massachusetts homes

George Cobb House // c.1865

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While most of the early homes in Newton Centre were built by a few landowners and rented to tenants, this charming Mansard cottage was owner-occupied from the start. Tucked away on the quiet (and appropriately named) Pleasant Street, the George Cobb House is one of the most beautiful old Victorians in the neighborhood. An early resident was George Washington Cobb (1840-1925) was a druggist who ran an apothecary in East Boston, and he made the long commute there every day from this house. The property has a mansard roof with pedimented dormer and three-story tower capped by a bell-cast mansard roof. Paneled pilasters and brackets add a lot of detail to the primary facade.

Mount Pleasant Estate // c.1856

Buildings of New England3 Comments

One of the surviving old estates in Newton is Mount Pleasant, one of the oldest in Newton Centre. The home was originally built in the 1850s by Roswell Willard Turner, who acquired large land holdings in Newton Centre. The large property was eventually purchased by Charles S. Davis, an associate of the Boston piano manufacturing firm of Hallett & Davis. As Newton Centre developed, he enlarged his own home in the 1860s, and sold off his holdings, developing the surrounding area with charming Gothic Revival cottages on Mount Pleasant, the hill upon which his property gained its name. His own home was enlarged and includes elongated additions, a tower with hipped roof, and arched windows.

Sullivan Three-Deckers // 1895

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The three-decker is a commonly found housing type in New England’s urban industrial cities. These buildings are typically of light-framed, wood construction, where each floor usually consists of a single apartment, and frequently, originally, extended families lived in two, or all three floors. These were affordable housing, largely built by and for first- or second-generation immigrant families who could build a home and rent the other two units to family or friends to offset the steep cost of a mortgage. These three buildings were constructed around 1895 by David Sullivan, a cabinet-maker in North Adams, Massachusetts. They are all Queen Anne in style with applied stickwork, gabled roofs, and multi-story porches. Housing like this is what keeps so many New England towns and cities (relatively) affordable with increased density without sacrificing character or charm.

Arthur Jones Double House // 1896

Buildings of New England3 Comments

As Brookline Village developed in the mid-late 19th century, house lots were scarce. Demand for housing saw the demolition of a number of older 1840s Greek and Gothic Revival style cottages for multi-unit dwellings as duplexes and three-deckers which surged in popularity in the Village from the late 1890s to the 1910s when three-deckers were effectively banned in Brookline. In 1896-1897, Arthur R. Jones had large double houses built here and nextdoor, which were rented out to families. Newton architect Henry McLean designed these double houses as pairs of attached single-family dwellings separated by a brick party wall blending both Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles under one roof. The homes show what housing was available to middle-class residents of the Boston area, a price-point that is unattainable to most in the area today. Though, it is great to see these old homes lovingly preserved so well by their owners!

Samuel Jones House // 1806

Buildings of New England1 Comment

This home in Acton Center was built in 1806 by Samuel Jones, shortly after he and other esteemed residents laid out house lots just south of the Town Green. Samuel Jones worked as an attorney and he lived here with his family and widowed mother, who operated a dame school, where she taught local children out of the house. The Federal style farmhouse sits upon a brick and stone foundation and is five-bays at the facade. The entry features a panel front door with sidelights flanking it. The entry is surrounded by a traditional Federal style frame with pilasters and entablature. There is something so beautiful about the simplicity and proportions of old Federal style houses.