queen anne victorian

Kingston Waterworks Pumphouse // 1888

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The Queen Anne style pumphouse of the Kingston Waterworks in Kingston, Massachusetts, is a unique brick building capped with a hipped roof and wood shingle tower over the arched entrance, surmounted by a bell-cast metal roof. The structure was built in 1888 from plans by Quincy Adams Faunce, a mason, who likely worked with an architect to design the building. Before the building was completed, residents had to pump and transport their own water. This was until the first private Kingston Aqueduct Company formed, when householders of means bought stock in the company. The Aqueduct Company used a natural spring near a local pond. Before the waterworks, water was piped through the village through hollowed logs with their joints covered with iron bands. The building remains a well-preserved and significant structure that allowed Kingston to grow from a sleepy agricultural town to a vibrant community.

Lynch House // 1889

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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.

Mary E. C. Bates House // c.1894

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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

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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

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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.

John E. Sylvester House // 1884

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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. 

Richmond Block // 1892

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The Richmond Block on Bow Street in Union Square, Somerville, is a historic and architecturally significant mixed use building. Constructed in 1892 as one of the substantial wood-frame buildings in the western section of Union Square, the Richmond was designed by architect Aaron Gould for Mr. Charles Drouet, who developed the Drouet Block, a historic flatiron building just years later. Designed in the Queen Anne style, this building is noteworthy for its corner tower, octagonal oriel bay windows, sleeping porches on the side facade, and polychromatic color scheme to highlight the many architectural details on the block.

Barnes-Luce House // c.1890

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This lovely Queen Anne style home can be found on Highland Avenue in Somerville, Massachusetts. Built around 1890, the residence was built for Walter Saunders Barnes (1838-1931), a manufacturer with a paper box business in Boston. The property was sold in 1903 to Robert Luce (1862-1946), a prominent businessman and politician who founded the Luce’s Press Clipping Bureau before he was elected a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1899 and 1901–1908. He was elected the 42nd lieutenant governor of Massachusetts in 1912. After serving as Lt. Governor, Luce would spend the next decades in the House of Representatives. His Somerville house is a well-preserved example of the Queen Anne style and includes a steeply pitched hipped roof with gable and dormers, asymmetrical plan, porch with braced supports, and a half-round window in the gable.

John Wales House // c.1885

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In the mid-1880s, John Wales, a wealthy hardware dealer with offices in Downtown Boston, purchased house lots in the Cottage Farm area of Brookline from Amos A. Lawrence, and set out develop the site with two stately Victorian homes. This lovely home was first occupied by John’s son, George Wales and his wife, Mabel, the year of their marriage in 1885. While the architect is unclear, it is probable that the design can be attributed to architect William Whitney Lewis, who was hired by John Wales the year prior to design a stable near his home in an adjacent neighborhood. The house was rented by Wales and subsequent owners for years. The elaborate Queen Anne style house exhibits an asymmetrical plan with recessed entrance set within an arched opening, shinged and brick walls with a prominent chimney at the facade containing a decorative terra cotta panel, and the most unique stucco gables containing what appear to be terracotta balls in geometric forms. This house is a perfect example of what is so special about the Queen Anne style!

George M. Thornton House // c.1870

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One of the finest homes in Central Falls, Rhode Island, is this eclectic Victorian residence on Clay Street. The home was seemingly built around 1870 and modified by the end of the 19th century by later owner, George Mumford Thornton (1850-1916). Mr. Thornton was an industrialist who was elected as one of the first aldermen when Central Falls incorporated in 1895. The well-preserved house features varied siding, a rounded corner tower with spiral-columned porch and conical roof, and original multi-light sash windows. What a spectacular home.

Odell House // 1887

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Built in 1887 for Charles Odell and his wife, Alice, this Queen Anne house on Winter Street in Salem, Massachusetts, stands out as a high-style example of Victorian architecture on the street notable for early-mid 19th century architecture. The house lot was purchased by the Jewett Family who lived in the brick house next door and long used the lot as a garden. Charles and Alice Odell married in 1888, so this Victorian home was built for the newlywed couple to raise their family. Charles A. Odell (1863-1931) worked at his father’s insurance and real estate business, later assuming ownership of business upon death of his father and was a district agent for New England Mutual Life Insurance Company. Sheathed in a combination of wood clapboards and shingles in a variety of patterns, the house has a steeply hipped, slate roof punctuated by cross gables and hipped dormers. The predominant window sash style consists of a distinctive sash in which the upper displays a triangle with central muntin over a conventional two-light lower sash. The property has been lovingly preserved for well over a century and is a landmark example of a Queen Anne style house in Salem.

Justin and Sarah Spaulding House // 1886

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Justin Spaulding and his wife, Sarah (Cooley) Spaulding erected this house on Springfield Street in Chicopee, Massachusetts, in 1886, and would later be known for their philanthropic gifts to their home city. Justin Spaulding (1838-1906) was a wealthy grocer who amassed a small fortune operating stores in the industrial Lower Pioneer Valley. The Spaulding House is one of the finest Queen Anne style buildings in Chicopee, and is notable for its asymmetrical form, tower, ornate gable detailing, porches with original balustrade, and the chimney with inlaid terracotta tiles. Justin Spaulding died in 1906, and Sarah C. Spaulding (1840-1907) would pass away a year later. They had no children. In her will, Sarah bequeathed funds for the first purpose-built library in Chicopee and money for a memorial chapel in a local cemetery. The Spaulding House was acquired by the Academy of Our Lady of the Elms (now Elms College), moved to its present location in 1920, and was converted to the Office of Admissions for the College. Besides the need for a new coat of paint, the house is lovingly preserved!

Thurston-Gladding House // 1886

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One of the finest Victorian-era houses in the College Hill/East Side area of Providence is this stately residence at 30 Stimson Avenue, known as the Thurston-Gladding House. The house was built for newlyweds, John Russell Gladding and Ellen (Thurston), on land given to the couple by Ellen’s father, attorney and judge, Benjamin Thurston. John Gladding was originally from Connecticut and the couple split their time between their Providence home and a country retreat in Thompson, Connecticut. Architects Thomas J. Gould and Frank W. Angell (Gould & Angell) furnished the plans for the home, which features a ground floor faced with textured brick and walls adorned by continuous wood shingle siding above. A rounded tower, projecting bays and dormers, and a elongated front porch break up the massing into a pleasing composition.

Ellen and Charles Baker House // 1898

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The versatility of the Queen Anne style of architecture is unmatched! This stunning example is located at 67 Stimson Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island, and was built in 1898 for Charles H. Baker and his wife, Ellen. Mr. Baker was a superintendent at the Gorham Manufacturing Company, one of the largest manufacturers of sterling and silverplate tableware in America. Sadly, Charles Baker would not get to enjoy the house for long as he died within a year of the house being finished. Ellen and the couple’s daughter, Maude, would reside here for years later. The Providence architectural firm of Gould and Angell designed the house with a large brick Flemish gable breaking the shingled mass of the house in a really abrupt, yet pleasing way.

Eveherdee Cottage // c.1889

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This Queen Anne style “cottage” is located on Gibbs Avenue, one of the lesser-visited streets for house-stalking in Newport, Rhode Island, but wow is she something! The summer cottage here was built by 1890 for Ogden Hoffman Burrows, a merchant who went into business with his father and brother in San Francisco, shipping goods from East Asia to America. He purchased two adjacent lots here on Gibbs Avenue in 1884 and 1889, having this house built as a summer residence, where he could mingle with other wealthy neighbors. The Queen Anne style house was reportedly designed by local architect, John Dixon Johnston, who incorporated all the hallmarks of the style: varied siding types and materials, turned post porte-cochere, applied ornament, and complex, asymmetrical form. Burrows would sell this house by the turn of the 20th century. Later owners, Herbert E. Stride and Daisy Thompson Stride, who would reside here with Daisy’s mother, Eve. The Stride’s named the home “Eveherdee” an amalgamation of their individual names: Eve (Eveline), Her (Herbert), and Dee (Daisy). The home was most recently owned by television producer, Vin Di Bona, who restored the house to its grandeur we see today.