Old Building

Old Marion Meeting House – Marion General Store // 1799

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Tucked into the heart of Wharf Village, the main village in the charming coastal community of Marion, Massachusetts, this building which is known today as the Marion General Store, wears its history quietly beneath a deceptively simple Greek Revival facade. The structure was constructed in 1799 as Marion’s first Congregational Meeting House, where religious services of the congregational church were conducted before the separation of church and state. The construction of this wood-frame building did more than give the faithful a place to worship, it anchored Wharf Village as the commercial and civic center of town, setting in motion the currents that would eventually set Marion off from its mother-town, Rochester in 1852. By the 1830s, the old meeting house was in poor condition, and along with the push for a separation of church and state and tax dollars no longer going to the Congregational Church, a grander Greek Revival church was built across the street. The Old Meeting House was also renovated in the Greek Revival style and operated as Delano Hall, a store with dance hall and meeting space on the upper floor. The building lives on today as the Marion General Store, with its old clapboards and pilastes holding the layered history and architecture of the seaside community that grew up around it from working port town to wealthy coastal village.

Tamworth Town House // 1794

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The historic Town House in Tamworth, New Hampshire, was built in 1794 as the meeting house, serving as both the center of religious worship and local government for the community. The Tamworth Town House was built after the community voted to call its first minister in 1792, thirty-two-year-old Rev. Samuel Hidden, who was ordained on a large boulder (ever since known as Ordination Rock), as there was no public building to house the ceremony. Within a year, members of the community voted that the new meetinghouse should be two stories with a porch (stair-tower) on the front of the building, and it was to be built near Ordination Rock. The structure has an impressive hand-hewn timber frame, spacious interior with original gallery columns, and surviving pulpit window showcase the skilled workmanship of early builders. Following the passing of the Toleration Act of 1819 in New Hampshire effectively brought about the separation of church and state. It severed allowed citizens to stop supporting the established Congregational Church in all towns via taxation and instead now support the denomination of their choosing. From this, a new Congregational Church was built in the village and the old Town House was moved to the village and renovated to its present appearance in 1852 in the Greek Revival style. The renovation added updated Classical frieze and pilasters, a redesigned main entrance, and larger windows that complemented the new use as the Tamworth Town Hall.

Ordination Rock

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Parish House, Ashland // 1899

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Adjacent to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Ashland, New Hampshire, the congregation’s Parish House stands as a complimentary extension to the Victorian Gothic church next door. Built in 1899 as a vestry for the church, the Parish House perfectly blends both the Victorian Gothic and Shingle styles of architecture into a single composition with lancet windows and steep gable roof and continuous shingle siding and rubblestone foundation. While the architect is not known, the Parish House stands as one of the finest examples of a building of its type in New England and is clearly the work of a skilled architect.

Ashland Town Hall // 1871

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The Ashland Town Hall in Ashland, New Hampshire, was built in 1871, three years after the town separated from Holderness, due to its growing economy as an industrial village compared to its mother-town’s more agricultural character. Constructed of brick, the facade is dominated by its gable roof which reads as a pediment and bays divided by brick pilasters which harkens back to the Greek Revival style; while the use of arched brick mouldings which is a common element in the Italianate style. The handsome, well-proportioned structure was used for town meetings and elections until 1950, and in 1952, the building was used by the school district as the village school. The building returned to municipal functions in 1972 and has since housed the Ashland Town Offices. The Old Ashland Town Hall was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Mapleton Hall // 1883

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Located on Mapleton Avenue in the historic farming community of Suffield, Connecticut, Mapleton Hall stands as a remarkable testament to the town’s agricultural heritage and success. Originally constructed in 1883 as Central Hall, the building served as a gathering place for farmers’ meetings, civic events, and later the local Grange, reflecting the importance of agriculture in Suffield’s development. As its popularity grew, rear wings were built in 1896, expanding the hall to accommodate larger crowds drawn by community events and meetings. Architecturally, Mapleton Hall is a distinctive example of late Victorian-era rural meeting hall, featuring elements of the Queen Anne Stick/Eastlake styles, along with decorative woodwork, a prominent bell tower, and trussed gable that have been carefully preserved through decades of restoration. The building was sold in 1999 to the Suffield Players, a local theater group, who have preserved the building, using it for their theatrical productions.

Forest Hills Cemetery – Crematorium & Columbarium // 1893

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Separate from the main cemetery parcel, the Forest Hills Cemetery Crematory and Columbarium is architecturally significant and also historically significant as the the first crematory in New England. The cremation building was constructed in 1893 by the Massachusetts Cremation Society, an organization unaffiliated with the cemetery across the street. The original crematory building was designed by Ludvig Sandöe Ipsen, a Danish-American artist and designer who is best-known for his book illustrations. It is unclear why Ipsen, who had almost entirely given up architecture as a profession, was selected by the Massachusetts Cremation Society, but he showcased his design expertise for this handsome masonry building. The original crematory included a chapel, operating plant, guest area, and offices. Classical Revival in style, the building is constructed of granite with limestone trim and capped by a red slate roof. The first cremation in New England occurred here in 1894, when Lucy Stone, the important abolitionist and suffragist, passed away and was cremated here. The chapel inside the building was named after Lucy Stone. In 1905, the columbarium was added from plans by Ipsen, where cremated remains of the dead are stored and displayed in urns. In 1925, the property was sold to the Forest Hills Cemetery association and the building expanded to its current size.

Milford Armory // 1912 

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A source of local pride, the Milford Armory building on Pearl Street in Milford, Massachusetts, is an architectural landmark in the community and shows how adaptive reuse can give old buildings new life. The structure was completed in 1912 and constructed of locally quarried and cut Milford granite, a pinkish-grey granite that covers an area of approximately 39 square miles, centered around present-day Milford. Between the Civil War and WWII, the town of Milford became famous for its “pink” granite as a building material, with over 1,000 men laboring in dozens of quarries supplying the stone for some of America’s most iconic buildings including: the Boston Public Library, Worcester City Hall, as well as the original Penn Station and Natural History Museum in New York, among many others. Besides being built of local granite, the Armory was also designed by local architect, Wendell T. Phillips, who followed nationwide trends designing the building like a fortified Medieval castle with crenellated towers, with long and narrow windows recessed, emulating the slit windows used in similar medieval structures. Like in many communities all over the country, the need to store firearms and major National Guard trainings declined with some being demolished, others sitting vacant, and others like the Milford Armory, seeing new life. The Milford Armory was slated for closure in 2002 and was ultimately saved when the Town of Milford and the National Guard struck a deal to initially rent the building for a Youth Center and gymnasium and share the space with the Guard.  The armory was home to the popular Youth Center, which needed gym space not available anywhere else. The building was ultimately purchased by the town and underwent a massive restoration, being rededicated as the Milford Youth Center in 2016. 

Luther Store // 1815

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The Luther Store in Swansea, Massachusetts, is a historic commercial building constructed in 1815 and uncommon as a rare brick block with saltbox roof. The structure was built for John Brown Luther, and was operated by the Luther family as a store until 1903. The Luther’s Corner area was in the mid-19th century the economic center of Swansea, and Luther’s Store served as post office and library. The building was acquired in 1941 by the Swansea Historical Society, which now operates it as a local history museum following a restoration by Fall River architect, Maude Darling-Parlin.

Hall’s Block // 1883

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This diminutive commercial building on Water Street in Warren, Rhode Island stands out as one of the state’s best examples of a historic Victorian-era wooden commercial building, and its preservation is notable. The late-Italianate style wooden block dates to 1883, and exhibits its original wooden storefronts, second floor round arched windows with stained glass, and ornate detailing including the brackets, parapet and period-appropriate paint colors which allow those details to pop. The shop was owned in its early days by the John C. Hall, a carpenter who built the house next door. The building was used as an antique shop on the ground floor with a studio for author and illustrator, David Macaulay on the second floor. These types of smaller-scale commercial spaces are some last remaining (relatively) affordable spaces for small businesses to operate, and they add so much intrigue to the streetscape, especially compared to suburban cookie-cutter banks and stores.

C. L. Griswold Mill // 1850

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Tucked away on the banks of the Pattaconk Brook in Chester, Connecticut, this mid-19th century industrial building contributes to the town’s vibrant industrial past. Built in 1850 by Charles L. Griswold (1822-1901) the mill ran on water power and originally produced auger bits, wood screws, corkscrews and other light hardware under the name Chester Manufacturing Company, before closing in 1919. In the early-mid 20th century, the building was occupied by the Solar Masonic Lodge No. 131, who renovated the building and removed all the original factory equipment. The National Theatre of the Deaf bought the building in 1983 and restored the original openings, using the building for rehearsal space and small performances until the theater company moved to Hartford in 2000. With its future uncertain, the old Griswold Mill was purchased by the Chester Historical Society, who opened it as the Chester Museum at The Mill in 2010.

Goodspeed Livery Stable // c.1870

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This somewhat unassuming brick building at 316-320 Washington Street in Brookline Village, which now houses offices and a Chinese barbecue restaurant, was for many years the home of a livery stable. Livery stables were facilities where horse owners would pay a weekly or monthly fee to keep their horses and sometimes carriages, with 24/7 staff who take care of and feed the horses. Liveries were essentially the 19th century equivalent of parking garages today, just with more hay and manure. This building was long-owned by Monroe Goodspeed (1842-1921) who originally found work with an express company, delivering packages by horse-drawn wagon. By 1874 Goodspeed was operating this stable, first in partnership with Grafton Stone, and later as sole proprietor. The building was originally a two-story wooden structure but was expanded by the 1880s and built of brick, to fireproof the building. Munroe Goodspeed was succeeded in the business by his son Carl, and remained in operation until the early 1930s. After this, the vehicular door was cut into the first floor for garage use and the upper floor was boxed off from the original gabled design. Two of the original wagon entrances remain on the facade and are now the entrances to the restaurant and to offices in the upper floors. 

Seamans Block // 1888

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One of the more impressive commercial blocks in Brookline is located at the corner of Washington Street and Davis Avenue in Brookline Village. The Seamans Block was developed by its namesake, James Manning Seamans (1834-1908), a wealthy grocer who operated a store from the building. The handsome masonry block was built from designs by the firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, a successor firm to H.H. Richardson. As partner of the firm, Charles H. Rutan lived just down Davis Avenue, it is likely that he was in charge of this design. The structure follows the Richardsonian Romanesque style, popularized by Richardson through the rounded corner and heavy arches, but is done entirely in brick rather than adding brownstone or terracotta detailing. The building has long been an excellent example of a historic “mixed-use” block with ground floor retain and apartments above, something that many new developments try and emulate today. 

Mellen Law Office // c.1829

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Samuel H. Mann (1801-1838), a lawyer, acquired the Dr. Ebenezer Ames House on Cochituate Road in 1829, only a month before his marriage to Isabella Ross. At about that time, Mann built this small law office across the road from his home, where he would practice law. It is not clear why, but within a year, Mann sold the house and this law office to Judge Edward Mellen (1802-1875), who was appointed Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Court of Common Pleas in 1855 and practiced law in Wayland until his death in 1875. After his death, the law office sat largely vacant until during World War II, when a newsletter to soldiers, The Village Bugle, was published here. After this, a couple of businesses used the former law office in the 1950s and 1960s until the owner donated the lot to the Town of Wayland in 1971. The diminutive building is a charming, and well-preserved example of a vernacular, Federal period professional office building that mimics the form and materials of the Ames House to which it was long affiliated with.

Old Houghton School // 1849

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In 1849, the Town of Bolton, Massachusetts, built its first high school, the Houghton School at 697 Main Street in the town center. Blending Greek Revival and Italianate styles, similar to Bolton’s 1853 Town Hall, the Houghton School is a large, two-story, pedimented building of wood-frame construction. Interestingly, the school was largely funded privately by a local resident, Joseph Houghton (1772-1847), who in his will, bequeathed land and $12,000 for a public high school for the town. By the terms of the donation, nine men (all of whom had at one time served as a Bolton tax assessor) and their descendants, were barred from attending the school for a hundred years. Questions about the bequest were put before the Massachusetts Supreme Court, which disallowed this clause. An additional requirement, stipulated that no teacher could serve there longer than two years. That restriction was eventually put aside in the early 20th century. In 1917, the high school was discontinued. The fenestration was likely altered around this time. Bolton began sending its high-school students out of town to a school of their choice, and the Houghton School became the Bolton junior high school. In 1970-71, the building was converted to town offices, with the Town Clerk and Assessor on the first floor and the Police Department on the second. Since 2012, the building houses Bolton Access TV, as well as The Conservation Trust and Friends of the Bolton Library.


Cloon Stores // c.1880

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Washington Street in Marblehead is lined with dozens of amazing old homes, civic, and commercial buildings, that serves as the “downtown” spine of the old village. Located at the corner of Washington and State streets, this handsome late-Victorian commercial block serves as an important contributing building to the character of Marblehead. The structure was built around 1880 for a member of the Sparhawk Family, who operated the building as a factory or store for their shoe manufacturing. By the 1890s, the building was owned by Horace Cloon and Samuel G. Cloon, who operated a hardware store from the ground floor and leased the upper floor as apartments. The block retains its original bracketed cornice over the storefronts, but the brackets at the upper cornice are no longer extant.