Stick Style

Amos Lawrence Rowhouses // 1876

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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 each other stylistically with projecting bays. intricate brickwork, complex rooflines with dormers, and applied ornament. This row at 10-18 Monmouth Court was from the designs of partner, J. Pickering Putnam and was highlighted in an architectural publication soon after completion. The row exhibits a slate mansard roof disrupted by dormers with trusses, lancet arch and trefoil motifs, polychromatic brick and pent roof entrances all stepping out to the private courtyard.

James H. F. Standish House // 1874

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In 1873, James H. F. Standish (1811-1887) purchased a house lot on the corner of Francis and Toxteth streets in Brookline and set out building his forever home for his wife, Sarah. James and Sarah originally lived in Bath, Maine, where he worked as a builder and mason, constructing many large homes there before relocating to Brookline where he likely remained busy as Boston and its surrounding communities experienced a period of rapid development and suburbanization. James surely built this house and rear stable himself in the interpretation of the Stick and Italianate styles for his family, who moved in by 1874. Sadly, Sarah died unexpectedly in 1876 of heart disease, and James would sell their Brookline home. The Standish Home has been preserved by subsequent owners, including the central cupola, bracketed and dentilled cornice, stickwork and iron cresting. The Standish House was individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 as a well-preserved, evocative example of Victorian period styles in a residence.

Max Adler House // 1879

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The Max Adler House on Greene Street in New Haven’s Wooster Square neighborhood is a flamboyant example of Victorian-era residential architecture that is hard to classify as an architectural style. The residence was constructed in 1879 for Max Adler (1841-1916) a German-born Jewish immigrant who grew up in New Haven and became a leader in industry at a young age. Max founded the Strouse & Adler Corset Company, which is said to be the first corset factory in the United States. The company did very well and he was able to erect this residence overlooking Wooster Square park for his family. Architecturally, the house has a mansard style roof, a feature of the Second Empire style; applied stickwork in the wooden bays, porch and dormers, a feature of the Stick style; and embroidered panel brickwork and terra cotta, elements of the emerging Queen Anne style. The Adler House has been lovingly preserved and is one of New Haven’s finest Victorian-era residences.

Wrentham Village Hall – Daniel Cook Store // 1853

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Arguably the most recognizable and beloved building in Wrentham, Massachusetts, is this eclectic mid-19th century commercial building, known as the Wrentham Village Hall. The structure was originally constructed for Daniel A. Cook where he operated a store in the ground floor retail space and rented a meeting hall to local organizations above. The building was constructed around 1853 as a more vernacular building, but given its current appearance decades later when the ornate Stick style porches were added to the facade. While the building has served many uses over its history, the structure is suffering from some deterioration, which hopefully will not impact the rare surviving exposed porch framing and trusses, which give the building so much character.

Emerson-Arnold Double-House // c.1875

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Elijah Carleton Emerson (1807-1888) was a wealthy Boston merchant, making his fortune as Director of the Second National Bank and President of the Middlesex Horse Railroad. In his late 30s, he purchased land in Brookline Village and established his estate on the land that is now Emerson Park in 1846. The bucolic setting of his estate included a pond, boathouse and adjacent cottage, but as the surrounding area continued to develop with easy access to Downtown Boston, Elijah Emerson began to develop his estate. Emerson began to build residences on his land for supplemental income. This handsome Stick style double-house was built around 1880 and rented by Mr. Emerson and was eventually occupied by his granddaughter, Tirzah and her husband, George Francis Arnold. The residence features a mansard roof, decorative brackets and applied stickwork, and a handsome porch with turned posts.

Toussaint House // 1879

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In 1879, furniture-maker and amateur architect, Winand Toussaint (1826-1904), built this unique mansard roofed house at 203 Aspinwall Avenue in Brookline Village. Toussaint was born in Belgium, and immigrated to the United States about 1841, where he originally settled in Roxbury and operated a cabinetmaking business. Toussaint moved from Roxbury to Brookline about 1873, but lost his fortune in the Panic of 1874. After a few years, he found work and eventually purchased a house lot here, and designed and built this home in 1879. Winand was born into a family of architects and engineers in Europe with his grandfather being Jean Lambert Toussaint of Liege, an architect who reportedly built the first railway introduced in Belgium. He is said to have studied in France and Italy before working in furniture-making in the United States. He maintained a professional office from his Brookline house until his death in 1904. After his death, the family home was inherited by daughter, Emma Toussaint, who was unmarried and worked as a linguist and writer under the name “Portia”. The charming Toussaint House blends Second Empire and Stick styles with unique beveled corners, one of which contains the main entrance, and a belvedere at the crest of the mansard roof. Due to its unique architecture, the Toussaint House was individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Wayland Railroad Depot // 1881

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The Wayland Railroad depot in Wayland, Massachusetts, was built in 1881 by the Massachusetts Central Railroad, which was later absorbed as part of the Boston and Maine Railroad. The line operated both passenger and freight service, with this structure serving as the passenger station and freight at the nearby structure, also built in 1881. Regular train service helped develop Wayland Center into a more prosperous Boston suburb, but industry and larger developments did not occur like in other communities. In its heyday, the Wayland station was manned by an agent with a small office in the building. The station agent was responsible for nearly all aspects of the operations from selling tickets; handling mail, baggage, and freight; keeping financial and operating records; and even maintaining the grounds. After WWII, car ownership and highway expansion harmed the rail industry and trains ceased to run in Wayland. To save the building from eventual demolition, the Town of Wayland purchased the old depots, which since the 1980s, has been leased to “The Wayland Depot“, a charitable women’s consignment craft shop with retail space in the station. The former rail line has largely been converted to a rail trail for pedestrians and bicyclists to traverse the old railroad right-of-way.

Dr. Albert Phillips House // c.1875

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Dr. Albert W. Phillips (1838-1929) was born in Marcellus, New York, the son of immigrant parents from England. He studied medicine in the Midwest and later opened a medical practice in Rockport, Illinois, but in response to President Lincoln’s first call for volunteers, he returned to New York and enlisted as a private in the Union cause. He served as assistant surgeon with the 149th N. Y. Volunteers, where he saw action in many battles, including at Gettysburg. After the war, Dr. Phillips moved to the rapidly developing industrial city of Derby, Connecticut, where he opened a family practice. By the 1870s, he built this Stick style residence on Caroline Street. While working as a doctor of great esteem, Dr. Phillips was elected as the fifth mayor of Derby in 1901 and in 1903, was elected as a state senator.His home on Caroline Street in Derby maintains its unique entry porch and trusswork in the gables.

Solon Wilder House // 1883

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On Main Street in the central village of Lancaster, Massachusetts, the Solon Wilder House stands as one of the town’s finest Victorian-era residences. The house dates to 1883 and was built for Solon Wilder (1828-1889) and his wife, Olive. Mr. Wilder ran a store and served as town treasurer, doing well enough financially to build this handsome, and modern house and rear stable for the time. The Stick style house features a porch with cut woodwork, decorative trusses in gables, and wooden wall cladding interrupted by “stickwork” patterns raised from the wall surface that is meant to symbolize the structural skeleton of the home.

John D. Runkle House // 1875

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The John Runkle House on High Street, is one of the most interesting houses in Brookline. Built in 1875 for educator John Daniel Runkle (1822-1902), the brick residence excellently blends early Queen Anne form and flourish with Victorian Gothic design elements all with Stick style entry porches and dormers. John D. Runkle was a noted mathematician who later became the second President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1868 until 1878. This occurred before MIT moved over the Charles to Cambridge, so President Runkle would not have traveled far to the Institute when located in the Back Bay. The Runkle House was designed by the architectural firm of Weston & Rand with an irregular plan of elaborate belt courses in the brickwork that is set against the extremely steep slate roof with tall prominent chimneys and corner turret. Sadly, the residence is largely obscured by a tall wooden fence, but I caught it on a good day that a panel was down.