mansard architecture

Former Arlington House Hotel // 1870

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Bulfinch Triangle area just south of the TD Garden in Boston is a cohesive and historically preserved district of similar commercial and industrial buildings of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Somehow, the area has been preserved largely intact besides some sites serving as surface parking lots and some incompatible infill developments. Historically, the area was a tidal flat, before the land here was filled beginning in 1807, with Causeway Street as the northern boundary. The area’s namesake, architect Charles Bulfinch, designed the street layout for the landowners, and the area was filled with material taken by lowering Beacon Hill and Copp’s Hill. Development was fairly slow until railroad companies built depots in the area around present-day North Station, many of which connected the area to cities north of Boston. These new train lines boosted the value of the surrounding land, with manufacturers and developers building factories and hotels in the area. This handsome structure on Causeway Street was built in 1870 by William G. Means, a manufacturer who also invested in real estate in Boston. He commissioned architect Samuel J. F. Thayer to furnish plans for the apartment hotel in the Second Empire style with a mansard roof and window lintels of diminishing detail as the floors increase. In later years, the Arlington House Hotel changed hands and names, later known as the Eastern Hotel and Hotel Haymarket. Stay tuned for more Boston history in this series highlighting the North Station and Bulfinch Triangle district!

Whitaker Block // c.1870

Buildings of New England1 Comment

One of the finest commercial buildings in downtown Saugerties, New York, is the Whitaker Block, a landmark Second Empire style structure from the years following the American Civil War. The structure dates to around 1870 and was first owned by an E. Whitaker and was mixed use with retail at the street and offices above. Additionally, the building was home to the local chapter of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) a fraternal social organization. The three-story with mansard roof building stands out for its architectural details and integrity which largely remain intact to this day.

Bread Loaf Campus – Birch Cottage // c.1900

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Welcome back to the Bread Loaf Campus! For more early history and context of the complex, check out the post on the Bread Loaf Inn. By 1900, owner Joseph Battell’s enterprise exceeded the capacity of the original inn, and cottages were added to accommodate more guests visiting his new permanent home in the mountains of Ripton, Vermont. An early cottage built by Battell is this late-Mansard structure, named Birch Cottage. The structure clearly took cues from the Bread Loaf Inn, built over a decade earlier, and originally had two floors of porches wrapping around the entire structure.

Highgate Manor // c.1870

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Henry Baxter (1821-1897), a doctor and owner of a local mill and multiple area farms, built one of the most remarkable Second Empire style houses in New England, and it can be found in the small town of Highgate, Vermont! Dr. Baxter was said to have acquired an earlier Federal period house on the site in the 1860s and began planning a high-style Mansard estate here for his family. The earlier Federal house was incorporated as a rear ell and the new Second Empire mansion was built in front. Architecturally, the house stands out for its bellcast mansard slate roof topped by a square belvedere with arched windows and heavy scrolled brackets. His patented medicine, Dr. Baxter’s Mandrake Bitters, was sold throughout Vermont in the late 19th century and afforded him the wealth to erect this stately home. There are many unsubstantiated claims of Dr. Baxter “performing experiments on his children” for the sake of people to state that the house is haunted, but this appears to be lore in poor taste. It is said that the house was also a stop on the Underground Railroad, but that appears unproven as well. After Dr. Baxter’s death in 1897, the property became a lodge and restaurant. A basement bar was built and during prohibition, was said to have hosted the likes of Al Capone. Today, Highgate Manor, with its larger-than-life lore, remains one of New England’s most important and high-style Second Empire houses in one of the most unlikely places. It goes to show that it is worth exploring all of New England!

Betteley Cottage // c.1883

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Albert Cabot Betteley (1816-1893) was an inventor and coal dealer in Boston. He invented an elevator to hoist goods into a warehouse, a peat grinder for the speedy drying of peat for fuel, and even patented wooden pavement…seriously. He eventually would build this home on Cobden Street in Roxbury where he and his wife Mary Jane would live out their retirement. While he didn’t “make it big” persay with his inventions, he exemplified the typical middle-class resident of Roxbury at the time and built this modest home, with its two-story form with octagonal bay, bracketed cornice, and mansard roof. The cottage was recently repainted the purple color, which I really enjoy!

H. H. Fitch House // c.1870

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Henry Hubbard Fitch (1833-1888) was born in Cornish, New Hampshire, but made Roxbury, Massachusetts his home. He moved to Boston at an early age and later entered into business with Francis V. B. Kern under the firm Kern & Fitch, working as a conveyancer. By 1873, he was also a justice of the peace, notary public, and was Boston manager of the Equitable Mortgage Company. In about 1870, he and his wife, Eliza Anne, had this charming Second Empire style cottage built in the Washington Park neighborhood of Roxbury, a fashionable part of the “suburbs” at the time. They would later relocate, before Henry died in 1888 at the age of 55. The house is one of the best preserved in the neighborhood and a survivor from the wrecking ball that destroyed much of Washington Park.

Lewis June House // 1865

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Lewis June House sits on North Salem Road in northern Ridgefield, Connecticut, and is one of the finest Second Empire style homes in this part of the state. The c.1865 home was built for Lewis June (1824-1888), who was in the circus business, and it replaced an earlier home on the site that burned. Lewis June was a partner in the June, Titus and Angevine & Co. Circus that as early as 1842 toured 85 towns in six states. The circus wintered in Ridgefield. Past owners have since found many horseshoes, largely of small horses, on the property, suggesting that June kept the circus’ horses and ponies on this property. The home has been preserved thoughtfully and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Theodore Helme Block // 1875

Buildings of New England2 Comments

One of the finest commercial blocks in Newport is this building, the Theodore Helme Block, located on Spring Street, just behind Trinity Church. The block was built for Helme by 1875 and was possibly an early design by Dudley Newton, a local architect. The Second Empire style block has a slate roof with rare intact iron cresting and small dormers. The building was restored by Federico Santi & John Gacher, who operate The Drawing Room Antiques here.

Cushing-Fearing Townhouse // 1862

Buildings of New England1 Comment

168 Beacon in the Back Bay was built ca. 1861, one of two contiguous houses for Robert Maynard Cushing and his older brother, John Gardiner Cushing (more on the house nextdoor in the next post). This home was Robert Cushing’s home for him and his new wife Olivia Donaldson Dulany (m.1863). They also maintained a home, The Ledges, in Newport. The Cushing Family owned the townhouse until 1908, when it was sold following Robert’s death in 1907 by his estate to George Richmond Fearing, Jr., an investment banker. He also served as President of the Free Hospital for Women from 1910 to 1936. The home was recently renovated with a darker, brownstone facade, new copper gutters and downspouts and slate roof. It presently houses three condo units inside.

Storrow-Meyer Townhouses // 1862

Buildings of New England2 Comments

Two is always better than one, especially when it comes to historic townhouses! These two residences on Beacon Street in the Back Bay neighborhood were built in 1862 for two esteemed Boston families, the Storrows and the Meyers. 192 Beacon Street (right) was built as the home of Charles Storer Storrow and his wife, Lydia (Cabot Jackson) Storrow. Charles S. Storrow was an engineer by training and made his fortune as the chief engineer at the Essex Company, a company organized to harness the water power of the Merrimack River downstream from Lowell, Massachusetts in present-day. There, Storrow designed and built the Great Stone Dam across the Merrimack river, canals to distribute the water, several large textile mills, and a city, Lawrence, to house the mill workers. He came up with the idea to make roads that go to the mills in Lawrence, allowing him to become the first mayor of Lawrence in 1853. He retired and lived out his final years at this home in Boston. James J. Storrow, after whom Boston’s Storrow Drive is named, was Charles Storrow’s grandson. 194 Beacon Street (left) was built as the home of George Augustus Meyer and his wife, Grace Helen (Parker) Meyer. George Meyer was a prosperous German-American East India merchant and lived in this home until his death in 1889.