Somerville MA

Prospect Hill Tower // 1903

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Originally part of the town of Charlestown, Massachusetts, Prospect Hill is now located in the nearby town of Somerville, established in 1842. As one of the hills closest to the city of Boston, the hill played a pivotal role in the line of defensive works constructed after the Battle of Bunker Hill. The area developed slowly, with old farms around Prospect Hill, largely subdivided in the late 19th century for residential development. Around this time, in 1886, the Prospect Hill Park Association was formed, and in 1898, land here was purchased for a public park. The focal point of the iconic neighborhood park is the stone castle structure at the top. Completed in 1903 to commemorate soldiers of the Revolutionary and Civil wars, the rusticated granite tower was designed by Ernest W. Bailey, the City Engineer of Somerville, who also worked to landscape the surrounding park. The granite blocks were shipped in from Deer Isle, Maine. By the 1960s, the structure began to suffer from deferred maintenance. The City of Somerville added the concrete retaining walls to shore up the landscape, which worked for some time. Decades later in the early 2000s, the structure was at risk of further deterioration. Through Community Preservation Act funds, the tower and surrounding landscape were restored and made safer, making this important memorial accessible and enhanced for all to enjoy. 

Louville V. Niles House // 1887

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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. 

Hollander Apartment Buildings // 1892

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These two stunning apartment buildings were constructed in the early 1890s in the Prospect Hill neighborhood of Somerville. Known as the Hollander Blocks after their original owner, Theodore Clarence Hollander, the two apartment buildings are some of the finest in the Boston suburbs. Both detached buildings follow a traditional three-decker block massing and form, but are decorated with varied siding, two-story columned porticos, and elaborate cornice. 

First United Methodist Church of Somerville // 1874

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This handsome Victorian Gothic church sits on Summer Street in Somerville, defining the northern edge of the Union Square area. The church was built for the local Methodist congregation, which was established in 1855. The group would meet in local meeting halls and houses until this building was completed in 1874. The towering brick church was once even taller, but its steeple came down following the Great New England Hurricane of 1938. The church closed in the second half of the 20th century and the building was used by the Somerville Community News for years until it was purchased by a developer and converted to condominiums.

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. 

Mrs. Laura Haley House // 1894

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This charming, gambrel-roofed house at the corner of Vinal and Pleasant avenues in Somerville, Massachusetts, was built in 1894 from local developer H. W. P. Colson, and sold upon completion to Mrs. Laura (French) Haley. An architect could not be located. Laura Haley was recently widowed and lived in the house with her daughter, with her son purchasing the house next door. The Haley House is notable for its gambrel roof with gambrelled center gable, pilastered dormers, stained glass windows, and full-length porch with columns and rubblestone base. The well-preserved house blends Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles under one broad roof. It is magnificent!

Bow Market // 2018

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One of the best and most successful examples of adaptive reuse in the Boston area has to be Bow Market in Somerville’s Union Square commercial district. Tucked away behind buildings on the busy streets, a former concrete block storage facility was reimagined as a vibrant, European style marketplace of local vendors and businesses. The project was envisioned by business partners Matthew Boyes-Watson and Zach Baum, who worked with Matthew’s father, architect Mark Boyes-Watson, to renovate the storage building to create storefronts. The team worked with landscape architects, Merritt Chase, to make the public courtyard more enticing, which each micro-commercial space opening onto the landscaped communal courtyard. Design elements include seat walls constructed from recycled granite from the renovation of the Longfellow Bridge and reclaimed wooden beams from a ship building facility in Hingham. If you haven’t been to Bow Market yet, you must. This project is exactly what good urban planning and design is all about!

Former Somerville District Courthouse // 1925

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The former Somerville District Courthouse at 19 Walnut Street in Union Square, is a two-story masonry building constructed in 1925. While much smaller and less ornate than other courthouses, the small building is significant as the first courthouse built in the young city and an architecturally significant example of a Classical Revival style civic building designed by architect Charles R. Greco. The building served as the Somerville District Courthouse until the late 1960s, when the legislature authorized a new district courthouse. The City of Somerville purchased the old courthouse in 1969, and the building has housed offices for the City’s Recreation Commission since that time. Interestingly, the building was used for the filming of a courthouse scene in the 1980’s “Spencer for Hire” TV detective show.

Dr. Edson F. Whitman House // 1852 

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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! 

Drouet Block // 1896

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Built in 1896, this handsome, four-story flatiron building at the corner of Bow Street and Somerville Avenue in Union Square, Somerville, was the largest tenement building in the city when completed. The property was developed by Charles Drouet, from plans by local architect, Aaron Hibert Gould. The block originally housed 37 apartments above six retail spaces at the street-level. The series of projections and an interior courtyard provided light and air into the apartments, which made them highly functional and desirable for families in the area. The building is more Colonial Revival than the 1892 Queen Anne style Richmond Apartments, also designed by Aaron H. Gould for Mr. Drouet nearby. The Drouet Block is a well-preserved example of late 19th century tenements in Somerville.