The Dr. Henry Jacob Bigelow House is a historic house at 72-80 Ober Road in the Oak Hill village of

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

. Built in 1887, it is one of the last private residences designed by noted American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

. It was converted into condominiums in the 1980s by the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

program ''

This Old House ''This Old House'' is an American home improvement media brand with television shows, a magazine, and a websiteThisOldHouse.com. The brand is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The television series airs on the American television networ ...

''. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1976.

Description and history

The Bigelow House is located high on Oak Hill, from which the Newton neighborhood takes its name. It is a large -story wood-frame structure, with a rambling structure organized roughly around a central courtyard. It is in the Shingle style, with a combination of roof types. A small turret with conical roof projects from the building's southwest corner. The main section of the house is on the east side of the courtyard, with the southern wing primarily servants' quarters and facilities, and the carriage house to the north. It was designed by

, and was one of the famous architect's last residential commissions before his death in 1886. The house was built for Dr.

Henry Jacob Bigelow Henry Jacob Bigelow (March 11, 1818October 30, 1890) was an American surgeon and Professor of Surgery at Harvard University. A dominating figure in Boston medicine for many decades, he is remembered for the Bigelow maneuver for hip dislocation ...

, a prominent Boston surgeon best known for his role in organizing the 1846 demonstration of ether as an anesthetic, but also important for developing surgical techniques for correcting dislocated hips. His house was during the 20th century converted into a dormitory space for the New England Peabody Home for Crippled Children, whose main facility was built adjacent to the house. By the 1970s the property was owned by the city of Newton and in deteriorating condition. It was restored and divided into five condominium units in the 1980s by the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series ''

''. Some of the original features, including a circular tower, have been preserved. It is listed on the

at 742 Dedham Street.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bigelow, Henry Jacob Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Newton, Massachusetts Houses completed in 1887 Henry Hobson Richardson buildings Shingle Style houses Shingle Style architecture in Massachusetts

Description and history

See also

References