George B. Dexter House // 1885

An expression of the Shingle style in all her beauty, the George B. Dexter House on Sewall Avenue in Brookline was built in 1885 both as a residence and a billboard advertising the owner’s business, really. The residence was built for George B. Dexter (1854-1935) a partner in the Dexter Brothers Company a paint and stain manufacturer that was a favorite of architects in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For his Brookline residence, George Dexter hired architect S. Edwin Tobey to design this Shingled masterpiece with continuous shingle siding with rounded bays and a shingled piazza to showcase the stain products of his company. According to articles, Dexter also stained and painted the interior a variety of colors to showcase the wide range of options his company had. George Dexter would move to Pill Hill neighborhood in a new home just a decade after having this residence built, likely caused by the development of apartments and commercialization in the Coolidge Corner area by the turn of the century. The Dexter House was converted to a two-family in the 1920s and today has three condominium units, with owners clearly taking great pride in this significant residence.

Crandall-Peirce House // 1890

Talk about a statement! This pink, Shingle style house is located at 140 Brown Street in the fashionable College Hill section of Providence, Rhode Island. Built in 1890 for William and Katherine Crandall, the Shingle style residence stands out for its cantilevered two-story tower and corner rounded porch at the corner, and of course the continuous shingled facades. William T. Crandall was the president of the Union for Christian Work, a religious charitable institution which provided aid to needy children in Providence. Augustus R. and Ida W. Peirce would board in the home for decades, and were likely family, inheriting the property upon Katherine’s death in 1932. The architect could not be located.