Unique Architecture

Phebe Wallace House // 1854

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The Phebe Wallace House on Greene Street in New Haven, Connecticut, at first glance, may appear as a typical mid-19th century house, but some of the architectural features and details make it stand out! The residence was built in 1854 for Phebe Barney Wallace (1792-1872), a widow of William B. Wallace who died decades earlier. Phebe lived here with her daughter, also named Phebe, and a servant. The house exhibits a traditional Greek Revival form with gable roof oriented towards the street, with an off-center entry with Ionic portico, but the massive overhanging eaves without brackets with paired arched windows in the gable and balcony off the side of the house showcase the emerging Victorian influence in American residential architecture.

Bromley-Bradley House // c.1850

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One of the eclectic mid-19th century residences in New Haven’s Wooster Square neighborhood is the Bromley House, an exuberant blending of architectural styles that have been lovingly preserved. The history is a little murky on this residence but from research, the home was built around 1850 and was possibly a two-story flat-roofed Italianate style design with three-bay facade and off-center entrance. The home was acquired by Joseph Bromley, who appears to have added a third-story with gable roof. After the Civil War, the property was purchased by Lyman Erving Bradley, a veteran of the war who was employed as a police officer and later as private security for an area factory. It appears that Mr. Bradley, before his death in 1901, had the property expanded with a whimsical front porch, three-story side addition, and applied ornament in the Queen Anne style. The home is today a three-unit condominium, similar to the three-deckers found in cities all over New England.

Wrentham Village Hall – Daniel Cook Store // 1853

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Arguably the most recognizable and beloved building in Wrentham, Massachusetts, is this eclectic mid-19th century commercial building, known as the Wrentham Village Hall. The structure was originally constructed for Daniel A. Cook where he operated a store in the ground floor retail space and rented a meeting hall to local organizations above. The building was constructed around 1853 as a more vernacular building, but given its current appearance decades later when the ornate Stick style porches were added to the facade. While the building has served many uses over its history, the structure is suffering from some deterioration, which hopefully will not impact the rare surviving exposed porch framing and trusses, which give the building so much character.

Eben S. Draper Stable // c.1900

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Located next to his Tudor Revival style mansion, Eben Sumner Draper’s stable on Adin Street in Hopedale, Massachusetts, is one of the finest examples of the type in New England. It is possibly that the stable was built before the mansion was built in 1926 for Eben Sumner Draper Jr. (1893-1959), the son of Massachusetts Governor and Draper Corporation executive, Eben Sumner Draper. Little is known about this building, which stands at the end of a drive and is accessed over an arched bridgeway. The building has its first floor in stone with half timbering above. Two rounded towers with conical roofs frame the center entry, which may have been used for horses and carriage, or for personal automobiles, of which, Mr. Draper would surely have one of the first in the state. The building has been owned by the Ledges LLC, who operated a community for developmentally disabled adults.

Narragansett Engine Company No. 3 // 1846

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The Narragansett Engine Company No. 3 Station is an absolutely charming two-story building tucked away on Baker Street in Warren, Rhode Island, and is one of the oldest extant historic fire stations in New England. Built in 1846, the building features a flushboard-façade, pedimented-gable end oriented to the street, paneled double-leaf engine doors, and a rundbogenstil Palladianesque window centered on the second story. The small fire station was built to house, “Little Button”, a fire engine manufactured in Waterford, New York. This building served as a fire station well into the 20th century, and was restored decades ago by local preservationists. The building is open by appointment and houses the Warren Fire Department Museum.

William Winslow House // 1850

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The Smith-Winslow House on Warren’s Main Street is a striking two-story Italianate house with cubical massing with smooth stucco walls and bold detailing. The residence was constructed in around 1850
and was owned by Captain William Winslow captain of the schooner ‘‘Metamora’’, a trading vessel, and proprietor of Warwick’s Rocky Point, a shore resort and amusement park just across Narragansett Bay. The Winslow House was designed by Rhode Island architect, Russell Warren, who showcased his architectural prowess through the roof cupola, overhanging eaves, window hoods, and the unique Egyptian columns at the entry. Today, the residence operates as the Women’s Resource Center, a non-profit founded in 1977 to provide comprehensive domestic violence intervention and services that educate, advocate, and shelter any individual in need of assistance in the region.

William and Octavia Apthorp Mansion // 1885

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This unique four-story brick townhouse on Otis Place in Beacon Hill, Boston, was built in 1885 by the architectural firm of Rotch & Tilden for Mrs. Octavia L. Apthorp and her husband, William F. Apthorp. Elevated on a tall brick basement, the exterior of the house is richly detailed with masonry decoration in what has become known as the “panel brick” style; with an elaborate brick entrance archway, paneled pilasters at the third floor, and vertical brick lintels above the windows. Over the ground floor windows near the entrance, iron grates with spear-like finials give the design a Medieval/English Queen Anne presence. William F. Apthorp was the only son of Robert Apthorp, a prominent Boston attorney and abolitionist who lived across the street at 2 Otis Place. William was a pianist and teacher at the New England Conservatory of Music and writer who married Octavia (sometimes spelled Octavie) Loir Iasigi in 1876, she was also from a well-connected Beacon Hill family.

Sunflower Castle // 1878

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This absolutely unusual and enchanting cottage on Mount Vernon Street in Beacon Hill, Boston, was originally was constructed in the 1840s but completely altered decades later in its distinctive English Queen Anne style. In 1878, Frank Hill Smith, an artist and interior designer, worked with architect, Clarence Luce to renovate what was originally a two-story Greek Revival house into one of the most eclectic and unique residences in New England. The Sunflower Castle, a name reputedly coined by Oliver Wendell Holmes, features a yellow stucco first floor with the upper floors covered with red fish-scale shingles. Further detail includes the half-timbering, decorative panels depicting a gryffin and a sunflower in the gable, and carved wood frieze over the doorway. Clarence Luce was likely so inspired by this project, that he built an even more extravagant example of this house for Edward Stanwood in Brookline soon after. By 1903, the property was sold to the painter, Gertrude Beals Bourne and her husband, architect, Frank A. Bourne, who were both key players in the revival and gentrification of the Beacon Hill Flat neighborhood west of Charles Street in the early 20th century. The Sunflower Castle was used as their home and as an artist’s studio for the couple, with Frank adding the side garden wall with tile-roofed gateway to enclose a private open space. The property remains as a private residence.


Warren Foundry & Manufacturing Co. // c.1895

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The Warren Foundry and Manufacturing Company began manufacturing metal goods in the 1870s in Warren, Rhode Island. The company was started by Benjamin Miller Bosworth, and at first, the company only made wrought iron goods, but later expanded into producing iron and brass items. Its location next to the railroad tracks made the site perfect for importing raw material and shipping out finished products to markets all over New England. The original factory and smelting facility burned down in 1892, but Bosworth’s son, Walter, rebuilt the facility with this present building by 1895. The business closed by the 1920s and the unique wood-frame building with unique tower, has been adaptively reused as “The Mill at Warren Junction”, containing office and manufacturing space for small businesses.

James Dwight Dana House // 1849

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The James Dwight Dana House at 24 Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut, is a landmark early example of an Italianate style residence designed by a famed 19th century architect. Built in 1849 from plans by architect Henry Austin, the house was constructed for owner, James Dwight Dana (1813-1895) and his new wife, Henrietta Silliman and possibly funded by her father, Benjamin Silliman, a Yale professor who was considered “The Father of Science in America”. James Dwight Dana’s education in geology, in addition to his studies with his father-in-law, Professor Silliman, extended to the four-year United States Exploring Expedition between 1838–1842), in which Dana served as the staff geologist and mineralogist, exposing him to a wide-ranging variety of geological formations and minerals. Upon his return to New Haven, he married Silliman’s daughter and then moved into this stately home. Later in his career, Dana was responsible for developing much of the early knowledge on Hawaiian volcanism. In 1880 and 1881 he led the first geological study of Hawaii. The James Dwight Dana House has a three-bay front facade, with a single-story porch extending across its width, supported by wooden columns with unique capitals. The shallow roof has broad, overhanging eaves sheltering a unique corbelled brick cornice. The building was added onto in 1905 with similar architecture and was purchased by Yale in 1962. Today, the building is preserved by the University and houses the Institution for Social & Policy Studies (ISPS).