The Chester Harding House is an historic building located at 16

Beacon Street Beacon Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts and its western suburbs Brookline and Newton. It passes through many of Boston's central and western neighborhoods, including Beacon Hill, Back Bay, Fenway–Kenmore, the Boston Uni ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, across from the

Massachusetts State House The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the New State House, is the List of state capitols in the United States, state capitol and seat of government for the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, lo ...

on Beacon Hill. It was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1965 for its association with the noted portraitist Chester Harding, whose home it was from 1826 to 1830. The building has since 1963 been home to the Boston Bar Association.

History

The four-story town house was built in the Federal architectural style as a private home by real estate developer Thomas Fletcher in 1808, at a time when Park Street and Beacon Street were lined by run-down public buildings. State officials decided to build replacements in other parts of the city, financing the construction of the new public buildings from the sale of the Park Street lots. In 1826, the famous American portrait painter Chester Harding bought the house, which he occupied until 1830. According to the Lawyers Pictorial Register, published by the

Boston Bar Association The Boston Bar Association (BBA) is a volunteer non-governmental organization in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. With headquarters located at 16 Beacon Street in the historic Chester Harding House, across from the Massachusetts State House ...

in 1981, in the middle of the 19th century, the building was bought by Dr. Henry C. Angell, an art collector. As the neighborhood began to change from residential to commercial, many old houses were torn down and replaced by larger buildings which dwarfed the Chester Harding House. One such building is the 1884 six-floor Claflin Building. In 1919, the house was given by Martha B. Angell to the

American Unitarian Association The American Unitarian Association (AUA) was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it consolidated with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Uni ...

, which housed offices there until 1933. The American Unitarian Association loaned the house to

Universalist Church of America The Universalist Church of America (UCA) was originally a Christian Universalist religious denomination in the United States (plus affiliated churches in other parts of the world). Known from 1866 as the Universalist General Convention, the name ...

until 1961, when the two

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

. In January, 1962, the

bought the house and moved its headquarters there from 35 Court Street. The Chester Harding House remains home to the Boston Bar Association. Image:Harding House Alternate 05Feb2008.jpg, Side view from the opposite street corner Image:Harding House Door 05Feb2008.jpg, Front door with

emblem As commemorated on a plaque hanging on the left-hand side of the building, the Chester Harding House was declared a U.S.

in 1965.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts National Historic Landmarks in Boston Houses completed in 1808 Houses in Boston Beacon Hill, Boston Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts 1808 establishments in Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Suffolk County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Boston

History

See also

References