Historic Buildings of Massachusetts

Waltham City Hall (1926)

by Dan/December 8, 2009October 25, 2012/Colonial, Public Buildings, Waltham

The Colonial Revival-style City Hall of Waltham, designed by Kilham, Hopkins and Greeling, was built in 1926 and opened and dedicated in 1927. It stands on the old site of Rumford Hall, a building constructed a century earlier, in 1827, to house the Rumford Institute. Founded in 1826, the Institute was a lyceum, with lectures and classes in the arts and sciences for the female mill workers at the Boston Manufacturing Company, which built the Hall. An early instructor at the Institute was the Unitarian minister and educator, Bernard Whitman. The institute also established Waltham’s first circulating library. In 1854, the Rumford Building was sold to the Town of Waltham for use as Town Hall, eventually being replaced by the current structure. Waltham City Hall has a limestone facade.

Concord School of Philosophy (1880)

by Dan/November 11, 2009November 11, 2009/Concord, Schools, Vernacular

Adjacent to Orchard House (the home of A. Bronson Alcott and his family) is a building, designed and built by Alcott himself in 1880, which was originally called the Hillside Chapel and is known today as the Concord School of Philosophy. This school, which was organized by Alcott and operated from 1879 to 1888, was modeled on Plato’s Academy as series of of summer lectures for adults, with notable speakers and discussions of philosophy. For the first year, the sessions were held in Orchard House, but the following year and thereafter, the school met in Alcott’s Hillside Chapel. The school’s final meeting, in 1888, commemorated Alcott, who had died that year. Today, the building is part of the Orchard House museum. Continue reading “Concord School of Philosophy (1880)”

Joseph Moore House (1751)

by Dan/October 20, 2009January 20, 2020/Colonial, Houses, Southwick

The Joseph Moore House is located in an area known as the Southwick Jog, a section of the town of Southwick that extends further south than the rest of the state border with Connecticut. The house was built in 1751 by Joseph Moore and was lived in by his son, Roger Moore (1752-1838), for his entire life. Owing to the many boundary changes which led to the creation of the Southwick Jog (which is surrounded by Connecticut on three sides), Roger Moore lived in two states, three counties, and four towns, without ever moving! The house has been restored as a museum by the Southwick Historical Society.

Ebenezer Chandler Colton House (1790)

by Dan/September 19, 2009September 17, 2016/Federal, Houses, Longmeadow

Ebenezer Chandler Colton built a house around 1790 on Longmeadow Avenue in Longmeadow. The home’s original center chimney was later removed and around 1848, the house was converted to a two-family home. In 1855, the house was moved to its current location along the Avenue by James Coomes, who again made it a single-family home.

Israel Gates House (1805)

by Dan/September 19, 2009September 17, 2016/Federal, Houses, Longmeadow

Israel Gates was a blacksmith in Longmeadow who, from around 1830 into the 1860s, lived in a house along the Town Green. Gates played a bass viol, which is now on display in the nearby Storrs House. According to local tradition, the Gates House began as a millinery on the green, which was moved to its current location, being joined to a much earlier home, occupied in 1805 by John Gaylord, which is now the east wing of the house.

Daniel Colton House (1829)

by Dan/September 19, 2009September 17, 2016/Greek Revival, Houses, Longmeadow

The Daniel Colton House, on Longmeadow Green, was built in 1829 and is a gable-front/sidehall plan house, a layout which first appears in Longmeadow in the 1820s. To the left of the main entrance are various later additions and an older section, which originally housed the shop of Daniel Colton, who was a joiner.

“New” Nathaniel Ely House (1856)

by Dan/September 19, 2009September 17, 2016/Houses, Longmeadow, Vernacular

The Nathaniel Ely House (called “New” to distinguish it from the earlier “Old” Nathaniel Ely House nearby) was built in 1856 off Longmeadow Green. The Thomas Bliss House originally stood where the Ely House was later conbstructed, but was moved across the street to make way for the new structure. The Ely House has elements from a variety of architectural styles, including the Federal, Italianate and Gothic styles–truly a Victorian Eclectic building!