The Forrester-Peabody House, on Washington Square North, bordering Salem Common, is an ornate Federal mansion built in 1818-1819 for John Forrester, son of the merchant, Simon Forrester. The Mason-Roberts-Colby House is believed to have originally stood on the site until it was moved to Federal Street by a team of sixty oxen. In 1834, the Forrester House was purchased by Col. George Peabody, son of Capt. Joseph Peabody, who added a one-story ballroom wing. Peabody lived in the house until 1892 and the building later housed the Salem Club, a men’s social organization, and then the Bertram Home for Aged Men, which had been founded by the wealthy merchant and philanthropist, Captain John Bertram, in 1877. The building, also known as the Bertram House, was restored in 1989 and reopened in 1990 as an assisted living facility for both men and women.