Architecture

Coleman House // c.1750

Buildings of New England1 Comment

In 1802, a young sea captain, Laban Coleman purchased this house on Orange Street on Nantucket within a year of his marriage to Jane Carman. Historians estimate the date of construction of the house to be from sometime between 1729 and 1750, but it could date closer to the time that Coleman purchased the house from a joiner, Elisha Raymond, who possibly built the house. I particularly love the simple door with transom above and the narrow, second-story stairhall window. What do you like the most about this Nantucket home?

Levi Starbuck House // 1838

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

One of the more unique Greek Revival style houses I have yet seen in New England is the Levi Starbuck House on Orange Street on Nantucket. The house was built in 1838 by housewright William M. Andrews who sold the completed property that year to Levi Starbuck, a wealthy sea captain for $5,000. When he bought the house, Levi Starbuck (1769-1849) was 69-years-old. Levi Starbuck is credited by some as inspiration for the character Starbuck in “Moby Dick.” He would spend the last ten years of his life in this opulent new house on Orange Street. Architecturally, the house is clad with flush siding with projecting paneled pilasters with fret patterns on the top and bottom breaking up the bays of the house.

Second Congregational Meetinghouse of Nantucket // 1809

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Located on a fairly quiet street on Nantucket Island, you will find the Second Congregational Meetinghouse of Nantucket, towering over the rows of historical homes nearby. Erected between 1808-1809, the church was constructed to house Nantucket’s growing population of Congregationalists on land formerly occupied by a dwelling house and barn. The bell was brought from Lisbon, Portugal, in 1812 by Captain Thomas Cary, was placed in the square belfry in 1815. The Great Fire of 1846, combined with the collapse of the whaling industry, brought hard times to the island. The congregation found itself unable to support a minister, and for the next forty years the church struggled on the brink of financial collapse. The building and its congregation persevered and the building is both an architectural and cultural landmark to the charming island community.

Captain Silas Jones House // c.1774

Buildings of New England3 Comments

Brick houses are not too common on Nantucket, so I love to highlight them whenever possible! This gambrel-roofed residence was built by 1774 for Silas Jones, a whaling captain around the time of his marriage to Judith Gardner. As originally built, this house had brick endwalls while the facade and rear walls were constructed of wood. It was not until under the ownership of Silas’ son, Daniel, that the house was “modernized” with its present appearance. Daniel added brick walls to the front and rear walls, added brownstone lintels and sills to the openings, and added twin chimneys, likely replacing a single, central chimney. Due to his materiality and heavy presence, the house looks more like it belongs in Salem or Providence, so seeing it in the coastal town of Nantucket makes my heart sing. Standing out is a good thing!

Andrew Myrick House // 1755

Buildings of New England2 Comments

Nantucket is an old house lovers dream. A large part of the reason for this is that much of the island was designated as a local historic district in 1955, making it one of the earliest historic districts in the United States! This means that since 1955, the Nantucket Historic District Commission has been overseeing the island’s preservation, demolitions and alterations to historic buildings. This is the Andrew Myrick House located on Orange Street. The Georgian dwelling was built in 1755 by Andrew Myrick (1704-1777), a shipbuilder and storekeeper who was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts and eventually settled on island, constructing this home for his family. He and his wife Jedidiah had over 16 children, some of which died in childhood. Myrick would eventually hang himself at the age of 71. The home remained in the family until 1827. Fun fact: Andrew’s grandson, Peter Myrick was said to have set sail from Nantucket in 1833 in search of sea serpents. He came back empty handed.

Folger Block // 1831

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Built the same time as the stately brick, Folger House on Main Street (last post) in Nantucket, owner Philip H. Folger (1792–1865) in 1831 erected these rowhouses quickly selling them for profit. Each of the five connected dwellings were sold to private owners, and have seen alterations over time adding to the intrigue on this block. The Folger Block is comprised of five Federal-style, 2.5-story, wood-frame buildings with wood-frame party walls between each unit. Each row house sits atop a raised brick basement and has a side-gable roof pierced by twin front-gable dormers. Charming door surrounds include sidelights and transoms to allow light into the entries.

Folger House // 1831

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Located in the middle of the commercial Main Street on Nantucket, the 1831 Folger House stands as a fully developed example of the Federal style in masonry construction. The house’s double bow front, brownstone lintels and Ionic portico, guilloche frieze, and cast-iron railings are the finest of their type in the community. Although the house was turned into commercial use in the mid-19th century with the addition of storefronts and the removal of its original hip roof, it retains substantial architectural elements of a more decorated design than was customary even among Nantucket’s wealthiest merchants in this period. The house was built for Philip H. Folger, a merchant and it was inherited by his son upon Philip’s death in 1865.

Pacific National Bank // 1818

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Whaling captains and crew upon returning to the island of Nantucket, would be flush with cash and goods and needed a safe and secure institution to hold their earnings. By the late 18th century, the depletion of the whale population in the Atlantic required whaling vessels to travel further and further in search of oil to fill the barrels in their holds. Ships began sailing to the Pacific and due to the distance, would be out at sea for years rather than months. Money from the Pacific voyages flowed back to the island, which soon required real banking facilities, and the Pacific Bank was established in 1804 and immediately prospered. The bank erected this stately brick building at the end of Main Street Square. Details such as the blind arches filled with sandstone panels that surround the building’s windows, the semi-circular Ionic entry portico and the high brown sandstone stoop with wrought-iron railings are unique on Nantucket and among the finest examples of their type in the region. Also interesting about the building is the fact that it contained living quarters for the cashier whose presence was intended to provide security. The building is now (of course) home to a Bank of America.

Joshua Coffin House // 1756

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Nantucket in the off season is just as magical as the peak of summer. Quiet streets, gray shingled buildings, and the smell of the ocean is the perfect medicine! This is the historic Joshua Coffin House on the island of Nantucket. The house is one of the best examples of a mid-18th century sea captain’s residence on the island and it is in a great state of preservation. The dwelling was built in 1756 for newlyweds Joshua Coffin and Beulah Gardner on land given to them by Beulah’s father as a wedding present. The couple raised their children here until Joshua died at sea in a hurricane while on a whaling trip in the West Indies. The house remained in the family since at least 1971 and has been lovingly maintained by its stewards.

Second Church of Christ, Scientist, Roxbury // 1915

Buildings of New England2 Comments

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.