Queen Anne

Parsons-Zielinski House // 1897

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Bounded by three streets and overlooking the town Common, this stately house in Salem, Massachusetts, showcases a blending of Queen Anne and Colonial revival styles. Built in 1897 from plans by Boston architect, Alfred Fernald, the house was constructed by and for its first owner, Joseph Parsons, a Civil War veteran and house builder. The Parsons family continued to live in the house until Joseph’s death in 1915, after which his widow, Minnie, sold the property and moved to Florida. Dr. Ignatius Zielinski purchased the property in the 1920s and divided the house into a physician’s office and several residential units. Tragically, Dr. Zielinski died while serving his country during WWII, and the family would retain the property until 1987. The house is unique for its materiality with the first floor consisting of ashlar, rough-faced stonework with a wood-shingled second story, stained glass windows and a wrap-around porch.

Odell House // 1887

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

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.

Roughwood Estate Cow Barn // 1892

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Like the Roughwood Mansion and carriage house, this building was designed and built in Brookline, Massachusetts, in the early 1890s as part of the “Roughwood” estate. Despite its high-style and ornate detailing, the building was actually constructed as a cow barn. Built in two phases for its two owners, William Cox and Ernest Dane, the large barn structure blends Victorian design into a use more reserved for vernacular detailing. The building was designed by Andrews, Jacques and Rantoul, and like the mansion and carriage house, blends Queen Anne and Shingle styles under one roof. Ever-since the estate became a college in the 1960s, the building has been used as a maintenance building. It appears that since it has been owned by Boston College as part of it’s Messina Campus, it is undergoing a thoughtful restoration!

Roughwood Estate Carriage House // 1891

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Built on the expansive grounds of “Roughwood”, a country estate in Brookline, Massachusetts, this former carriage house has seen many iterations in its lifetime. Like the mansion house, the carriage house is a blending of Queen Anne/Shingle styles with fieldstone and shingle construction, designed by the architectural firm of Andrews, Jacques & Rantoul. When the Roughwood Estate was purchased and converted to Pine Manor College, the carriage house was adaptively reused and added onto as the Annenberg Library with a large imaginatively designed wing by Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson and Abbott completed in 1986. The building remains as a library as part of the newly established Messina College, a campus of Boston College, which opened in July 2024 for over 100 first-generation college students. Gotta love adaptive reuse!

Blaisdell-Carter House // 1890

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Blaisdell-Carter House is a great example of a Queen Anne style home in Chicopee, Massachusetts. The house was built in 1890 for Harriet P. Blaisdell following the death of her husband, Samuel Blaisdell, a cotton broker, in 1888. Mrs. Blaisdell hired David B. Griggs, a builder in Chicopee under the firm D. B. Griggs & Sons, to design and build the residence, which sat across the street from Griggs’ own home. Harriet would pass away just three years after her home was built, and the property would eventually be sold to Nathan P. Ames Carter (1864-1959). The residence sits on a large lot and exhibits varied siding, asymmetrical plan with porches, additions, and steep gable roofs, and the use of irregular windows of varied sizing and locations. While the second floor porch has been enclosed, the house retains much of its original fabric and has not been covered by vinyl or aluminum siding, a rarity in Chicopee.

Griggs House // 1891

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

This fancy Queen Anne Victorian residence can be found in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, and is one of the most unique houses in the industrial city. This property was built and occupied by David B. Griggs, a builder in Chicopee under the firm D. B. Griggs & Sons. The firm was very busy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as Chicopee saw rapid industrial prosperity followed by a population boom, growing in population from over 9,000 residents in 1870 to 36,000 in 1920. Builders like David Griggs were able to grow to upper-middle class and buy property on desirable house lots and build large homes for their family, as was the case here. David Griggs died in 1896, five years after his home was built, and the property was inherited by his son, Millard Griggs. While the residence is covered in vinyl siding (original siding and trim is likely underneath the present siding), the house retains much of its original fabric including the brackets, delicate open friezes at the porches, and four-story tower.

Justin and Sarah Spaulding House // 1886

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

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

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

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.

Louis E. Robinson House // 1892

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Built in 1892, at the height of the convergence of tastes of the Queen Anne Victorian and more traditional Colonial Revival architectural styles, the Louis E. Robinson House at 60 Stimson Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island, showcases the intricacies and whimsy that can be designed when a house is a blending of styles. The residence was built for Louis Elmer Robinson (not Robertson like so many sources claim), a cotton dealer and merchant, from plans by architect Frank W. Angell of the firm, Gould & Angell of Providence. The Robinson House is a gambrel-roofed mass, set gable end to the street, leaving only the ground story and side elevations in clapboard. The polygonal half-tower attached to the side elevation and its paneled grouping of windows retains the older medieval allusion of the early Queen Anne style, but with a swans neck pediment topping the stair hall window showcased the Colonial influence. I am imagining the home with a more period-appropriate color palette, but it still shines!

Newton D. Arnold House // 1888

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Behold, a Queen Anne Victorian house in all her majesty! This residence, the Newton D. Arnold House, is located at 24 Stimson Avenue in Providence, and is one of the finest examples of its style in the city. Newton Darling Arnold (1843-1916) was employed at the Rumford Chemical Works serving as Treasurer for the company and from this position, accepted additional roles in banking and fraternal organizations, like the Freemasons, where he served a term as Grand Master of the secret society. Newton and his wife, Caroline, purchased a house lot on Stimson Avenue and set out to build one of the finest homes in Providence. To achieve this, they hired local architect, Edward I. Nickerson, to furnish designs. The Arnold House is covered by clapboard and shingle siding beneath a complex, cross-gabled roof of slate, with an ornate gable end and two-story corner tower.

Ellen and Charles Baker House // 1898

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

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.

Goodwin House // 1886

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Queen Anne style buildings are a favorite as they are all so different and interesting to look at with all the ornate details, asymmetrical forms, varied siding, and rooflines. This example on Stimson Avenue in Providence is a great example of the style. The house was built in 1886 for William P. Goodwin (1852-1921), a banker, insurance executive, and author, who never married and lived in the house with his sister, Sarah Jane Goodwin. Keeping it in the family, William hired his brother, architect, John Bray Goodwin, to design his residence, with little expense spared. Interestingly, the house is built right at the street with its front door accessed up a stair and a brick base adjacent to enclose the property from the sidewalk, creating a high garden wall with gate. There is so much to look at here, it is spectacular.

Joseph Fletcher House and Stable // 1889

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

With red brick and slate siding and all the finest trimmings, this house looks like a present wrapped under the Christmas tree! The Joseph Fletcher House is located at 19 Stimson Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island, and is an excellent example of a Queen Anne residence with the innovative use of siding types often found in the style. The residence was built in 1889 for textile manufacturer, Joseph Edward Fletcher (1866-1924), the son of wealthy, English-born manufacturer, Charles Fletcher. The Fletcher house and adjacent stable were designed by Stone, Carpenter & Willson, one of the most prestigious architectural firms in New England at this period. It is believed that the site was developed by Charles Fletcher, as a wedding gift to his 23-year-old son and daughter-in-law following their marriage. The home was recently sold, and the interiors are as stunning as the exterior!

Hiram Ricker House // 1893

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Hiram Ricker House sits in the Poland Springs Historic District of Poland, Maine, and was built as the personal residence of its namesake, who developed this formerly sleepy town into a destination in the 19th and 20th centuries. Hiram Ricker (1809-1893), the son of Wentworth Ricker and Mary Pottle, helped turn his father’s country inn in Poland into a popular late 19th century resort, bringing in droves of tourists to take in fresh air and the healing natural spring water. He and his wife, Janette (Bolster) Ricker had six children, all but one of which helped run the resort. This Queen Anne style residence was designed by Lewiston architect, George M. Coombs, and is set back down a long drive overlooking the resort grounds. Sadly, Hiram Ricker died the same year his residence was built, but the home was occupied by the Ricker Family for years after, notably by Hiram’s son, Hiram Weston Ricker. It is covered in later siding, but the trim details are preserved and typical of high-end Victorian homes of this period in Maine.

Oakwold Cottage // 1883

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Oakwold, a stunning Queen Anne residence on Old Beach Road in Newport, Rhode Island was supposedly built on speculation and purchased by Augustus Jay (1850-1919). Mr. Jay was born in Washington, D. C., the son of Peter Augustus Jay and Josephine Pearson Jay. Augustus Jay graduated from Harvard College in 1871 and from the Columbia Law School in 1876, and worked as a diplomat. His wife was Emily Astor Kane (1854–1932), a daughter of DeLancey Kane and Louisa Dorothea (née Langdon) Kane. Emily was a descendant of John Jacob Astor. The “cottage” was named Oakwold, and was designed by architect Clarence Sumner Luce, who designed many summer residences in Newport, and specialized in the Queen Anne style. Particularly noteworthy in the design of Oakwold are the brick first floor with entrance within a recessed arched opening and pebble-dashed and half-timbered gable ends.