One of the larger summer cottages on Hull Hill is the Miles Standish Cottage, which dates to around 1890. The cottage was built after the nearby Hull Yacht Club was completed in 1882, which was apparently the second largest yacht club upon its completion. Owner L. Miles Standish was the first owner and the eclectic Craftsman/Shingle style cottage has been lovingly maintained by all subsequent owners. The house appears to now have the name “Last Best Place”, which is very suitable!
Hull Hill is a relatively unknown enclave of summer cottages that sit on a rise overlooking Boston Harbor in the coastal community of Hull. The development of Hull Hill began in the 1870’s but became most active in the 1880’s and 1890’s. The land here was previously maintained as pasture and gardens by Hull villagers, but the land here was eventually sold and developed when the Hingham Water Company came to Hull in 1882. That same year, the railroad arrived which provided easier access to the town. This cottage on Andrew Avenue is one of the earliest summer residences built here, and dates to the late 1870s or early 1880s. The cottage was owned by Owen Augustus Galvin, a Boston lawyer, and his wife, Jane Sullivan Galvin. The unique cottage features a hexagonal section with a roof extending down to meet the wrap-around porch. The cottage exemplifies late 19th century cottage/resort architecture.
The United States Life-Saving Service was a United States government agency that grew out of private and local humanitarian efforts to save the lives of shipwrecked mariners and ship passengers. It began in 1848 when the congress appropriated $10,000 to establish unmanned lifesaving stations along the New Jersey coast south of New York Harbor. That same year the Massachusetts Humane Society also received funds from Congress for lifesaving stations on the Massachusetts coastline. It was decided to establish a life saving service station at Point Allerton after 61-year-old Joshua James and his crew rescued 29 people from four vessels wrecked in the Boston Harbor during the great storm of November, 1888. The United States Corps of Engineers had this Queen Anne style life saving station built at the northern shores of town, overlooking the Boston harbor. Joshua James became the Keeper of the station at 62, seventeen years past the mandatory retirement age of 45 for a federal appointment with the new U.S. Life–Saving Service. The station is the best-preserved of 32 stations that once lined the Massachusetts coast (most have since been demolished or adapted to other uses). It is now operated as the Hull Lifesaving Museum.
Those who have visited the tip of the coastal Boston suburb of Hull, Massachusetts, will recognize this tall tower, but may not have known its intended purpose. This is the Point Allerton Artillery Fire Control Tower, built atop the highest point in the town, to serve as part of the Coastal Defenses built around the World Wars. Several fire-control stations were built at Point Allerton going back to 1907, but this seven-story concrete tower is the last to remain here. This tower was built around 1942, as the US Government grew increasingly serious about the potential for war, with new batteries and surveillance bases built all along the coast, many of which remain to this day. Fort Revere, a remnant of the coastal defenses, remains in Hull, nearby. This 7-story fire control tower is the center of Point Allerton, and by virtue of its base elevation (124 feet), had its top observation level at 179 feet above sea level, making this the tallest observation point in the Boston harbor defenses. The tower was later deaccessioned by the government and is owned and maintained lovingly by a private homeowner on their land. The tower is luckily preserved for future generations to learn about this lesser-known part of Boston-area history.
Atop the Great Hill on Point Allerton in Hull, Massachusetts, this large summer “cottage” stands out for its unique architecture and siting overlooking the bluffs and Atlantic Ocean. The Shingle style house was built around 1890 by Edward D. Conant, a real estate agent and developer of Newton as his family summer home. The architect is not clear, but the house exhibits a unique four-story crenellated tower, giving the appearance of a castle from a distance. The house was later owned by Cardinal Richard Cushing (1895-1970) as his own summer residence. Cardinal Cushing served as Archbishop of Boston from 1944 to 1970 and was made a cardinal in 1958. Cushing’s main role was as fundraiser and builder of new churches, schools, and institutions, and he helped then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy deflect fears of papal interference in American government if a Catholic became president. Kennedy grew up spending summers at his grandfather’s home in Hull (featured previously). The Conant-Cushing House remains significant even with 20th century renovations.
By the end of the 19th century, various coastal developments on the elongated coastal town of Hull, Massachusetts, developed into established neighborhoods of cottages. As a result, new stores, schools, and post offices were built to accommodate the increase in population. William Henry Sylvester (1840-1923) a local resident, built this structure to serve as a store, professional offices, and post office. Like other buildings in the area constructed in the 1890s, the structure blends Queen Anne and Craftsman elements in a great composition. Sadly, the building has not been maintained and the windows are now boarded up, with the entire waterfront parcel selling in 2018. Plans to demolish the buildings on the site, including this charming structure were proposed to erect new townhomes, but they have not materialized. I’d love to see the site redeveloped with much-needed housing, but this structure should be incorporated in the development.
Summer cottages of the late 19th century are always a treat to come across! While most cottages I feature on here are more high-style and were built for the wealthy, Hull, Massachusetts, has some of the best middle-class summer cottages in New England! Steamships and rail service from Boston and other cities opened up Hull and Nantasket Beach to summer residents and day visitors alike, creating a massive increase in building in the latter decades of the 19th and early 20th centuries. This cottage was owned by Winfield S. Richards and his wife Myra of Newton, Massachusetts. The cottage blends Queen Anne and Craftsman styles with complex Queen Anne massing, turned posts, and recessed second story porch, and sloping roof extension to create the Craftsman-esque front porch. The cottage is one of the better-preserved in town and an excellent blending of architectural styles.
Hull, Massachusetts is an often overlooked town (besides Nantasket Beach Reservation), but there are some really great old houses and buildings to be found in the seaside town. This is the John Smith House on Meade Avenue in the Atlantic Hill neighborhood inland from the peninsular part of town. Development here was fairly slow, but took-off in the late 19th century when cottagers began to develop some house lots here. They were soon joined by year-round residents like John Smith, an ice merchant who built this home around 1895. Craftsman in style, the house exhibits a mix of building materials with a rough fieldstone porch and two matching stone chimneys together with wood shingle siding. The stunning stonework extends from the foundation, uniting the house to its terraced, rocky site. It is one of a handful of homes here that have not yet been altered or covered up by vinyl siding.
The area of Nantasket Beach in Hull in the late 19th century was a hotbed of taverns, thievery, and brothels. To counter this trend of unsavory uses, the Metropolitan Park Commission (MPC) of Greater Boston acquired about 25 acres of land at Nantasket, which included roughly one mile of shoreline extending north from Atlantic Hill in 1900. The initial appropriations provided for only minimal facilities, such as a bathhouse and a few incidental buildings, one of which was a waiting room for those arriving or departing from the new railroad station (since demolished) at the beach. The MPC hired the Olmsted Brothers landscape architects to design the paths and landscaping for the new park, and they worked with architects Stickney & Austin who designed many of the early buildings here. This stucco structure was built around 1930 and served as MPC offices and a police station until 1992. The building has been vacant since 1992, but a recent push to convert the nearly 100 year old structure into the Nantasket Center for the Arts is slowly materializing. Fingers crossed to see this building preserved and used for the arts!
Buildings of New England 