One of the two largest summer “cottages” on Grindstone Neck, Winter Harbor, Maine is this massive Shingled mansion overlooking Frenchman’s Bay. Due to its scale and design, the house possibly replaced a more modest cottage in the early 20th century. The “cottage” was owned by Samuel Price Wetherill, a Philadelphia-based manufacturer and businessman. Wetherill spent most of his time at a Rittenhouse Square Beaux Arts mansion in Philadelphia, which after his death, was purchased by the Philadelphia Art Alliance. The Wetherills hosted lavish events in the mansion and clearly wanted to make a statement with their summer home, which rivals almost any “cottage” in the more prestigious Bar Harbor over the bay.
The Bullet Hill School, formerly known as the Brick School, is the oldest public building in Southbury, Connecticut and one of the oldest schoolhouses in America. Originally built in 1762 of locally made bricks, the two-story structure is a well-preserved example of a Colonial-era school building. Some sources date the building to 1790. The building remained in operation as a school for 179 years until December 1941 when the new Southbury Consolidated School, now Gainfield Elementary School, opened in January 1942. The Bullet Hill school is distinguished by its near-square proportions, locally made bricks laid up in Flemish bond, generous window sizes, and a hipped roof. The original cupola, now replaced, served as the model for Southbury’s 1977 Town Hall and other public buildings in town. Today, the former schoolhouse is maintained by the town and operated by the Historical Society as a living museum that is open for class visits and tours.
This past weekend, I had the absolute pleasure to stay at one of New England’s coolest new hotels, Tourists Hotel! Located in the industrial-turned-artistic town of North Adams in the Berkshires of Massachusetts this elevated, 48-room hotel modernises the aesthetic of a classic American motor lodge with contemporary design that feels cozy and inviting. The site was originally home to the Redwood Motel, a prototypical 1960s motel on the Mohawk Trail, a designated scenic tourist route which became popular in the automobile era of the 20th century. The reimagined motel was developed by Broder a Boston-based developer who worked with architect Hank Scollard and landscape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand to design the new hotel. U-shaped in plan, the main part of the hotel surrounds a central courtyard with native flora. Facades are wrapped in white oak planks with the intention to blend the architecture with the surrounding woods. My favorite part was that the rooms have sliding glass doors which open to private decks which make rooms feel more personable. On the crisp fall day, the lounge was an amazing space to cozy up with some spiked cider and chat with other guests. An unexpected treat was to learn that the grounds include dozens of walking trails running along the Hoosac River with a suspension bridge that stretches 220 feet across. Pictures do not effectively showcase how special Tourists is, both in the design details and the attention to detail the staff had during my stay. If you are ever in the Berkshires for a weekend trip, I highly recommend you check them out!
At the heart of the rural community of Middlebury, comprised largely of Connecticut farmers, far from the hustle and bustle of the world, Mary Robbins Hillard (1862-1932) sought to create a girls school to “provide young women with a liberal education in a community which would contribute to the development of their character, independence and sense of responsibility.” To accomplish this, they needed a school, and Mary hired her good friend (and architect) Theodate Pope Riddle to design the private girl’s school campus and main buildings on a site fronting the town green. The school opened in 1909 with125 pupils, slightly over capacity. For the design Theodate Pope Riddle – who was one of the first American women architects and a survivor of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania – took inspiration from English Arts and Crafts and historical precedence in English schools with large open courtyard plans. Originally finished in a gray stucco, the building enclosed a quadrangle at the rear. Inside, administration offices, reception rooms, living rooms, a library, gymnasium, chapel, dining rooms, infirmary, and (of course) classrooms lined the interiors on a closed loop to allow students and teachers access to all parts of the building without ever stepping outside in the cold New England winters. The Westover School remains active and one of the highest ranked private schools in the area today, and with a more cheery yellow coat!
Inspired by suggestions from books by Andrew Jackson Downing, the Gen. George Stark House is one of the finest dwellings in the Italian villa style in New Hampshire. Located on a triangular plot just north of Downtown Nashua, the house was built in 1856 by a man who, though then only in his early thirties, was one of New Hampshire’s most experienced civil engineers and surveyors, and was the superintendent of the Nashua and Lowell Railroad. General George W. Stark (1823-1892) was born in Manchester, N.H., and as a young man worked on surveys of the canals and factories being built in the late 1830s in his native city. In 1836, during the first days of railroading in northern New England, Stark was employed with the engineers who laid out the route of the Nashua and Lowell Railroad. He climbed the ladder, eventually working as treasurer and assistant superintendent of theHudson River Railroad, subsequently rising to the position of superintendent. He later became superintendent of the Nashua and Lowell Railroad, whose route he had helped to plan, and in 1857, at about the time he saw the completion of his Italianate villa, he became managing agent of the Boston and Lowell line. In the same year, he was commissioned Brigadier General of the Third Brigade of New Hampshire Militia, giving him his title, General. The Stark House was occupied by General Stark and by members of his family until the property was acquired by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, about 1928. Today, it houses offices but retains a distinct residential character regardless.
This Queen Anne Victorian residence sits at 85 Concord Street in Nashua, New Hampshire. Built in 1889-90 for Elijah Shaw, the house is one of a dozen or so well-preserved Victorian-era mansions along the prominent street. Elijah Morrill Shaw (1826-1903) was born in Kensington, NH and spent many of his early years working at woolen mills all over the Northeast until the outbreak of the American Civil War. Obeying his country’s call to arms, at the time of the Rebellion, he entered the army in 1861 and was later promoted to Captain in 1863. After the war, he continued working at mills all over the region until 1888 when he was hired by the Nashua Manufacturing Company. He built this house soon after his arrival and remained there until his death in 1903. The dwelling and rear carriage house are clad in shingles with the house built with a brick first floor.
Charles William Hoitt (1847-1925) was born in Newmarket, New Hampshire, the son of William K. A. and Sarah C. (Swain) Hoitt. His father was a descendant of John Hoyt, one of the original settlers of Salisbury, Massachusetts. On the maternal side he is a descendant of Phineas Swain who served at Bunker Hill on the American side. Charles enrolled at Dartmouth College in 1867, and was graduated in the class of 1871. He moved to Nashua to work as Master of the Mt. Pleasant School and later worked as an usher at the Lincoln Grammar School in Boston. He eventually gave up teaching as a profession and returned to Nashua and worked at a local law office. He was admitted to the Hillsboro bar in 1877, and worked as a City Solicitor and later as Justice to the Nashua Police Court. With his standing, he erected this fine house on Concord Avenue, with a deep lot where he raised rare exotic birds. Judge Hoitt served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1901 and in 1907, was appointed by Theodore Roosevelt to be the United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire. His residence in Nashua blends Queen Anne, Shingle, and Colonial Revival styles elegantly. The property was purchased in the 1920s by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua as a parsonage, a use it held until it was sold in 1977 to a private homeowner. The shingled porch was removed during the time it was a parsonage, but the house remains in excellent condition today!
The Stephen and Maria Mansfield House is located at 70 Concord Street in Nashua, New Hampshire, and is one of many stunning old houses along the largely residential street. The dwelling was built in 1888 for Stephen Willard Mansfield, a shoe dealer in Nashua, and his wife, Maria. The Mansfield House is a great example of a more modestly sized Queen Anne style house, which is typified by the asymmetrical plan, varied siding types, and intricate carvings and turned posts. This house is dominated by a two-story rounded bay which is capped by a conical roof. She could definitely use a good paint job but it’s a really sturdy old home built from old-growth lumber. She’s here to stay!
I do not feature enough Queen Anne style buildings on my account, as penance, I present this beautiful example of the style with a painted lady color scheme! Located on Windsor Avenue in West Acton, Massachusetts, this house was built in 1892 and has all the hallmarks of the Queen Anne style. The use of varied siding materials and forms, asymmetrical form, applied ornament, and large five-sided tower capped by a conical slate roof with weathervane. The home was built for Arthur F. Blanchard, a local businessman who operated an apple farm and marketing business opened by his father. Mr. Blanchard was a philanthropist in town and used his wealth to enhance his hometown by funding the Blanchard Auditorium at the Acton High School (1925) and was a benefactor of the West Acton Women’s Club in 1925. He and his son, Webster, also founded the Blanchard Foundation in town in 1946, an organization which funded and sponsored educational projects for the community.
Prominently sited upon a hill on a dead-end street in West Acton, Massachusetts, this Craftsman Bungalow is a very elaborate and well-preserved example of the style. The house was built in 1911 for George Varnum Mead (1861-1940) and his wife Effie Wright Mead (1860-1926) as their summer home when they weren’t living in Somerville. Mr. Mead was born in West Acton to Varnum Balfour Mead, who operated the A. O. W. Mead Company, a produce marketing business in Acton and Boston. Varnum’s brother built an elaborate Second Empire style mansion in town which was featured on here yesterday. George Mead followed his father’s footsteps and worked in the family business, which was in operation starting in the 1840s. The A. O. W. Mead Company gathered produce from farmers all over West Acton, kept the produce in cold storage facilities erected by the family, and sent it to Boston for sale at Quincy Market until George’s death in 1940. The Craftsman style house has a fieldstone base, low, overhanging flared gable roof, and is sheathed in shingle siding. Characteristic features include the multiple dormers, exposed rafter tails, grouped windows, and the large fieldstone chimney.
Buildings of New England 
