Old Harvard Townhouse (1828)

by Dan//Greek Revival, Harvard, Houses, Public Buildings

Harvard Townhouse

The origin of the Town of Harvard’s first Town Hall, or Townhouse, is described by Henry S. Nourse in his 1894 History of Harvard:

The earliest movement looking to the building of a hall especially adapted for the transaction of the town’s business was on April 7, 1807, when a committee was appointed to consider the proposition. The report of the committee was probably adverse, as no further action in the matter is recorded, and the town-meetings continued to be held in the meeting-house as they had been from the first. In 1827 the subject was again agitated, perhaps stirred by some natural objections on the part of the first parish to submit their place of worship to the defilement and injury incident to its frequent use by mixed and sometimes disorderly assemblies. A town-meeting debated the question of the town’s right to use the meeting-house, and finally referred it to a special committee for investigation. Samuel Hoar, Esq., was consulted, and advised the town that the edifice was the property of the first parish exclusively, and that a precisely similar case had already been decided by the supreme court in favor of the church in Medford. A for a new building for the town’s use, forty-four by thirty-four feet, estimated to cost seven hundred dollars, but the whole subject was dismissed at that time.

May 5, 1828, a town-meeting was called at the Baptist meeting-house in Still River, and then it was voted to proceed with the erection of a town house at once. The building was placed on the north-eastern portion of the common, across the highway from the present town hall, where E. W. Houghton’s barn now stands. It faced to the south, and had four Tuscan columns supporting the front gable. There was no provision for warming it until 1832, when a chimney was built and a stove purchased.

After a new Town Hall was built in 1871, the old Townhouse was moved slightly to the north (current address 14 Ayer Road) and converted into a residence by George L . Sawyer, who sold it to his father Arad Sawyer. Later in the nineteenth century it was owned by Sawyer’s daughter Sarah and her husband, Charles P. Atherton.

Wollison-Shipton Building (1888)

by Dan//Commercial, Pittsfield, Romanesque Revival

Wollison-Shipton Building

The Wollison-Shipton Building, at 146-156 North Street in Pittsfield, was constructed of Philadelphia pressed brick, with cast iron detailing and plate glass windows and skylights for each of the four stores on the first floor. The second floor of the building contained the Y.M.C.A. and offices, the third floor more offices and the top floor had a photography gallery. The building‘s architect was H. Neil Wilson and the builder was builder was D.C. Munyan, who constructed a number of notable buildings in town.

Frank L. Dean House (1901)

by Dan//Colonial Revival, Houses, Worcester

10 Cedar St., Worcester

The house at 10 Cedar Street in Worcester was built c. 1901 and was the home of Frank L. Dean (1865-1934). From 1879 to 1898 he had lived in the family home at 14 Cedar Street. In 1889 he married Mabel Houghton Dean and they had shared that house with his mother and sisters. Dean was a lawyer, clerk of the Superior Court and Republican politician who served as a city councilman from 1901 to 1902. Since 1966 the house has been home to Preservation Worcester.

Former First Church/Daniel Low Building (1826)

by Dan//Churches, Commercial, Gothic, Salem

Former Church, Salem

The fourth meetinghouse of Salem’s First Church was built in 1826 on the same site as its three predecessors (now 121 Washington Street at Essex Street). Originally designed by Solomon Willard and Peter Banner of Boston, retail stores were on the ground floor with the church using the spaces above. The building was significantly altered in the Victorian Gothic style and much enlarged around 1874. When First Church merged with North Church in 1923, the former church was acquired by Daniel Low & Company, a company that sold fine gifts and jewelry. The store was in business from 1874 to 1995.

Old Custom House, Salem (1805)

by Dan//Commercial, Federal, Salem

Old Custom House

The building at 4-10 Central Street in Salem was built in 1805 as block of stores for William S. Gray and Benjamin H. Hathorne. It was built by John Chandler and Joseph McIntire and possibly designed by Joseph’s brother Samuel. Originally called the Central Building, it now known as the Old Custom House because it was used by the U.S. Custom Service in 1805-1807 and 1813-1819. The arched windows on the first floor were added during a 1970s restoration.