Built in 1883 for a member of the Thomas Wales family, this house in Clam Point, Dorchester, possesses a compact essentially rectangular clapboard and wood shingle-clad form. The architect, John A. Fox, designed the main façade elegantly with an open Stick style porch projecting from the center of the first floor which is enclosed by a steeply-pitched roof. The pitch of the porch roof is echoed in the small and shallow gable-like lintels which are really unique to the area. The treatment makes the facade read somewhat like a face.
Elisha T. Loring (1804-1889) was born on Cape Cod and began his career in the Chilean tin and copper trades, moving to Boston in 1839. His house at 21 Mill Street in Dorchester’s Harrison Square neighborhood was built in the early 1840s, showcasing his wealth and stature in the community. Based out of this house, Loring made a large fortune in the Lake Superior mines, also known as the Calumet and Hecla mines. By 1862 he was the treasurer to the Pewabic and Franklin Mining Companies, and a decade later is listed as “President, National Dock Company.” Loring’s Dorchester mansion is Greek Revival in style and consists of a three bay by three bay main block and a substantial rear ell. The house’s original clapboards were replaced by wood shingles sometime in the 20th century. The main elevation’s pedimented center pavilion exhibits a small front porch whose Ionic columns support a heavy, cornice-headed entablature. The porch’s roof is set off by an ornate cast iron railing. The side elevation is unusually wide and culminates in broad pedimented attics containing elliptical lunette windows.
This is your sign to take a different route! When exploring a new town or neighborhood, I love to explore the obscure streets just as much as the iconic Main Streets as hidden treasures can always be found! This building in Dorchester’s Port Norfolk neighborhood was constructed in 1860 as the new home of the Dorchester Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which was incorporated in 1855. The company seemingly hired Dorchester-based architect Luther Briggs, who also laid out the streets for Port Norfolk and the Clam Point neighborhoods and designed many buildings in the area at the time. The high-style Italianate building features bold proportions, quoins, and cornice. While the former round-arched windows have since been enclosed and are traditional double-hung windows, they building still stands out! At the rear, Second Empire style rowhouses were built for private ownership. The building is now all condominiums following a renovation.
The West End Street Railway was established in 1887 originally as an offshoot of a land development venture, but it rose to prominence when it merged several independent streetcar companies into a single organization. Over the next decade, it became the primary operator of public street transit within the Boston area! During this time, the company maintained one of the largest street railway systems in the world, the first unified streetcar system in the United States, and first electrified system in a major US city. Now, it’s the infamous MBTA. How far they fall… Power plants were needed all over the city to provide electrical power for the company’s street cars, this was the fourth (and final) power station built, and it powered the Dorchester, Neponset, Ashmont and Milton lines. The station was constructed in 1896 on the shores of Dorchester Bay, which allowed for coal to be delivered in barges to the plant. Old stone walls formerly lining the shore can be seen to this day. Landfilling in the second half of the 20th century and the construction of I-93 have since cut off the building from the shore. Eventually the building was sold off and today is home to Yale Appliance, good thing none of their products are coal powered!
Buildings of New England 