Queen Anne Style

Edgar and Julia Belcher House & Carriage Barn // 1896

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

While the town of Easton, Massachusetts, may be known for its iconic Henry Hobson Richardson designed buildings and Ames Family mansions, there are many other houses and buildings that warrant a closer look! This is the Edgar and Julia Belcher House & Carriage Barn on Purchase Street in Easton. The residence and corresponding carriage barn behind were built around 1896 for Edgar Belcher and his wife, Julia Rankin Belcher, who acquired the land from Julia’s father, who owned the surrounding property as a farm. The couple had one child who did not survive infancy and the property was sold out of the family. The residence and barn retain their architectural integrity, including the shingle siding and porch at the house, and the cupola and original hay door in the barn.

Captain David Rice Farmhouse // 1785 & 1905

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Captain David Rice (1757-1825) was a resident of Rutland, Massachusetts, upon the outbreak of the American Revolution, where he served as fought in the local militia. After the war, David Rice married Abigail Newton in 1785 and purchased farmland in the western portion of Princeton, Massachusetts. With a property of over 100 acres, David and Abigail Rice had this farmhouse built, which is believed to be the main block of the present house on Old Colony Road. The Rice family farm was impacted in 1825 by the deaths of both Capt. David Rice and his eldest son, David Rice Jr., within four months of each other. The Rice farmland, which at the time of the patriarch’s death, included 121 acres and it underwent a complex division among the heirs, who included the two Rice widows. In 1852, area resident, Simeon Clark, purchased the Rice farmstead and modernized the house in the Greek Revival style, adding a side ell and corner pilasters which remain today. The property was again enlarged and “modernized” in the early 20th century with the present Queen Anne Victorian modifications which include the the paired ridge chimneys, projecting cornice, side ell, bay windows at the facade, pedimented dormers with patterned shingles, and the full-length front porch. The house was renovated from a farmhouse to a country estate, similar to many other area farmhouses in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Princeton.

Abijah Moore Tavern – Locust Lawn // c.1750 & 1890

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

A Colonial-era tavern that was Victorianized in the 19th century as a summer residence, only in New England! This stately mansion sits on Merriam Road in the charming town of Princeton, Massachusetts and was originally built by 1750 as a tavern/inn. Owner Abijah Moore (1724-1792) built the residence here as the road in front of his property was the main east-west highway between Lancaster and Barre, part of the Old Bay Path in the Commonwealth. When Princeton was first incorporated in 1759, it was in this house that the newly formed community held their first meetings. In 1765, Moore sold the property and moved to Vermont, and the Tavern became a farmhouse, renovated in the early 19th century with twin chimneys and barns behind. As Princeton shifted from agricultural to a summer colony, the property was purchased by Thomas Hastings Russell, who spent summers in his modified family homestead across the street. The traditional New England farmhouse was “modernized” in around 1890 with a full-length porch with corner gazebo and renamed Locust Lawn. The property was gifted to Thomas’ daughter, Mary, and her husband, Edward, as their own summer home.

Dr. Charles E. Parker House // 1894

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

A stunning example of the Queen Anne style, the Dr. Charles E. Parker House on Worcester Road in Princeton, Massachusetts, showcases the unique forms and architectural details that can make these homes so enchanting. The residence was built for its namesake, Dr. Charles Parker (1864-1905), a local physician who was educated in Vermont and settled in Princeton where he found ample work. For their residence, the large Victorian house features an asymmetrical form with prominent corner tower with recessed porch inside which provides sweeping views of the rolling hills in all directions.

East Princeton Congregational Chapel // 1885

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

In the 1880s, members of the First Congregational Church of Princeton, Massachusetts, who lived in the area of East Princeton Village, petitioned their minister Reverend Archibald Love, to consider the possibility of building a small church to accommodate them. Prior to this, members had to travel over three miles every week and sermon, to the Town Center, where the Congregational Church was located. Reverend Love permitted the erection of a small Congregational Chapel in East Princeton, which broke ground on Main Street in 1885. The Queen Anne style chapel features a steeply pitched roof, offset entrance set within a tower with a belfry above, and bands of decorative shingles breaking up the massing of the building. Services in the East Princeton Chapel ceased in 1960 and the chapel was sold by the congregation and was converted to a private residence, while retaining its unique architectural quality.

Rice-Petersen House // 1896

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Built in 1896 by Dr. A.W. Rice, this quintessential example of a Queen Anne style Victorian residence has stood on Marion’s Cottage Street, preserved and contributing to the town’s rich history. Alger W. Rice (1855-1914) was born in Vermont and moved to Marion after graduating medical school and operated his medical office from his home here and lived with his family until his death. Dr. Rice also raised and bred award-winning Russian Wolfhounds and pigeons. Between 1921 and 1979 the property was owned by two generations of the Petersen family, beginning with Viggo Valdemar Petersen (1869-1941), a native of Bornholm, Denmark, who worked as a chef before entering the ice cream manufacturing business in the early 20th century. Peterson operated a popular ice cream parlor out of the rear carriage house during the 1930s until his death in 1941. When Viggo died in 1941, his son, Viggo C., attempted to carry on, until wartime cream rationing forced him to close for the duration of the conflict. Thereafter, Petersen’s ice cream resumed production and remained a Marion fixture until its final closing in the 1970s. The former residence remains commercial today, but maintains its charm.

Dr. Jonathan M. Cheney House // c.1895

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Dr. Jonathan M. Cheney House in the town of Ashland, New Hampshire, is significant as a well-preserved example of Queen Anne architecture with all the flourish and asymmetry expected in the iconic style. The residence was built around 1895 for Jonathan Morrison Cheney (1863-1918), a prominent physician in Ashland and also served as a member of the General Assembly in 1909 and a member of the State Senate in 1911. Dr. Cheney was the son of Col. Thomas P. Cheney, a well-known New Hampshire politician, and enjoyed his connections and success from family, eventually being able to afford such an ornate mansion in his hometown. While the architect is unknown, the Cheney House stands out for its use of varied materials including a brick ground floor and clapboards above, decorative porch frieze, and the four-story square tower with mansard roof and paneling at the third floor. The residence today serves as a bed & breakfast, appropriately named the Cheney House.

Fleur-De-Lys Studios // 1885

Buildings of New England3 Comments

The Fleur-de-Lys Studios is of the most architecturally significant and unique buildings in New England and can be found on Thomas Street in the College Hill section of Providence. Built in 1885 and a vivid expression of the Queen Anne style and showing the emergence of the Arts and Crafts movement movement in America, the handsome building blending is the result of a partnership between artist, Sydney Richmond Burleigh and architect, Edmund R. Willson as a dedicated creative hub for working artists, a purpose it still serves today under the stewardship of the Providence Art Club, who received the deed of the property in 1939 by Burleigh’s widow. Its design draws heavily on medieval English and Tudor Revival influences, with a striking half-timbered façade, stucco panels, carved heads as hanging pendants, and projecting casement windows that break dramatically from the surrounding colonial streetscape. What truly sets the structure apart, however, is its richly symbolic ornamentation—allegorical figures representing painting, sculpture, and architecture adorn the exterior. More than a century later, the Fleur-de-Lys Studios remains both a National Historic Landmark and a living workspace, preserving its original spirit as a place where art and architecture are inseparably intertwined.

Webber-Bouve Mansion // 1885

Buildings of New England3 Comments

One of the most unique and truly great Victorian-era residences in Brookline, Massachusetts, can be found on Kent Street, an eclectic and fairly hidden mansion built of stucco, stone and terracotta. Built in 1885 by John Prescott Webber, a Maine lumber baron who moved to the Boston area and became a real estate magnate, the handsome residence was designed by architect, S. Edwin Tobey. The most important element of the structure is its surfacing material, with random and quarry-faced ashlar used on the first floor with roughcast stucco on the second level. Additional detailing includes the large brackets, irregular form and fenestration, massive bays, gables, stone porte-cochere, and carved terracotta details. The house was likely sold to George F. Bouve shortly after it was completed, and he remained the owner until his death in 1898. Mr. Bouve was a shoe and leather dealer and shoe manufacturer. The Webber-Bouve Mansion is one of those houses that the more you look at it, the more detail and unique features you notice. The historic stable was demolished in 1995 in exchange for a preservation restriction on the main house by the owners.

Houghton House – Yawkey Family Inn // 1890

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Built on the site of an earlier house at 241 Kent Street in Brookline, this grand, Queen Anne style house has seen a life as a single-family home, fraternity house, and ultimately, the Yawkey Family Inn, a temporary residence for patient families undergoing procedures and treatments at Boston Children’s Hospital. A landmark example of the Queen Anne architectural style, the handsome near-symmetrical residence has paired conical towers at the facade, a brick first floor, paneled chimneys, and elaborate carvings in the entry portico, second-story bays, wall surfaces and gabled dormer. Planning for the new mansion began in 1889 when owners, Harriet and Andrew Jackson Houghton, owner of the Vienna Brewery in Boston, hired architect, James Templeton Kelley, to furnish plans for their new suburban mansion. Sadly, Andrew Houghton died in 1892, shortly after the house was completed, and Harriet remained here until her death in 1925. After this, the property was sold to the Beta Upsilon Association for use as a Fraternity House for the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity of MIT and later as a fraternity house for a Northeastern University frat. In 2009, the property was purchased, renovated and expanded to the rear as the Yawkey Family Inn, ensuring its preservation and remaining as a quieter neighbor to the surrounding residents than its previous use.

Potter-Leland House // c.1888

Buildings of New England2 Comments

Francis Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, has some of the finest Queen Anne Victorian residences in the Boston area. This is the Potter-Leland House, built by 1888 by William Potter, a wealthy shoe manufacturer and businessman who developed rental housing in the neighborhood not far from his house on Kent Street. Various exterior wall textures, irregular massing, and turned posts on the front porch contribute to the Queen Anne character of this house, but the real showstopper is the rounded bay projection with three, 25-over-2 (yes you heard that right) curved sash windows! The property was later purchased by Herbert M. Leland, a broker.

Dr. Caroline Eliza Hastings House // 1890

Buildings of New England2 Comments

A fine example of the Queen Anne style of architecture, this late 19th century residence in Sharon, Massachusetts, is equally significant for one of its owners, Dr. Caroline Hastings. Caroline Eliza Hastings (1841-1922) was born in Barre, Massachusetts, and after attending public schools there, would enroll at the New England Female Medical College (later absorbed into the Boston University Medical School), graduating with an MD degree in 1868. She conducted a private practice and additionally worked as an instructor at her alma mater. She was affiliated with the Talitha Cumi Home in Jamaica Plain, Boston, a medical facility run by women to treat and house unmarried mothers and their young children. Doctor Hastings was an amazing woman who also established and was president of Boston’s first women’s medical society, and while on the Boston School Committee, implemented the first free school lunch program for poor children in the country. In the early 20th century, Dr. Hastings and her husband, Charles Printer, purchased this house built in 1890 and moved here together, where they likely enjoyed retirement. Dr. Caroline E. Hastings died in 1922, and her Sharon home has been preserved by later owners and resembles the property when she resided here.

Timothy Quinn House // 1892

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Timothy Quinn House on South Main Street in Sharon, Massachusetts, is an extravagant example of the Queen Anne style that maintains its flourish and ornate details. The residence was built in 1892 for Timothy Francis Quinn (1863-1934), a first-generation Irish resident who owned and managed a shipping business with his brother, John. Timothy Quinn was active in local affairs and with the local Catholic church and historical society. After his death in 1934, the property was inherited by his wife, Elizabeth, and later by their daughter, Esther. Architecturally, the Quinn House has an irregular plan and features varied siding, brackets, a tower capped by a conical roof, and elaborate porch, all painted to highlight the many unique details. 

John G. Phillips House // 1901

Buildings of New England3 Comments

The John G. Phillips House on Pleasant Street in Sharon, Massachusetts, is a playful and eclectic example of early 20th century residential architecture showcasing the blending of many styles into a single composition. The house was built in 1901 for John Goddard Phillips, who moved to Sharon from Boston to retire in this large home, and serve as President of the Sharon Historical Society. The house blends typical Queen Anne and Shingle style forms but with interesting brackets common in styles popular a half-century earlier.

Charles H. Rutan House // 1889

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

In 1889, prestigious architect Charles H. Rutan, purchased a house lot from the heirs of Elijah Emerson on the family estate and oversaw construction of his own residence in Brookline Village. Charles Hercules Rutan (1851-1914) was born in New Jersey and moved to Brookline in 1874, where he worked in the office of famed American architect, Henry Hobson Richardson. After Richardson’s death in April 1886, at the height of his career, Rutan and two other senior employees, George Foster Shepley and Charles Allerton Coolidge, took charge of the studio and its uncompleted work. Soon after, the three formed a formal partnership, Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, to succeed to Richardson’s practice, and in 1887 moved the office to Boston. From his new position as head of a prominent firm, Rutan designed this handsome Queen Anne/Shingle style mansion for his family, where he lived until he suffered from two debilitating strokes in 1912, when he and his wife moved to an apartment on a nearby street. Besides the blue color, the house retains so much of its original architectural integrity and is one of the most significant residences in the Brookline Village neighborhood.