (1816-1893) was an inventor and coal dealer in Boston. He invented an elevator to hoist goods into a warehouse, a peat grinder for the speedy drying of peat for fuel, and even patented wooden pavement…seriously. He eventually would build this home on Cobden Street in Roxbury where he and his wife Mary Jane would live out their retirement. While he didn’t “make it big” persay with his inventions, he exemplified the typical middle-class resident of Roxbury at the time and built this modest home, with its two-story form with octagonal bay, bracketed cornice, and mansard roof. The cottage was recently repainted the purple color, which I really enjoy!

H. H. Fitch House // c.1870

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Henry Hubbard Fitch (1833-1888) was born in Cornish, New Hampshire, but made Roxbury, Massachusetts his home. He moved to Boston at an early age and later entered into business with Francis V. B. Kern under the firm Kern & Fitch, working as a conveyancer. By 1873, he was also a justice of the peace, notary public, and was Boston manager of the Equitable Mortgage Company. In about 1870, he and his wife, Eliza Anne, had this charming Second Empire style cottage built in the Washington Park neighborhood of Roxbury, a fashionable part of the “suburbs” at the time. They would later relocate, before Henry died in 1888 at the age of 55. The house is one of the best preserved in the neighborhood and a survivor from the wrecking ball that destroyed much of Washington Park.

Lewis June House // 1865

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The Lewis June House sits on North Salem Road in northern Ridgefield, Connecticut, and is one of the finest Second Empire style homes in this part of the state. The c.1865 home was built for Lewis June (1824-1888), who was in the circus business, and it replaced an earlier home on the site that burned. Lewis June was a partner in the June, Titus and Angevine & Co. Circus that as early as 1842 toured 85 towns in six states. The circus wintered in Ridgefield. Past owners have since found many horseshoes, largely of small horses, on the property, suggesting that June kept the circus’ horses and ponies on this property. The home has been preserved thoughtfully and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

George Cobb House // c.1865

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While most of the early homes in Newton Centre were built by a few landowners and rented to tenants, this charming Mansard cottage was owner-occupied from the start. Tucked away on the quiet (and appropriately named) Pleasant Street, the George Cobb House is one of the most beautiful old Victorians in the neighborhood. An early resident was George Washington Cobb (1840-1925) was a druggist who ran an apothecary in East Boston, and he made the long commute there every day from this house. The property has a mansard roof with pedimented dormer and three-story tower capped by a bell-cast mansard roof. Paneled pilasters and brackets add a lot of detail to the primary facade.

Bowen-Newton-Tobin House // c.1825

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Who would have ever imagined that the Federal and Second Empire architectural styles could work so well together?! This is the Bowen-Tobin House on Spring Street in Newport, Rhode Island. The house was originally built around 1825 by Stephen Bowen as a typical two-story Federal style house with five-bay facade and entry with pedimented fanlight above. The property and it remained in the Bowen Family until 1892, when it was sold by his heirs to Mary Bailey Newton, the wife of Dudley Newton, a prominent local architect who designed dozens of summer cottages for wealthy residents in Newport. Dudley Newton “modernized” this house, adding a towered mansard roof, bracketed cornice, new two-over-two windows, and a full-length front porch wrapping around the side. The couple later moved the house, which was formerly set back behind a front garden, to the side and at the sidewalk to lay out Green Place (originally Bowen Ct.) and house lots behind this home, removing the front porch in the process. The house was later sold to the Tobin Family.

Theodore Helme Block // 1875

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One of the finest commercial blocks in Newport is this building, the Theodore Helme Block, located on Spring Street, just behind Trinity Church. The block was built for Helme by 1875 and was possibly an early design by Dudley Newton, a local architect. The Second Empire style block has a slate roof with rare intact iron cresting and small dormers. The building was restored by Federico Santi & John Gacher, who operate The Drawing Room Antiques here.

Pope-Barron Townhouse // 1871

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Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! As there is no snow on the ground in Boston, I wanted to share a house with a prominent pine tree, which resembles an oversized urban Christmas tree on Beacon Street. This house at the corner of Beacon and Fairfield streets was built in 1871 by architect and builder Frederick B. Pope on speculation. It did not sell as quickly as he would have hoped, and it took two years for it to finally sell at public auction in 1873. The relatively modest brick Second Empire style house was bought and sold numerous times until March 1905, when the residence was purchased by Clarence Walker Barron, a prominent publisher and journalist. In 1903, he purchased Dow Jones & Company and from 1912 until his death in 1928, he was its president. During this period, he was also de facto manager of The Wall Street Journal, he expanded its daily circulation, modernized its printing press operations, and deepened its reporting capabilities. In 1921, he founded Barron’s National Financial Weekly, later renamed Barron’s Magazine. Barron pushed for the intense scrutiny of corporate financial records, and for this reason is considered by many to be the founder of modern financial journalism. In 1920, he investigated Charles Ponzi, inventor of the “Ponzi scheme”. His aggressive questioning and common-sense analysis helped lead to Ponzi’s arrest and conviction. For his Boston townhouse, Barron hired the firm of Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson to completely renovate the dwelling with an extra floor, limestone facades, and more bold roof design.