Beacon Street Back Bay

Maria Blake Townhouse // 1888

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Beacon Street in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston is not as strolled as Commonwealth Avenue, but there are some great old buildings to be found! This stunning townhouse was built in 1888 for Ms. Maria C. Blake (1824-1913), widow of Charles Blake, who made his fortune as a partner in the furniture manufacturing and sales office of Blake & Alden. Architecturally, the house stands out for its longer format brick, later bow window over the entry, and the leaded glass transom and side lights at the front door. Ms. Blake hired esteemed architect, John Hubbard Sturgis, to design the new townhouse, which she lived in with her unmarried son, William Blake, who worked in real estate. William would eventually marry and lived in the home with his mother and new wife until Maria’s death in 1913. The home (like many in the neighborhood) was converted to a lodging house in 1941, and into apartments in the 1950s. Today, the former single-family residence is a five-unit condominium.

John and Gertrude Parkinson House // 1902

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Teardowns have always been a common occurrence in cities, though replacement buildings from before WWII tended to be more substantially designed and built. This stately manse on Beacon Street in the Back Bay was built in 1902 on a lot previously comprised of two townhouses! This residence was built in 1902 for John and Gertrude Weld Parkinson from plans by the renowned firm of Peabody and Stearns. The Classical Revival style house has a limestone face and chunky stone lintels at the second floor to break up the facade. After income tax was introduced in the early 1900s and changing economic conditions for wealthy homeowners shifted, large single-family homes were no longer the norm. This home (and many others in Back Bay) was converted to a multi-family apartment building and today is home to eight condo units.

Peleg Chandler House // 1860

Buildings of New England3 Comments

One of the most ingeniously symmetrical and academic facades on Beacon Street in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston can be found at the Peleg Chandler House. Built in 1860 for Peleg Whitman Chandler (1816-1889), the two-bay bow-front townhouse appears to have been designed by architect Charles Kirk Kirby, a relatively unknown architect of Boston in this time period. The brownstone home originally had a mansard roof, but it was removed and replaced with a flat roof with parapet during the Great Depression, possibly to reduce the property taxes. Peleg Chandler was an attorney and publisher of the Law Reporter, which he established in 1838. He served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1845 to 1847 and as Boston City Solicitor from 1846 to 1853. He was an early advocate of the Public Garden and led efforts in 1859 to prevent the construction of houses on the eastern side of Arlington Street. The house has been divided up inside and now five fortunate families get to call this stunning building home!

Daniel and Mary Knowlton House // 1880

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Another of my favorite townhouses in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston is this Victorian Gothic mansion on Beacon Street, built for Daniel and Mary Knowlton. The residence was designed by the firm of Allen and Kenway and built in 1880 and stands out architecturally for its use of style and use of material amongst a sea of brick. A former cotton merchant, Daniel Knowlton was treasurer of the Flexible Shoe Nail Company and later worked as a stockbroker. The large single-family dwelling was converted into four condominium units in 1989, but has since been switched back to a single-family residence. It sold for $11.2 million dollars as a five bedroom, six full and two half bath home in 2017. Yikes!