J Williams Beal

Westborough Savings Bank // 1928

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The Westborough Savings Bank was incorporated in 1869 and shared space in a building with another bank and the post office. As the population and prosperity grew in the suburban community, so did the Westborough Savings Bank, who would move into a larger space. Just before the Great Depression, the bank sought to build its first purpose-built structure, and they hired the firm J. Williams Beal & Sons to furnish plans for this handsome masonry bank, designed to showcase the strength and stability of the institution. Renaissance Revival in style, the 1928 building is constructed of buff brick with limestone trim. The facade is dominated by large, round arched windows and is framed by pilasters with an off-center entrance. The Westborough Savings Bank would eventually merge into Avidia Bank and the West Main Street building was sold. The handsome building is well-preserved and home to Westborough TV, which makes broadcast media programming that is by, about, and for the entire Westborough community.

Island Grove Park Memorial Arch // 1912

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The Abington Memorial Arch and Bridge at Island Grove Park was dedicated on June 10, 1912 as part of the town’s bicentennial observances. The Grove had been a popular meeting place for the Massachusetts Anti-slavery Society, with William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, Abby Kelley Foster, and Lucy Stone among the many prominent reformers who spoke there. Abington resident and Civil War veteran, Capt. Moses Arnold, donated a large marker in 1909 to commemorate the abolitionist meetings at Island Grove, this act led the local GAR Post to begin planning a Civil War Memorial Bridge and Arch for the community. The 17-acre park is comprised of a peninsula jutting into Island Grove Pond, a 35-acre body of water which was created by impounding the Shumatuscacant River in c. 1700 for industry. The area has a significant history, first as an industrial site, then as an amusement park, before it became the wooded park it is now. The Memorial Arch and Bridge serves as the main entrance to the park, and was designed collectively by architect, J. Williams Beal, landscape architects, the Olmsted Brothers, and sculptor, Bela Pratt. The municipal park is a beloved local landmark and host to many events.

Abington Savings Bank // 1930

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Built in 1930 for the Abington Savings Bank, this handsome Colonial Revival style building is located in the center of Abington, Massachusetts and has been a bank for almost 100 years! The bank was originally incorporated in 1853 and grew as Abington and adjacent towns saw suburban growth. The corporation hired the firm of J. Williams Beal & Sons, who specialized in commercial developments, to furnish plans for the building, resulting in the present structure. The firm also designed the Abington Mutual Fire Insurance Company Building (1931) across the street and the Dyer Memorial Library (1932), the town library. The brick and limestone building has three main bays, with the center rising above with a gable, resembling as a pediment of a Roman temple. In the gable, a shield with swags is adorned with the letters “ASB” (Abington Savings Bank) with the original incorporation date of 1853. The bank merged with others and eventually became a Sovereign Bank, and later Santander Bank, which remains in the building to this day.

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.

Fred Holland Day House // 1892

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The Day House is a significant landmark in Norwood, Massachusetts. Originally built in 1861 for Lewis Day (1835-1910), a wealthy Boston leather dealer who was born in town. The house was a two-story Second Empire style mansion with mansard roof and detached stable. During 1890-92 the Day House was rebuilt at the direction of the Lewis’ son, F. Holland Day, who hired Boston architect J. Williams Beal to remodel the house in the Tudor Revival style. Fred Holland Day (1864 – 1933) was a prominent photographer and publisher and was an early and vocal advocate for accepting photography as a fine art. Day’s life and works were controversial because he took an unconventional approach to religious subjects and often photographed males nude sometimes the photos being homoerotic, leading many to speculate he was gay, though he never “came out”. Fred Holland Day died in 1933 and the house is today owned and managed by the Norwood Historical Society as a historic house museum.

United Church of Norwood // 1886

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Located across from the church-like Norwood Town Hall, the United Church of Norwood is a landmark example of the Victorian Gothic architecture style and an important historical landmark for the town. The cornerstone of this present church was laid in 1885 and was completed and consecrated by December of 1886. Boston architect J. Williams Beal, got his start at the firm of McKim, Mead & White, designed the church here for the local Universalists, who lost their previous church to fire in 1884. In 1934, the town’s Universalist and Methodist congregations merged and they joined together in this, as a Union Church. Built of Milford granite and pressed brick, the United Church of Norwood features a side chapel and clock in its steeple which are unique and add charm to the historic church.

Harriswood Crescent // 1889

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Harriswood Crescent was built in 1889-90 at the height of Roxbury’s development as a streetcar suburb which coincided with the electrification of the streetcar lines in Boston. The area of Roxbury in which the Crescent is located, known at the time as Boston Highlands due to its rocky terrain and steep grades, was an extremely desirable residential location. As land values raised, middle and upper-class families looked for varied housing types that fit their demands. Seen as a great investment of the family estate, the heirs of wealthy businessman Horatio Harris (1821-1876) redeveloped lots on one side of a rocky park for fine townhouses, which were named Harriswood Crescent. The name was probably chosen for its historical associations with Boston’s Tontine Crescent and the great Georgian crescents of London and Bath in England. Architect J. Williams Beal designed the row, which was one of his first commissions upon returning to Boston in 1888 after employment as a draftsman at McKim, Mead & White and a long study in England to view architecture. Built at 15 separate units, the row of Tudor style houses is among the only of such developments in Boston, and New England at large.

Peleg Eddy House // c.1895

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Roxbury is not well-known for its Shingle style architecture, but this example might change that! This dwelling was built around 1895 by the heirs of Horatio Harris on family land that was subdivided for house lots at the end of the 19th century. The expansive Harris estate was developed, largely on speculation and included some amazing single family homes, rowhouses and multi-family dwellings. This Shingle style home appears to have also been built on speculation and was owned by the Harris heirs for some time. The property was occupied for some time by Peleg E. Eddy and his wife Caroline in the earliest years of the house’s existence. I could not locate the architect, but it could be estimated as a design by J. Williams Beal, a local architect who was commissioned to design the nearby Harriswood Crescent development for the Harris family. The design features a Roxbury puddingstone first floor and chimney which contrast elegantly with the shingle siding.