Victorian Architecture

John E. Colcord House // c.1870

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

While Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is arguably best-known for Georgian and Federal style houses of the 18th and early 19th centuries, there are some great examples of Victorian style residences built after the Civil War to be discovered. This brick Second Empire style residence on Pleasant Street was built around 1870 and originally owned by Ebenezer Lord (1788-1877), who lived elsewhere in Portsmouth, likely gifting this home to his daughter, Susan (Lord) Colcord, and her husband, Charles Colcord. Both Charles and Susan died one year apart in 1872 and 1873 respectively, and the property was inherited by their son, John. John Edward Colcord worked as the Clerk at the Portsmouth Navy Yard. The building has a Mansard roof with overhanging eaves, denticulated cornice, and three shed-roof dormers at the facade. Walls are brick and rest on a granite foundation, with a later, wood-frame side addition that employs similar design details of the main house. 

Horatio Adams Stable // c.1880

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

This oversized stable and carriage house is located at 3 Maple Street in Kingston, Massachusetts and it dates to about 1880. The stable was built for Horatio Adams (1845-1911), a wealthy resident who operated a successful slaughterhouse and stockyards nearby along with maintaining stores adjacent to the nearby the train tracks. After Horatio Adams died, the stable was eventually purchased by Edgar W. Loring and converted to a cranberry screen & warehouse for his cranberry farm. The significant Queen Anne/Stick style building suffered from deferred maintenance by the late 20th and early 21st centuries, but was purchased in recent years and undergoing a restoration of the exterior. Does anyone know what its use is today?

Lynch House // 1889

Buildings of New England2 Comments

One of the most unique and enchanting houses in the Ashmont Hill neighborhood of Dorchester is the Lynch House (aka the Sunflower House) at 102 Ocean Street, a landmark example of the Queen Anne architectural style. This residence was designed in 1889 by architect Samuel J. Brown, who worked in the firm of Cummings and Sears before opening his own office in Boston, where he specialized in residential designs. The first owners were Edward C. Lynch, a stair builder, and his wife, Petronella P. Lynch, who was born in Sweden and emigrated to the United States. Architecturally, the Lynch House features a prominent gambrel roof that swells out over the second-floor inset windows, clapboard and shingle siding, sawtooth shingled details over the windows, and the sunflower motif in a panel at the third floor.

Clark-Cottle House // 1890

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

One of the most sumptuous Victorian-era homes in Dorchester can be found at 94 Ocean Street, this is the Clark-Cottie House. The residence (and rear stable) was built in 1890 from plans by famed architect Arthur H. Vinal, who designed many other Shingle style and Queen Anne homes in the surrounding neighborhood. The first owners of the mansion were Evelyn and Edward Clark, who after a few years, sold the property to Edgar Cottle, president of the Curtis & Pope Lumber Company. The three-story Queen Anne style mansion features a rounded corner tower, varied shingle siding, shingled porch, and the intact, charming stable at the rear.

Frank and Laura Carter House // 1889

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Effortlessly blending the Shingle and Queen Anne architectural styles, the Frank and Laura Carter House at 107 Ocean Street in Ashmont, Dorchester, Massachusetts, is one of the finest Victorian residences in the neighborhood. The house was designed by famed local architect Arthur Vinal, who also furnished plans for the Dorchester Temple Baptist Church nearby that same year. The house was built for Frank Carter (1859-1950), treasurer of the Bay State Belting Company, and his new wife, Laura. Special details on the house include the polygonal bay capped by pyramidal roof, belt-course of shingles breaking up the facades, and stunning two-bay eyebrow dormer facing the street with shingled returns.

Reed-Fitzgerald House // 1891

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Reed-Fitzgerald House at 75 Ocean Street in Ashmont Hill, Dorchester, stands out as a simple, yet beautiful example of the Shingle style of architecture for residential purposes. The house here was built in 1891 from plans by Edwin J. Lewis, Jr., a Boston-born architect who worked at the office of Peabody and Stearns before he opened his own firm in 1887, specializing in suburban houses and churches. The first owner of this residence was George Reed, a Boston insurance executive. Years later, the house was owned by Henry Fitzgerald, possibly Henry S. Fitzgerald, the brother of John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald (1863-1950), the Mayor of Boston who resided in a since demolished house in the neighborhood. Mayor John Fitzgerald was the father of Rose Fitzgerald and maternal grandfather of her sons President John F. Kennedy, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Senator Ted Kennedy. Recently, the owners of the Reed-Fitzgerald House have restored the exterior, and stained the shingles the lovely rust color.

Higgins-Little House // 1890

Buildings of New England1 Comment

This “painted lady” on Roslin Street is one of the many fine Queen Anne Victorian houses in the Ashmont Hill neighborhood in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The residence was built in 1890 for original owner, Lewis H. Higgins, a master mariner who was born in Wellfleet before moving to Boston. Higgins seemingly resided here with his family for a short time until the house was sold in 1893 to Samuel and Grace Little. The house is perched on a hill and features a prominent rounded corner tower. The original porch with turned posts and gable detailing stand out with the intricate paint scheme used to highlight all of the amazingly preserved ornamentation. While paint schemes like these are not historic, they do bring joy to owners and passersby, and help viewers appreciate the care that these stewards take in maintaining their old homes.

George and Emma James House // 1894

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Built in 1894 for George and Emma James, the house at 47 Ocean Street in the Ashmont area of Dorchester, stands as one of the finest high-style examples of a Queen Anne single-family residence in Boston. George James was born in Vermont and worked as a farmer before moving to Boston, where he found work as a shoe manufacturer, opening offices and manufacturing facilities in the Leather District. The house was clearly designed by a skilled architect, and historians note that the residence was the design of architect S. Edwin Tobey, a skilled proponent of the Queen Anne style, seen here with its incredible detailing and unique form. The high-relief carvings in the gable and panels stand out, along with the recessed porch, and historic stable at the rear.

Sidney A. Kimber House // c.1894

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Built by 1894, this fabulous Queen Anne victorian house can be found on Ashmont Street in Dorchester, and it has a period-appropriate color scheme. The residence here was built for Sidney Arthur Kimber (1866-1956) a London-born printing expert, who for years worked at the University Press in Cambridge. Mr. Kimber was an expert on printing and wrote many books on the subject; he even built a working model of the first printing press brought over from England to Cambridge in 1638. The Kimbers lived here for just a few years before moving, and the house was sold a few times until the first long-term owner, Helena T. Shortell. The house is lovingly preserved and features a unique entry tower capped by an ogee roof.

Harrison H. Atwood House // 1888

Buildings of New England2 Comments

When an architect designs their own home, you know it will be something special. This house on Alban Street in Ashmont Hill, Dorchester, was built in 1888 and designed by owner-architect, Harrison H. Atwood (1863-1954). The unique Shingle style residence features a plain, boxy form and is capped by a pyramidal hipped roof with a center dormer. The recessed side entry porch is enclosed by large windows with multi pane sash which is surmounted by flared shingles. Besides being a residential architect, Harrison Henry Atwood also was appointed as the 5th City Architect of Boston, designing schools and firehouses, and served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. While the Atwood House may appear modest from the street, the house stretches back toward the rear of the lot and is larger than meets the eye, also the interior was lavishly decorated with much of the original millwork and mantels intact. 

Thomas T. Hartford House and Stable // 1884

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Situated at the corner of Harley and Roslin streets in the Ashmont Hill neighborhood of Dorchester, this property showcases the flair and ornate features of the eclectic Victorian styles, along with an original stable. The property was developed in 1884 by Thomas T. Hartford. Thomas Thurston Hartford (1845-1916), was a shoe machinery manufacturer with offices in the Leather District near downtown Boston, continuing in his father’s company, Hartford Brothers Co. The house and stable are said to have been designed by architect Edwin J. Lewis, Jr., or John A. Fox, who blended Stick and Queen Anne styles. Interestingly, the house features Palladian windows in the gables and was restored by owners, who even went the extra mile to repaint the house in its historic colors.

Chansonetta Stanley Emmons House // 1893

Buildings of New England2 Comments

Chansonetta Stanley Emmons (1858-1937) was born in Kingfield, Maine, and was one of the great women photographers in the 19th and early 20th century, often depicting domestic life and New England scenes. The young Chansonetta Stanley grew interested in photography after her brothers’ (Francis E. and Freelan O. Stanley) dry-plate printing invention, they also invented the steam-powered automobile known as the Stanley Steamer. She married James Nathaniel Whitman Emmons in 1887 and in 1894, James hired architect Henry McLean, to design a residence for him and Chansonetta, this lovely home on Harley Street on Ashmont Hill. The couple occupied the house until 1898, when James died of blood poisoning at the age of 41. Chansonetta sold the home and moved to Newton, where her two brothers lived and operated their business. The house blends Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles and originally had a conical roof over the corner rounded bay. The roof was replaced with a flat roof at about the time of the large balcony and extended dormer.

George Derby Welles Rental House // c.1872

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

From the 1780s until 1870, almost all of Ashmont Hill (west of the present train station) was a farm, with the large farmhouse dating to about 1720, located at the corner of Washington and Welles streets, now the home to the Codman Square Branch of the Boston Public Library system. The farm was owned for a time by General Henry Knox. Sometime before 1850, the estate and mansion came into the possession of the Honorable John Welles, who died in 1855. The property would eventually be deeded to John Welles’ grandson, George Derby Welles, who was then just 26 years old and living in Paris with his wife, Armandine V. Derby. Welles wasted no time in developing the property through his agent, Boston Attorney Edward Ingersoll Browne. Streets were laid out and house lots were platted and sold, with some early properties built with much of the neighborhood developing by the turn of the century. The old Knox-Welles farmhouse would be razed by 1889, but the remainder of the neighborhood has since become a landmark neighborhood of Victorian-era homes. This mansard double-house at 67-69 Ocean Street dates to around 1872 and is one of the earliest properties in the area. Blending the Second Empire and Stick architectural styles, the handsome double house is said to have been designed by architect Luther Briggs for George D. Welles and rented to tenants.

Dorchester Temple Baptist Church // 1889

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Located at the corner of Washington Street and Welles Avenue, the Dorchester Temple Baptist Church was designed in 1889 by architect Arthur H. Vinal, as one of the best examples of a church designed in the Shingle Style in New England. The church began in 1886 as a mission church of the Tremont Temple Baptist Church in Boston. At this time, Dorchester was a semi-rural area and would surge in development when the streetcars were electrified in the 1880s. With a rapidly developing neighborhood, the congregation here, purchased lots and hired Vinal to furnish plans for a house of worship. The church’s cornerstone was laid October 3, 1889, with the church membership numbering ninety-nine at that time. Membership would decline in the decades following WWII, and shifting racial and ethnic demographics in the neighborhood brought new members to worship here. The building was renamed as the Global Ministries Christian Church by the current congregation, who with the assistance of preservation grants, worked with Mills Whitaker architects to restore the iconic landmark. Specific details of the building stand out, including the stained glass windows, the belfry with bulbous form, and the arched openings with continuous shingled walls.

Joseph Lindsey Cottage // 1886

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

While Marblehead is best-known for its Georgian and Federal period houses, there are some great examples of later styles, sometimes tucked behind and in side yards of earlier residences. This is the Joseph Lindsey Cottage on Washington Street, a vernacular, Folk Victorian style residence built in 1886 by carpenter and housebuilder, Joseph W. Lindsey (1823-1902). Mr. Lindsey lived nearby on High Street, and purchased an earlier house at 45 Washington Street by 1881, building this cottage five years later and rented both out to boarders. Joseph Lindsey worked his entire life as a carpenter, except for a few years when he and his brother, Philip B. Lindsey, travelled west to seek gold and fortune during the California Gold Rush. The Lindsey Family Papers are part of the collections of the Marblehead Museum.