Low-Rock House // 1888

This handsome shingled Queen Anne style home on Allerton Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, is part of the reason why the “Pill Hill” neighborhood gets its name. The residence was built in 1888 for Mr. Sumner Flagg, likely as an investment property as the neighborhood developed into one of the finest in the Boston area. An early resident here was Judith Motley Low (1841-1933), founder of the Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture, which was the first school intended solely to prepare women as landscape professionals in a field dominated by men. In 1945, the Lowthorpe School merged into the Rhode Island School of Design and became the basis of RISD’s Landscape Architecture Department. Another prominent resident of the house in the 20th century was Dr. John Rock (1890-1984), a physician and scientist who worked nearby at the Massachusetts Hospital for Women. As a Catholic doctor, John Rock is best-known for two groundbreaking medical discoveries in women’s health: the birth control pill and in-vitro fertilization. Dr. John Rock and his lab technician, Miriam Menkin, were the first researchers to fertilize a human egg outside of a human body in February of 1944, this research was compounded and later led to in-vitro fertilization as we know it today. Additionally, while running his clinic, Dr. Rock encountered a number of women bearing unwanted children that they could neither afford financially nor handle physically. Rock observed numerous women who, after giving birth to multiple children, had prolapsed uteri, malfunctioning kidneys, and were prematurely aging. In 1952, Rock was recruited to investigate the clinical use of progesterone to prevent ovulation. Enovid, the brand name of the first pill, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and put on the market in 1957 as a menstrual regulator. In 1960, Enovid gained approval from the FDA for contraceptive use.

John D. Runkle House // 1875

The John Runkle House on High Street, is one of the most interesting houses in Brookline. Built in 1875 for educator John Daniel Runkle (1822-1902), the brick residence excellently blends early Queen Anne form and flourish with Victorian Gothic design elements all with Stick style entry porches and dormers. John D. Runkle was a noted mathematician who later became the second President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1868 until 1878. This occurred before MIT moved over the Charles to Cambridge, so President Runkle would not have traveled far to the Institute when located in the Back Bay. The Runkle House was designed by the architectural firm of Weston & Rand with an irregular plan of elaborate belt courses in the brickwork that is set against the extremely steep slate roof with tall prominent chimneys and corner turret. Sadly, the residence is largely obscured by a tall wooden fence, but I caught it on a good day that a panel was down.

Lynch House // 1889

One of the most unique and enchanting houses in the Ashmont Hill neighborhood of Dorchester is the Lynch House (aka the Sunflower House) at 102 Ocean Street, a landmark example of the Queen Anne architectural style. This residence was designed in 1889 by architect Samuel J. Brown, who worked in the firm of Cummings and Sears before opening his own office in Boston, where he specialized in residential designs. The first owners were Edward C. Lynch, a stair builder, and his wife, Petronella P. Lynch, who was born in Sweden and emigrated to the United States. Architecturally, the Lynch House features a prominent gambrel roof that swells out over the second-floor inset windows, clapboard and shingle siding, sawtooth shingled details over the windows, and the sunflower motif in a panel at the third floor.

Clark-Cottle House // 1890

One of the most sumptuous Victorian-era homes in Dorchester can be found at 94 Ocean Street, this is the Clark-Cottie House. The residence (and rear stable) was built in 1890 from plans by famed architect Arthur H. Vinal, who designed many other Shingle style and Queen Anne homes in the surrounding neighborhood. The first owners of the mansion were Evelyn and Edward Clark, who after a few years, sold the property to Edgar Cottle, president of the Curtis & Pope Lumber Company. The three-story Queen Anne style mansion features a rounded corner tower, varied shingle siding, shingled porch, and the intact, charming stable at the rear.

Mary E. C. Bates House // c.1894

One of the many spectacular Queen Anne style houses in the Ashmont Hill neighborhood of Dorchester (Boston) is this c.1894 residence at 53 Ocean Street. The house was built for Mary Elizabeth (Cushing) Bates and her husband, Henry L. Bates. Henry worked as a bookkeeper and the couple was able to afford a house lot in the fashionable Ashmont area of Dorchester, and had this home built. In the early 20th century, the couple purchased a then-vacant lot next-door at 57 Ocean Street, and had the current house there built, renting it out for years for supplemental income. Hallmarks of the Queen Anne style seen in the Bates house include: varied siding types, large porch supported by turned posts, asymmetry, projecting bay window, and applied ornament seen here in the gable.

George and Emma James House // 1894

Built in 1894 for George and Emma James, the house at 47 Ocean Street in the Ashmont area of Dorchester, stands as one of the finest high-style examples of a Queen Anne single-family residence in Boston. George James was born in Vermont and worked as a farmer before moving to Boston, where he found work as a shoe manufacturer, opening offices and manufacturing facilities in the Leather District. The house was clearly designed by a skilled architect, and historians note that the residence was the design of architect S. Edwin Tobey, a skilled proponent of the Queen Anne style, seen here with its incredible detailing and unique form. The high-relief carvings in the gable and panels stand out, along with the recessed porch, and historic stable at the rear.

Sidney A. Kimber House // c.1894

Built by 1894, this fabulous Queen Anne victorian house can be found on Ashmont Street in Dorchester, and it has a period-appropriate color scheme. The residence here was built for Sidney Arthur Kimber (1866-1956) a London-born printing expert, who for years worked at the University Press in Cambridge. Mr. Kimber was an expert on printing and wrote many books on the subject; he even built a working model of the first printing press brought over from England to Cambridge in 1638. The Kimbers lived here for just a few years before moving, and the house was sold a few times until the first long-term owner, Helena T. Shortell. The house is lovingly preserved and features a unique entry tower capped by an ogee roof.

Louville V. Niles House // 1887

Louville Varanus Niles (1839-1928) was born in Maine and came to Boston in 1860 for the chance to make his fortune. In 1870, he formed a partnership with his two brothers in the provisions business under the name Niles Brothers. The company would later merge with the Boston Packing and Provision Company. Niles moved from Boston to Somerville in 1882, purchasing the Bradshaw estate on Walnut Street. He remained in the house until he decided to redevelop the property, building a number of dwellings on the former estate bounded by Walnut, Boston and Munroe streets. For his own residence, Louville hired the firm of T. B. Blaikie and Son, who designed this beautiful example of a Queen Anne style house in 1887. The building has irregular massing, with numerous gables and rooflines. There is a prominent two-story, rounded tower at the corner, capped with a conical roof, and applied ornament in the gable ends, all common features in this style in the Victorian period. The owners have painted the house to accent the many unique details found here. 

John E. Sylvester House // 1884

One of the many beautiful old Victorian houses in the Prospect Hill area of Somerville can be found here on Summit Avenue, a tree-lined street with sweeping views to Boston and other neighborhoods. This house was built in 1884 for John Edwards Sylvester (1839-1901) and his wife Clarissa (Clara). The Queen Anne style house has a brick ground floor with shingled walls above. The facade is dominated by its gable roof with varied shingle siding, decorative belt course, and oriel window with highly ornate pediment above. The house was likely designed by the Boston firm of Sturgis & Brigham, who included Sylvester in their list of clients. Mr. John E. Sylvester was head of the John E. Slyvester Co. in Somerville, a spike manufacturing company started by his father. After John died in the home from heart failure in 1901, his widow, Clara, remained in the home with her daughter until after WWI, when the property was sold. 

Dr. Edson F. Whitman House // 1852 

One of the most eccentric and architecturally unique houses in Somerville can be found on Bow Street, in the middle of the busiest commercial district of the city. This is the Dr. Edson F. Whitman House (often known as the E.C. Mann House), which was built around 1852 and long-occupied by Dr. Whitman until just before his death in 1900. The house was likely a modest, 1850s Italianate style residence with its gable facing the street. Over time, as business increased, Dr. Whitman expanded his house and practice, adding Victorian flair to the once usual house. An entry tower with pyramidal roof and final was added with quatrefoil window and Stick style porch, an angled two-story addition was also added to the facade with a second-story porch, and applied ornament and curiosities were added to the doctor’s office and residence through the 19th century. Luckily for us, the Dr. Whitman house has remained relatively unaltered for the next 125 years!