South Shore Boston Architecture

Joshua Delano House // c.1785

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

One of the finest Federal period houses in Kingston, Massachusetts, a town full of amazing Federal homes, can be found at 93 Main Street, set away from the street on a sizable lot. The residence here was likely built in the 1780s or 1790s as one of a series of Delano Family houses near Rocky Nook, a peninsula at the end of the Jones River, where many new ships were built and traversed their way to Plymouth Bay and ports in the Indies and beyond. The Delano Family had built the Delano Wharf and Warehouse and operated extensive salt works just north of the wharf on the Nook, along with owning many seafaring vessels, many of which were built by Kingston shipbuilders. This house was seemingly built for Joshua Delano and is architecturally unique with brick end walls, hip roof with a monitor which projects in the center of the hip, and a classical entry portico sheltering the projecting door surmounted by a fanlight transom. The property has recently been purchased. Hopefully the new owners treat this architecturally and historically significant residence with the care she deserves. 

Kingston Waterworks Pumphouse // 1888

Buildings of New England1 Comment

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.

Faunce Schoolhouse // 1844

Buildings of New England1 Comment

This one-story, well-proportioned schoolhouse is located in the town center of Kingston, Massachusetts. The Faunce Schoolhouse showcases all the hallmarks of the Greek Revival style, including the siting of the building with its narrow end facing the street to showcase the gable roof, corner pilasters, and the entablature completing the gable as a pediment. The school was built in 1844, shortly after the nearby Town House was completed, as a center primary school. Up until the early 1900s, one or two teachers taught first through fourth grades at the two-room school. By 1908, overcrowding at the school led to a town meeting that led to the construction of a new school to provide more space conducive to learning. The Center Primary School remained open, and in 1924, the school was renamed in honor of Walter H. Faunce, a former teacher, superintendent of schools, and town selectman. The building was abandoned as a school in 1926 and stood empty until 1934 when it was sold by the town to the Kingston Grange No. 323 for $400. The Grange occupied the building until 1959 when it sold the building back to the town for $4,000. The building was restored in the 1970s and remains a source of pride for the community to this day offering free meeting and event spaces for local non-profits.


St. Mark’s Orthodox Church // 1882

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Built in 1882 as a Catholic mission church, the St. Mark’s Orthodox Church on Main Street in Kingston, Massachusetts, stands as a lovely example of a Victorian Gothic ecclesiastical building in a great state of preservation. In the waning decades of the 19th century, the Irish and Catholic population of Kingston grew, which led members to petition the Diocese to erect a mission church closer to their homes, rather than attend St. Peter’s in Plymouth. Originally called St. Joseph’s Church, the building served the local Catholic population until after the new, brick St. Joseph’s. Church was built further down Main Street in the 1930s. The local St. Mark Of Ephesus Orthodox Church congregation purchased the chapel in 1995 and restored the building, removing faux-brick shingling and reshingled the exterior.

Holy Family Parish Church // 1882

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

In 1872, due to industrialization and increased numbers of immigrants settling in the area for work, it was decided that a new Catholic parish should be established in East Abington. Two years later, the village of East Abington incorporated as Rockland. It would be a decade later, in 1882, until the Holy Family Parish would be established, beginning planning of a true house of worship for the growing number of Catholics here. When the Holy Family Church was constructed in 1882, only a quarter of the Rockland’s approximately 4000 residents were Catholic at that time. Most of the original congregation consisted of Irish immigrants who worked in the town’s boot and shoe manufacturing industry. As the industry continued to flourish in the 1890s and 1900s, new shoe factories were built, bringing more workers to Rockland, including: Canadians, Italians, and British to the area. The town’s Catholic community grew as a result. The Victorian Gothic style Catholic church was built in 1882, with no known architect at this time. A complex of other buildings, including a school, rectory, and community center.

Peerless-Capitol Theater // 1894

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Located across from the North Abington Depot, this structure was constructed in 1894 as a leather harness and saddle shop by local businessman, Henry Crossley. The expensive building of cut granite and brick seemed to have overextended Mr. Crossley’s means, as he would soon-after file for bankruptcy. The building would remain as commercial use until 1915, when the property was purchased by the Peerless Amusement Company for use as a 300-seat theater. By the 1930s, the building became known as the Capitol Theater, and was listed to seat 230 customers on the main floor and 70 in the balcony. Due to the more rural nature of the cinema, it closed in the mid-20th century, and suffered from neglect for decades until it was restored and is currently housing apartments. 

Island Grove Park Memorial Arch // 1912

Buildings of New England1 Comment

The Abington Memorial Arch and Bridge at Island Grove Park was dedicated on June 10, 1912 as part of the town’s bicentennial observances. The Grove had been a popular meeting place for the Massachusetts Anti-slavery Society, with William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, Abby Kelley Foster, and Lucy Stone among the many prominent reformers who spoke there. Abington resident and Civil War veteran, Capt. Moses Arnold, donated a large marker in 1909 to commemorate the abolitionist meetings at Island Grove, this act led the local GAR Post to begin planning a Civil War Memorial Bridge and Arch for the community. The 17-acre park is comprised of a peninsula jutting into Island Grove Pond, a 35-acre body of water which was created by impounding the Shumatuscacant River in c. 1700 for industry. The area has a significant history, first as an industrial site, then as an amusement park, before it became the wooded park it is now. The Memorial Arch and Bridge serves as the main entrance to the park, and was designed collectively by architect, J. Williams Beal, landscape architects, the Olmsted Brothers, and sculptor, Bela Pratt. The municipal park is a beloved local landmark and host to many events.

John L. Sullivan House // c.1812

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

This modified Federal style cottage in Abington, Massachusetts, is known locally as the last home of World Heavyweight Champion bare knuckle boxer, John L. Sullivan. John Sullivan (1858-1918) died in this house on February 2, 1918, of heart disease, but left behind a legacy that will last forever. The house was originally constructed around 1812 for Jacob Cobb, a Deacon of a local church and after successive ownership, the house was purchased by boxer John Sullivan, to celebrate his retirement. As a professional fighter Sullivan was nicknamed The Boston Strongboy, and was one of the first great American boxers and was the last world champion bare-knuckle boxer. He had a record of 47 wins, 1 loss and 2 draws, with 38 wins by knockout in his career. Sullivan’s blustering personality and fabled strength gained him a great following, and he would be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of its original class. As champion he earned more than $1 million but squandered it. A hard drinker during his ring career, he later became an advocate of prohibition and delivered many lectures on the subject. His brick Federal house in Abington was modernized by him, adding the dormer and full-length front porch supported by rubblestone columns.

Dr. Gridley Thaxter House // 1798

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Dr. Gridley Thaxter House on Washington Street in Abington, Massachusetts, is one of the most significant properties in the South Shore town, not only for its architecture, but also its owners. The house was built in 1798 for Dr. Gridley Thaxter (1756-1845), a ship’s surgeon in the Navy during the American Revolution. He married Sarah Lincoln (1761-1810), the daughter of Benjamin Lincoln of Hingham, a Major General in the Revolution and served from 1781 to 1783 as the first United States Secretary of War. Dr. Thaxter and his new bride acquired land in Abington, and moved there where he would serve as the town’s doctor. After his death, the property was inherited by Elizabeth Thaxter Hunt, the couple’s daughter, and her husband, Joseph Hunt. It was Elizabeth, who added the Italianate window hoods and a cupola (since removed) at the roof, “modernizing” the family homestead.

Former St. Mary’s of the Bay Catholic Church // 1928

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Catholic residents of Hull, Massachusetts surged in the early 20th century with many well-to-do Irish families settling in town as year-round or summer residents. As a result, the cramped original St. Mary’s of the Bay Catholic Church was deemed too cramped, and a site in Hull Village was selected for a new church. In 1927, ground was broken for the new stucco church, which was partially funded by the Kennedy Family, who had a summer house nearby. The first service took place in 1928 and the church was in use as a religious building until the 1990s when it was sold to a private owner. The church was converted to a single-family residence and recently sold to new owners, who preserve the significant Spanish Colonial Revival style edifice.

Point Allerton Life Saving Station // 1889

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The United States Life-Saving Service was a United States government agency that grew out of private and local humanitarian efforts to save the lives of shipwrecked mariners and ship passengers. It began in 1848 when the congress appropriated $10,000 to establish unmanned lifesaving stations along the New Jersey coast south of New York Harbor. That same year the Massachusetts Humane Society also received funds from Congress for lifesaving stations on the Massachusetts coastline. It was decided to establish a life saving service station at Point Allerton after 61-year-old Joshua James and his crew rescued 29 people from four vessels wrecked in the Boston Harbor during the great storm of November, 1888. The United States Corps of Engineers had this Queen Anne style life saving station built at the northern shores of town, overlooking the Boston harbor. Joshua James became the Keeper of the station at 62, seventeen years past the mandatory retirement age of 45 for a federal appointment with the new U.S. Life–Saving Service. The station is the best-preserved of 32 stations that once lined the Massachusetts coast (most have since been demolished or adapted to other uses). It is now operated as the Hull Lifesaving Museum.

Conant-Cushing House // c.1890

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Atop the Great Hill on Point Allerton in Hull, Massachusetts, this large summer “cottage” stands out for its unique architecture and siting overlooking the bluffs and Atlantic Ocean. The Shingle style house was built around 1890 by Edward D. Conant, a real estate agent and developer of Newton as his family summer home. The architect is not clear, but the house exhibits a unique four-story crenellated tower, giving the appearance of a castle from a distance. The house was later owned by Cardinal Richard Cushing (1895-1970) as his own summer residence. Cardinal Cushing served as Archbishop of Boston from 1944 to 1970 and was made a cardinal in 1958. Cushing’s main role was as fundraiser and builder of new churches, schools, and institutions, and he helped then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy deflect fears of papal interference in American government if a Catholic became president. Kennedy grew up spending summers at his grandfather’s home in Hull (featured previously). The Conant-Cushing House remains significant even with 20th century renovations.

Lovell’s Tavern // 1744

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

This gambreled Georgian cape house was built around 1744 and first occupied as a tavern. Local tradition holds that in this house, the town officials held meetings and managed governmental duties. After the Revolution, a new town hall was built and the tavern reverted back to its former use. It was occupied by Samuel and Olive Lovell until Olive’s death in the 1840s, she possibly ran the tavern alone for the thirty years she outlived her husband. The home is an excellent example of a pre-Revolutionary Georgian home, with a cedar shingle roof to top it all off!

Temple Israel Synagogue // 1920

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

In the early 20th-century, Hull was linked by ferry, railway and road to Boston and this resort town became a popular urban recreational destination. Between 1915 and 1920, Jewish Bostonians started buying property and building summer homes in the area. The new Jewish summer residents required a temple for worship when away from their main homes. In 1920, land was purchased just north of the bustling Nantasket Beach for the erection of a place of worship. This temple was likely built by a Jewish architect/builder Joseph Rudnick, who arrived in Boston from present-day Lithuania in 1886. Unable to speak English, he hired a tutor to teach it to him, and quickly began working on constructing apartments and other buildings all over the Boston area. Temple Israel of Nantasket remains a handsome and rare example of a 1920 American
wood-framed, stucco-clad synagogue, with an active congregation.

Hull Public Library // 1879

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

“We must not be Irish or African, or black or white. Not in America. We are gathering here … not to build up any petty community but to make the greatest nation and the strongest brotherhood that God ever smiled upon.”-John Boyle O’Reilly. This home (now the Hull Public Library) replaced the old Hunt House, which was the first parsonage of Hull, which was built around 1750. John Boyle O’Reilly, an Irish-American poet, journalist, author and activist bought the Hunt House in the 1870s and soon after demolished it as he felt it could not be salvaged. There are books about O’Reilly’s life story, so I recommend checking out his Wikipedia page. He constructed this house as a summer home by 1879, an excellent example of an early Shingle-style home. I cannot locate the architect, but am dying to learn! In the summer of 1890, O’Reilly took an early boat to his residence in Hull, Massachusetts from Boston. He had been suffering from bouts of insomnia during this time. That evening he took a long walk with his brother-in-law hoping that physical fatigue would induce the needed sleep.Later on that night he took some of his wife’s sleeping medicine and he apparently suffered an overdose of the medicine at this home, passing away at 46. Thousands of Bostonians mourned O’Reilly, and memorials were erected in the city, including the iconic 1896 John Boyle O’Reilly Memorial by Daniel Chester French.