Cottage

Frederick Sears Cottage // 1851

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The Frederick Sears Cottage in the Cottage Farm neighborhood of Brookline, Massachusetts, is significant as one of the major surviving examples of Gothic Revival domestic architecture in the Boston area. In 1849, wealthy Bostonian, David Sears (1787-1871) laid out parks and squares in the Cottage Farm neighborhood, and built houses for himself and his children. His own house, erected in 1843, was the oldest, soon followed by houses for his four daughters, Ellen d’Hautville, Harriet Crowninshield, Anna Amory, Grace Rives, and son, Frederick. The Frederick Sears Cottage is the only surviving Sears residence in the Cottage Farm neighborhood. Frederick Sears‘ cottage was built in 1851, though he did not occupy the house long, as just three years after he and his wife married in 1852 to move into this home, Marian died. The house was inherited by Frederick Sears Jr. , and was acquired by Boston University in 1960, who began to expand into this neighborhood. They maintain the significant property very well. The Sears Cottage is an excellent example of the Gothic Revival style in stone with scalloped vergeboards, quatrefoil motifs, corner quoins, and projecting entry. The house is constructed of Roxbury Puddingstone and is said to have been designed by George Minot Dexter.

Lawrence-Parker House // 1864

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Built in 1864 as one of the rental properties owned by Amos A. Lawrence as part of his exclusive Cottage Farm neighborhood in Brookline, this house has been extensively altered and even moved but retains significance as a surviving mid-19th century “cottage” in the neighborhood. The house was likely constructed as a one-story, stone cottage with a second floor contained within a mansard roof. In 1903, Mrs. Francis W. Lawrence hired the well-known architect and Brookline resident, Julius A. Schweinfurth, to make extensive alterations to the cottage, replacing the mansard roof with a new second floor with gable roof, along with a new porch. Schweinfurth’s design included wood shingle siding for the upper floors, which were replaced with stucco in 1970. The house was moved to its current site at the corner of Carlton and Mountfort streets in 1929 when the street was re-oriented to follow the old Boston & Albany Railroad tracks. When moved, the cottage was occupied by Philip Stanley Parker, a judge, and his wife, Eleanor. Today, the cottage is owned by Boston University and known as the Core House.

Charles Mason Cottage // 1853

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The Charles Mason Cottage at 89 Carlton Street is one of two extant brick cottages built by Amos A. Lawrence as part of his Cottage Farm neighborhood in Brookline, Massachusetts. The Gothic Revival style cottage was built around 1853 and owned by Lawrence for rental purposes. By 1861, this house had been sold to Reverend Charles Mason (1812-1862), who married Amos Lawrence’s late sister, Susanna. The property was inherited by the couple’s daughter, Mary and her husband, Howard Stockton, a lawyer and onetime president of American Bell Telephone Company. The Mason Cottage is unique for its brick construction, projecting entry with porches on either sides, lancet doors and window, wall and shed dormers at the roof, and the original windows with chimney pots.

Bates Cottage // 1853

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This Gothic Revival brick cottage is of several houses built by Amos A. Lawrence for his Cottage Farm neighborhood in Brookline, Massachusetts. After he built his own stone residence at the center of the estate, Lawrence erected a series of cottages in the vicinity which were rented or sold to family and friends. This house was listed as the “Bates House” in Amos Lawrence’s papers, likely referring to the renter of the property soon after the cottage was completed by 1853. After Amos Lawrence died in 1886, the estate was inherited by his daughter, Hetty S. Cunningham. The “Bates Cottage” was later acquired by Boston University, who in 1964, received town approval to convert the residence into offices for the Center for the Study of Liberal Arts Education. The cottage was expanded at the rear and is today home to the Boston University African American & Black Diaspora Studies Program.

Orcutt-Ford Homestead // c.1751

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In about 1751, Emerson Orcutt (1713-1777) purchased land in North Abington, Massachusetts, and built a half cape for his family. In 1762, Orcutt sold some of the land to John Ford, who was later a Lieutenant in the Continental Army, and according to local tradition, Ford added the other half of this current Georgian Cape house, giving it the current configuration. Character defining architectural details include an entry surround with fluted pilasters, and dentil cornice band on the main facade, 12-over-12 sash windows, and the central chimney, which would have heated both sides of the house. The property remained in the Ford family for over 100 years, and has since been converted back to a single family residence. Today, the charming pre-Revolutionary cottage is one of the oldest extant houses in Abington.

Harry W. Cotton House // 1905

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In 1905, George H. Cotton and his wife, Cora S. Cotton, purchased a house lot on Amory Street in Brookline and hired famed architect, William Gibbons Rantoul, to design this home for their son and daughter-in-law. George Cotton was a manufacturer of brass tubing and also the founder of the Belmont Springs Water Company and maintained homes in the Back Bay of Boston and in Belmont. His son, Harry W. Cotton, also worked for the American Tube Works and lived in this home with his family. The Cotton House is an architectural blending of Dutch Renaissance Revival and Arts & Crafts styles. The stucco siding and entry portico are in the Craftsman style, while the prominent Flemish gable on the central pavilion and round arched pediments for the dormers are in the Flemish mode.

Partridge House // c.1908

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Located on Amory Street in Brookline, this handsome Arts and Crafts style residence dates to about 1908 and while clearly Craftsman in style, does appear to follow the horizontality and form of the Prairie School of architecture, popularized by famed architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. While the architect of this house is unclear, we do know that the first owners were Mr. Frank T. Partridge and his wife, Edith Stevens Partridge. The stucco house features a horizontal belt course, shallow hip roof with broad eaves supported by brackets, and elaborate entry and porches. The colors enhance the architecture of the home perfectly. 

Moseley-Widger House // 1906

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One of the many houses in the Cottage Farm-adjacent neighborhoods of Brookline, Massachusetts, is this great blending of the Tudor Revival and Arts and Crafts styles of architecture, which dominated residential architecture in the Boston suburbs in the early 20th century. This residence was built in 1906 for Mr. Frank Moseley and his wife, Martha Hawes Moseley from plans by architect Robert C. Coit. Covered in stucco siding and half timbering, the charming house evokes the countryside of England, right here in Brookline. After WWI, the house was owned by Ms. Lizzie Widger, a water color artist and member of Copley Society of Boston, and her husband, Samuel Widger, a cotton broker. The Moseley-Widger House looks as it did 120 years ago and is in a great state of preservation, thanks to generations of loving stewards.

Hugh G. Brown House // 1905

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Eclectic houses of the late 19th and early 20th centuries are my favorite as they showcase how architects of the time blend features and break the strict mold of academic styles. This example is found in the Cottage Farm neighborhood of Brookline and dates to 1905. Designed by relatively unknown architect, Alfred Lyman Darrow, who studied at MIT, before opening his own practice. The house was first owned by Hugh G. Brown, who founded the Brown’s News Company and the Hotel & Railroad News Company. The house exhibits half-timbering in the gable ends and decorative corbelled chimneys that derive from the Tudor Revival; the front porch parapet appears to derive from the Spanish Mission style; along with stucco siding and unique windows typical of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Kramer-Duane House // 1895

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One of five houses built by developer Albert Jewell along Powell Street in the Cottage Farm neighborhood of Brookline, this residence stands out for its materiality and stately design. The house was designed by J. Williams Beal, an architect who trained at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then worked for McKim, Mead & White before opening his own business. The house was first purchased from Mr. Jewell by Grace and Edwin Kramer, who worked as superintendent for R. H. White & Co., the large dry goods store in Boston. The next long-term owner was Harry B. Duane, a wealthy grocer. The Kramer-Duane House is unique for the stone veneer at its facade, gambrel roof covered in slate, and varied window styles including: bay windows, dormer windows, and an eyebrow dormer window at the roof.