Visit New England

Barnstormers Theatre // 1935

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Originally built in the early 19th century, this former commercial block in Tamworth was completely renovated in the 1930s as The Barnstormers Theatre, New Hampshire’s oldest continuously operating professional summer theatre. A general store was built here as far back as 1810 and after over 120 years, owner Samuel Kimball sold the building to Francis and Alice Cleveland in 1934. Francis Cleveland was the youngest child of President Grover Cleveland, who spent summers in town as a family. The Barnstormers were formed in 1931 by Francis and Alice Cleveland and Ed Goodnow, a drama teacher at Amherst College and later director of the Harvard University Dramatic Club, as a summer theatre group. “The Barnstormers, Inc.” had originally performed in an old barn on Tamworth’s Main Street and later held “barnstorming” shows in summer colonies in New Hampshire and Maine on a weekly rotation until the members, often well-connected artists and amateur actors, purchased the old Kimball Store in Tamworth. Architect W. Lincoln Boyden was hired to convert the vernacular store into a working theater, which was completed by the summer shows in 1935. The Barnstormers Theatre remains a vital landmark in Tamworth, clearly announced by its wide front steps and Neo-Classical pillared portico. The Barnstormers remain an active and beloved theatre group running every summer.

Tamworth Congregational Church // 1851

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Congregational Church in Tamworth was organized on September 12, 1792, with its pastor sworn in at Ordination Rock. The Congregationalists used the town meetinghouse, built in 1794, for over half a century. But, following the passing of the Toleration Act of 1819 in New Hampshire, which effectively brought about the separation of church and state, the old Town House began to suffer from deferred maintenance. As the Act allowed citizens to stop supporting the established Congregational Church in all towns via taxation and instead now support the denomination of their choosing. From this, a new Congregational Church, this structure, was built in the village in 1851 and the old Town House was moved to the village and renovated to its present appearance in 1852 in the Greek Revival style. The Tamworth Congregational Church stands as a typical, yet well-preserved example of a mid-19th century religious building in New England, here largely depicting elements of the Greek Revival style with its pediment, entablature, and corner pilasters, but with Gothic Revival features of the Gothic arched louver in the belfry and finials.

First Church of Christ, Suffield // 1869

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Located adjacent to the Town Common, the First Church of Christ in Suffield showcases the grandiose architecture seen in many churches after the Civil War in New England. This brick edifice is the fifth in the history of the church which dates back to around 1680. This church building was designed by local architect John C. Mead, who designed other stately churches in the surrounding region. The church is a blending of Italianate and Romanesque Revival styles and originally featured a tall spire and secondary tower. In 1938, the New England Hurricane destroyed the tall spire (a similar event occurred to many New England Churches, including Old North in Boston). Even without the steeple, the church remains as a great architectural treasure in town.

Forest Hills Cemetery – Grace Sherwood Allen Memorial, “Girl in the Glass” // 1880

Buildings of New England2 Comments

Similar to the story of Louis Mieusset, the “boy in the boat” at Forest Hills Cemetery, the memorial of Grace Sherwood Allen stands as a testament to parent’s ever-lasting love of their children. “Gracie” Allen (1876-1880) was born in Boston, the only daughter of William H. and Emily Jones Allen. She died several months prior to her fifth birthday from whooping cough and was later immortalized by sculptor Sydney H. Morse, who depicted the young girl in a buttoned dress, boots and bow-tied hair. In her hand are drooping flowers, the petals of which have begun to fall, showing her life fading. The life-size white marble sculpture is covered in a bronze and glass vitrine, to protect the fragile stone from acid rain, which would stain and weather the delicate monument.

Forest Hills Cemetery – Entrance Gate // 1865

Buildings of New England3 Comments

Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston was established in 1848 in the rural cemetery tradition, which followed Mount Auburn Cemetery, established in 1831 in nearby Cambridge and Watertown. The site was a municipal cemetery in Roxbury until it was annexed into Boston in 1868, becoming a private, non-denominational burial place for the who’s who of the area. The cemetery was envisioned by Henry A. S. Dearborn, who was the mayor of Roxbury in 1847 and first president of the Massachusetts Horticulture Society, who had also been instrumental in creating Mount Auburn. Since its creation in 1848, Forest Hills has grown from its original 72 acres to a total of approximately 250 acres today and is known for the rich topography and vegetation, dotted by thousands of beautiful monuments to the deceased and some iconic architectural landmarks tucked away in its winding paths. Forest Hills Cemetery was located on this site due to its varied natural features, which included hills, valleys and lakes, which together were preserved to enhance the experience of those visiting nearly 200 years later. The site’s topography consists of a series of geological drumlins of Roxbury puddingstone, an important material that was used in building projects all over the region (and for some of the buildings and monuments in Forest Hills).

Visitors to the Forest Hills Cemetery are greeted by its iconic Gothic Revival main gate, a sculptural and ceremonial entranceway constructed from Roxbury puddingstone and sandstone. The structure replaced an original 1840s Egyptian Revival, wooden gateway designed by Henry Dearborn, following inspiration from Mount Auburn’s entrance gate. Designed by architect Charles W. Panter of Brookline and was completed in 1865, the present stone entrance gate features three portals with arched openings and ornate iron gates surmounted by decorative scrolled ironwork. The central gateway is framed by two conical spires and a central stone pediment, all topped with stone crosses. Beneath the pediment is the biblical inscription, “He that keepeth thee will not slumber.” The Entrance Gate remains the cemetery’s most iconic landmark.

Irish Round Tower, St. Mary’s Cemetery // 1894

Buildings of New England2 Comments

Thought to be the only example of an Irish Round Tower in the United States, the obscure Irish Round Tower in the St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Milford, Massachusetts, stands as a piece of local history and an architectural landmark. The tower was envisioned by Father Patrick Cuddihy (1809-1898), the pastor of the St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church of Milford, who was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and oversaw a largely Irish-born congregation here in the States. In 1893, Father Cuddihy sought to expand the existing St. Mary’s Cemetery which had been running out of space for the ever-growing Catholic population of Milford. For the cemetery, he envisioned an Irish Round Tower as a symbol of the Emerald Isle, his land of birth and that of most of his parishioners. Irish Round Towers were historically used in Ireland as bell towers, but for the cemetery in Milford, it would serve the purpose of beautification of the new grounds of the cemetery. Local workers began construction on the tower in 1894. Constructed of locally quarried Milford granite, the tower stands 73.5′ with a conical roof and walls two feet thick. The Milford tower is said to have been modeled after the tower on Devenish Island in Ireland and stands just 10 feet shorter than its inspiration.

Christ Church, Swansea // 1900

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Designed in the mode of a traditional English country church, the Christ Church of Swansea is among the finest Neo-Gothic Revival edifices in New England and evokes a sense of history and tradition despite only being built in 1900. The church was funded by benefactors, Frank Shaw Stevens and Elizabeth Case Stevens, who lived down the street in the town’s largest mansion. After the death of her husband Frank, Elizabeth began a large gifting campaign to the Town of Swansea, and funded the construction of the town’s library, school, and this church (they had already funded the 1891 Town Hall). For the village church, Elizabeth hired their friend, and renowned English-born architect, Henry Vaughan, who designed the building with heavy granite walls, lancet windows and a facade dominated by an entry tower with rounded corner all capped by battlements. The Christ Church of Swansea resembles an old Medieval English church but in a New England village, amazing work as always Mr. Vaughan!

Frank S. Stevens School // 1908

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Frank S. Stevens School in Swansea, Massachusetts, was one of a number of civic and institutional buildings donated to the small town by wealthy residents Frank and Elizabeth Stevens. Ten years after the death of her husband, Elizabeth Case Stevens retained her favorite architect, Henry Vaughan, to furnish plans for a new school building for the main village in her beloved town of Swansea, to be built in the memory of her late husband. Mr. Vaughan had already designed the town hall, library, and Episcopal church, and Mrs. Stevens thought it would be fitting for an architecturally appropriate public school to also be built in the quaint New England village. Neo-Classical in style, the one-story brick school building is distinguished for its full-height pedimented portico supported by classical Doric columns and a cupola atop the hipped roof. The school was eventually outgrown and is now the school administration building for the town’s three later public school buildings. 

Narragansett Engine Company No. 3 // 1846

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

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.

Warren Masonic Temple-Washington Lodge No.3 // 1796

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Located next door to the Randall House (last post) on Baker Street in Warren, Rhode Island, this early building has some history! Constructed in 1796 by the Washington Association, Inc., this two-story Federal period building is an architectural and historic landmark in the immensely beautiful town of Warren. The elongated building is fairly plain in plan, but is adorned by corner quoins, elaborate pedimented entries, ornate cornice, and (now filled) ocular windows in the gable ends. It is believed that many of the timbers used in the building are oak beams that were formerly part of the British Frigate Juno and other ships which were sunk in Newport harbor during the American Revolution. Brother Sylvester Child, a member of the building committee purchased the old ships and floated the timbers up Narragansett Bay and into the Warren River and his shipyard at the base of Miller and Baker streets. The rib cuts in the oak plate beams can clearly be seen in the curvature of the ceiling in the lodge room.The Lodge was likely built by local carpenters using Asher Benjamin’s plan books for the detailing and was utilized as the Warren Town Hall and the Warren Academy, a private school, in the early 1800’s with meeting space for the local masonic lodge. The building has lost its original cupola at the roof, and its principal interior meeting room was redone in 1914 with elaborate murals by the Rhode Island artist Max Muller, some of which in Egyptian depictions.

Bolton Powder House // 1812

Buildings of New England1 Comment

Hidden away in the woods behind the Bolton Town Hall, this small brick structure sits atop a rocky outcropping and showcases a piece of early history we often do not think about. Built in 1812 as a powder house, a storage facility far from homes and businesses to store the town’s supply of gunpowder, musketballs and cannonballs, the structure remains as the town’s oldest extant municipal building. Since the founding of the colonies, the procurement and storage of ammunition had been the responsibility of local governments. Before this structure was built in the forest, Bolton‘s gunpowder and ammunition had been kept under the meetinghouse pulpit, not the best place suitable for highly explosive storage. The structure is a well-preserved example of a typical early 19th-century powder house, built of brick manufactured in town, laid in common bond, measuring just over seven-feet square with a pyramidal wood shingle roof.

Chester Public Tomb and Hearse House // 1850

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Near the entrance to the Brookside Cemetery in the charming village of Chester, Vermont, these two very different looking buildings were constructed for one purpose, death. Before the proliferation of funeral homes and cremation, infrastructure for the dead was a necessary piece of the built environment for towns and cities all over the region. The wood-frame building seen here was built as a hearse house, which would shelter the horse-drawn hearse for the town. Prior to the advent to funeral homes, most wakes were held at the home of the deceased, after-which, the body would be transported by the horse-drawn hearse to the cemetery for burial. This was followed by a memorial service at the nearby church. If the ground was frozen or if the family did not yet have the funds to bury their family member, the body would be held in the public tomb until the burial. The Chester Public Tomb dates to 1850 and was built by local mason, Arvin Earle from stone  quarried near Gassetts, a hamlet in the north part of Chester that was shipped to Chester Depot by the newly completed railroad. While no longer in use, these two vernacular buildings hold a very important history of the town and have been lovingly preserved by local residents. 

Westborough Town Hall // 1929

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Welcome to Westborough (sometimes spelled Westboro), Massachusetts, a suburban town in Worcester County that has a lot of history! Westborough was first settled by colonists in 1675, when a few families had settled on land in the “west borough” of Marlborough, which was settled decades earlier. Before this, the land was occupied by the Nipmuc Indians, who hunted and fished near Cedar Swamp and Lake Hoccomocco. The town grew as an agricultural center with turnpikes crossing through connecting Boston to Worcester and other points. Later connections from rail and later the Mass Pike, had allowed for rapid growth and commercialization of the current population of over 22,000 residents. After WWI, the town’s outdated wood-frame meetinghouse was deemed inadequate for the growing population and higher demand for quality services. The meetinghouse was demolished and soon-after replaced with this handsome Town Hall in 1929. Designed by Boston architectural firm, Kilham, Hopkins & Greeley, who specialized in thoughtful infill developments and were among the best to design in the Colonial Revival style. The building was highlighted in architectural publications in 1930 with one stating, “An ultra-modernistic building on the elm shaded street of this Massachusetts town would have been an intrusion and would have been felt as such by the citizens, but the designers felt that it was entirely possible to combine the new ideas with the well-known red brick and white cupola of the native idiom, and the result is a modern building harmonizing perfectly within its environment.” I couldn’t agree more!

Captain John Clark House // 1802

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Captain John Clark House in Canterbury, Connecticut, is one of the finest examples of the Federal style of architecture in New England, and has remained in a fine state of preservation since its construction in the early 19th century. The house was built by 1802 for John Clark (1731-1834), who purchased an earlier home on the site from and had it either taken down or enlarged to its present appearance. The mansion is symmetrical with five bays, central entry and twin chimneys projecting through the hipped roof. The central bay is a showstopper with its triangular pediment at the roofline containing a fanlight, Palladian window at the second floor, and main entrance with its own pediment, sidelights, fanlight transom, all framed by two-story columns. The house’s south facade is equally beautiful with its own Palladian window and entrance.

Cogswell Tower // 1904

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The crown jewel of the nearly one square mile city of Central Falls, Rhode Island, is Jenks Park, the only large park in one of the densest cities in America. The land was a gift of Alvin Jenks, a descendant of the family which had been among the town’s earliest settlers and one of its leading industrial families, and provided a much-needed recreational/open space for the dense industrial city. In 1890, planning began on the park with consists of hilly terrain cut through by paved paths, rocky outcroppings, and large metal gazebos which were fabricated at the nearby Fales and Jenks machinery works. At the crest of the park’s hill is Cogswell Tower, a clock and observation tower given by a former resident, Caroline E. Richards Cogswell. The stone tower was designed by architect Albert Humes, who ironically, was serving as mayor of Central Falls at the time, which may represent somewhat of a conflict of interest to gain the commission… The Cogswell Tower stands 70-feet-tall and is constructed of rough stone with a pyramidal roof that was once surmounted by an eagle. Its most remarkable aspect, a circular, iron structure which surrounds the base appearing from below as a sort of Hula-Hoop to the tower. Jenks Park and the iconic Cogswell Tower remain as a source of pride for the City of Central Falls.