Victorian Architecture

Dr. Caroline Eliza Hastings House // 1890

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A fine example of the Queen Anne style of architecture, this late 19th century residence in Sharon, Massachusetts, is equally significant for one of its owners, Dr. Caroline Hastings. Caroline Eliza Hastings (1841-1922) was born in Barre, Massachusetts, and after attending public schools there, would enroll at the New England Female Medical College (later absorbed into the Boston University Medical School), graduating with an MD degree in 1868. She conducted a private practice and additionally worked as an instructor at her alma mater. She was affiliated with the Talitha Cumi Home in Jamaica Plain, Boston, a medical facility run by women to treat and house unmarried mothers and their young children. Doctor Hastings was an amazing woman who also established and was president of Boston’s first women’s medical society, and while on the Boston School Committee, implemented the first free school lunch program for poor children in the country. In the early 20th century, Dr. Hastings and her husband, Charles Printer, purchased this house built in 1890 and moved here together, where they likely enjoyed retirement. Dr. Caroline E. Hastings died in 1922, and her Sharon home has been preserved by later owners and resembles the property when she resided here.

Francis L. Willard Summer House // 1886

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Built in 1886 as a summer house, this handsome Shingle style residence on Pleasant Street in Sharon, Massachusetts, is one of the finest examples of the Shingle style in the area. The house was built as a summer residence for Francis Lyman Willard (1845-1913), who was President and Treasurer of the Riverside Boiler Works in Cambridge, and maintained a primary residence in Jamaica Plain. He and his wife, Mary Smith Willard, had this home built as their country retreat, spending summers here to escape the hustle-and-bustle of city life. The architect could not be discovered at this time, but it appears to have been a Boston-area architect that specialized in the Shingle style due to its unique and high-quality detailing. The feature that stands out is the four-story wood shingled tower on the facade capped by a bell roof that includes a large 20-over-20 double-hung curved wood sash stair window. 

Stoneholm Manor // 1865

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Stoneholm Manor is a historic estate tucked away in Sharon, Massachusetts, that remains one of the finest examples of a Second Empire style mansion and carriage house built of stone in New England. Stoneholm was built in 1865 for Horace Augustus Lothrop (1828-1898) within a year of his marriage to second wife, Sarah Gorham Swain. Horace A. Lothrop was a manufacturer and businessman with factories in Sharon and nearby towns and he invented innovative tools like hoes and wooden shanks for foot support in shoes and boots. He was also engaged in politics, serving in the state legislature and on the local school board. His country estate in Sharon is unique for its construction of locally quarried rock-face granite walls, fine mansard roof with cupola, and matching L-shaped carriage house, all in great condition. Stoneholm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and remains a private residence.

George P. Lawrence Summer House // 1897

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On the eastern shore of Lake Massapoag in Sharon, Massachusetts, the George P. Lawrence Summer House is an excellent and rare preserved example of a late 19th century Victorian summer house in the suburban town. The residence was built in 1897 for George Pelton Lawrence (1859-1917) and his wife, Belle, as a summer retreat from their primary residence in North Adams in Western Massachusetts. George P. Lawrence was an attorney who was appointed as a district court judge before entering the political arena where he became a state senator. The couple spent summers at this beautiful Shingle/Colonial Revival style residence until Congressman Lawrence’s death in 1917. On November 21, 1917, Lawrence jumped out of his eighth-floor New York City window at the Hotel Belmont , committing suicide. In his room, he left a note saying that he “could not stand the pressure anymore”. The Sharon property remained in the family until the 1940s and has been modernized, while maintaining its character. 

John G. Phillips House // 1901

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The John G. Phillips House on Pleasant Street in Sharon, Massachusetts, is a playful and eclectic example of early 20th century residential architecture showcasing the blending of many styles into a single composition. The house was built in 1901 for John Goddard Phillips, who moved to Sharon from Boston to retire in this large home, and serve as President of the Sharon Historical Society. The house blends typical Queen Anne and Shingle style forms but with interesting brackets common in styles popular a half-century earlier.

Max Adler House // 1879

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The Max Adler House on Greene Street in New Haven’s Wooster Square neighborhood is a flamboyant example of Victorian-era residential architecture that is hard to classify as an architectural style. The residence was constructed in 1879 for Max Adler (1841-1916) a German-born Jewish immigrant who grew up in New Haven and became a leader in industry at a young age. Max founded the Strouse & Adler Corset Company, which is said to be the first corset factory in the United States. The company did very well and he was able to erect this residence overlooking Wooster Square park for his family. Architecturally, the house has a mansard style roof, a feature of the Second Empire style; applied stickwork in the wooden bays, porch and dormers, a feature of the Stick style; and embroidered panel brickwork and terra cotta, elements of the emerging Queen Anne style. The Adler House has been lovingly preserved and is one of New Haven’s finest Victorian-era residences.

Fisher-Mason Mansion // 1868

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The Fisher-Mason Mansion on South Street in Wrentham, Massachusetts, is among the town’s finest and well-preserved Victorian-era homes. The house is said to have been funded and built in 1868 by Thomas Proctor (who lived in a large Mansard house overlooking the town common) for his daughter, Emma Proctor as a wedding gift upon her marriage to husband, Henry Kollock Fisher, a shoe manufacturer. The couple lived in the home, raising four children here until 1910, when the Proctors sold the property to Otis N. Mason of Providence. Today, the Fisher-Mason Mansion is known as the R. J. Ross Funeral Home, who have operated a funeral home from the residence since before WWII. The mansion features a mansard roof with unique mansard gable at the side sheltering an ocular window.

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.

Warren W. Dutcher House // c.1860

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The finest example of the Second Empire style in the industrial village town of Hopedale, Massachusetts, is this stately residence at the beginning of Adin Street, which has been colloquially known as ‘Millionaire’s Row’ as it is lined with many large mansions owned by factory owners and managers. This is the Warren W. Dutcher House, built around 1860 for its namesake, a wealthy and well-connected manufacturer. Square in form, the house is capped by a concave mansard roof in slate, and features a cornice with paired brackets, round-headed dormer windows, and a central entry with door hood supported by oversized brackets all under the full-length porch. Warren Whitney Dutcher (1812-1880) was originally from North Bennington, Vermont, and in the 1850s, he invented a temple that worked better than one used by the Draper Corporation. are adjustable stretchers used on a loom to maintain the width and improve the edges of the woven fabric. George Draper bought an interest in it, and encouraged Mr. Dutcher to move to Hopedale to expand his operations. He moved to Hopedale in 1856, and built this home after a few years of managing the Dutcher Temple Company. After Warren Dutcher died in 1880, the home was inherited by his son, Frank Dutcher, until he built his own house on a lot behind his childhood home.

Urncrest // c.1875

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Located on Adin Street, a street of homes formerly owned by factory owners and managers in Hopedale, Massachusetts, you will find “Urncrest”, a stunning Queen Anne Victorian mansion. This home was originally built around 1875 for William Lapworth (1844-1937) an English-born weaving expert, who worked at Hopedale Elastics Co. and patented certain weaving processes for suspenders, boot webbing, and garters. Hopedale Elastics was absorbed by the Draper Corporation in 1890, and Lapworth “modernized” his home with profits from this sale. His formerly modest home was updated with a corner tower, large additions, wrap-around porch with porte cochere, and applied ornament. The detached carriage house was also expanded, where he added a coachman’s apartment.

Buckingham House // 1903

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This unique Queen Anne style house at the corner of Washington and Eddy streets in Warren, Rhode Island, stands out for its use of materials and late Victorian design, a departure from the Federal and mid-19th century architecture the waterfront community is best-known for. The residence was built for Hannah and Erastus Buckingham and today remains essentially as originally built. Its slightly asymmetric massing combining multiple materials of brick and weathered shingles with diamond pane sash windows, illustrate early 20″ century design simplification while retaining the use of materials typical of late 19″ century Queen Anne style. Erastus Buckingham inherited his father’s oyster farming business, which harvested over 200 acres of beds in the bays off Nayatt, Conanicut, Quonset, Rocky Point and Patience Island before packaging and shipping to markets.

Smith-Waterman House // c.1820

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One of the many great examples of Federal period houses being “Victorianized” later in the 19th century, the Smith-Waterman House on Broad Street in Warren, Rhode Island, stands out as one of the most elaborate. The residence was originally built by 1820 and possibly owned by Nathaniel P. Smith (1799-1872). After his death, the house was inherited by his son, N. P. Smith Jr., who would later sell the property to John Waterman, the Manager and Treasurer of the Warren Manufacturing Company. It was under Mr. Waterman’s ownership that the once standard Federal style house was enlarged and given Italianate features, including the wrap-around porch, overhanging eaves with brackets, addition and the three-story tower at the rear.

Elizabeth G. Evans – Edward A. Filene House // 1883

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This unique brick house at 12 Otis Place in Beacon Hill was built in 1883 by the architect, Carl Fehmer for attorney Glendower Evans and his wife, Elizabeth Gardiner. Mr. Evans died in 1886 of Hodgkin’s Disease at just 30 years of age. His widow, Elizabeth Glendower Evans (1856-1937) was greatly influenced by her husband during their brief marriage, even taking her husband’s first name as her middle name after his death. Elizabeth Glendower Evans became a prominent social activist, studying child labor conditions in the South and took up the cause of women’s suffrage and the associated problems of tenements and factory work arising from disenfranchisement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1915 Evans served as a delegate to the International Congress of Women at the Hague. She was the first National Organizer of the Woman’s Peace Party. From 1920 until 1937 she served as a national director of the American Civil Liberties Union. In the 1910s, Elizabeth sold the home to Edward Albert Filene (1860-1937), who, together with his younger brother Abraham Lincoln Filene, reorganized his father’s department store into “William Filene’s Sons Company”, which would later become Filene’s. He was a supporter of credit unions to help ordinary American workers to access loans at reasonable rates and allow workers to save their money so that when hard times hit, they were prepared.

Samuel and Emily Eliot Rowhouses // 1871

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These three identical three-story houses at 156, 158 & 160 Mt. Vernon Street in Beacon Hill Flat were built in 1871 as income producing properties for Samuel and Emily Otis Eliot who lived next door on the corner of Brimmer Street. The architect is not evident from my research, but they were likely designed by Abel C. Martin, who furnished speculative housing for the Eliot’s elsewhere in the neighborhood. All three residences feature brick facades with off-center recessed entries on raised stoops. The use of brownstone lintels and sills, decorative brick cornice, and second-story hexagonal oriel windows add intrigue to the design, along with the slate mansard roofs. The three houses were sold or rented and all were owned by various families, but notable owners of the central house include the architect George Russell Shaw (1848-1937) of the firm Shaw and Hunnewell through the early 1900s. Later in the 20th century, the house was owned by Kevin White (1929-2012), who served as the mayor of Boston for four terms from 1968 to 1984.
All three residences are well-preserved and look much as they did when constructed over 150 years ago.

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.