Joshua Bennett Townhouse // 1834

Just steps from the iconic Louisburg Square in Boston’s exclusive Beacon Hill neighborhood, a man named Joshua Bennett in 1834, purchased two recently completed townhouses built by housewrights Samuel H. Mitchell and Loring Dunbar. Joshua Holden Bennett (1792-1865) was born in Billerica, Massachusetts and split his time between his hometown and Boston. Bennett and his family owned the two identical bowfront houses until about 1930, likely renting them out to middle-upper class families. The home on the right (pictured) was later purchased by Benjamin B. Gillette an organist at a local church. After WWII, property values in Beacon Hill began to falter and this property and its neighbor became lodging houses of rented rooms to a more wealthy clientele than those on the North Slope of the hill. The home last sold in 1989 for $753,000 and is estimated at a value today at over $4,000,000!

Roberts House // 1890

Upon first inspection, this house – while beautiful – looks like most others I post. Looking closer, I realized that the second floor is covered in slate shingles, something I haven’t seen before in Brookline. Designed by the powerhouse firm of Hartwell and Richardson, the house is an eclectic mix of the Shingle and Colonial Revival styles. The home was built for a Reuben L. Roberts, a prominent lawyer in Boston.