The Wianno Historic District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

in the Osterville section of

Barnstable, Massachusetts The Town of Barnstable ( ) is a town in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod, and is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipaliti ...

. It encompasses a well-preserved summer resort area for the wealthy that was first developed in the late 19th century, focused around the Wianno Club, built in 1881 on the site of an earlier resort hotel. The district has a significant number of well-preserved Shingle style and Colonial Revival houses. Architect Horace Frazer designed the Wianno Club, as well as a number of the private residences in the district. The district is roughly bounded by East Bay Road, Wianno and Sea View Avenues between Nantucket Sound and Crystal Lake. It was added to 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 1987.

Description and history

The Wianno area occupies a small portion of the southern coast of

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

in the Osterville section of Barnstable. It includes a series of waterfront properties on Sea View Avenue extending from Warren Street to Wianno Avenue, and extends a short way along Wianno, including a few properties lacking direct access to the water. The central focus of the district is the Wianno Club, a large Shingle/Colonial Revival structure designed by Horace Frazer and built in 1881 to replace the grand c. 1873 Cotocheset House hotel, which had burned down. The colony had been planned in the 1870s by wealthy interests from

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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and the local area, which had bought up most of the land on a speculative basis, built the hotel, and sold of parcels for summer houses. The result was a series of handsome "cottages", large two-story wood-frame structures that are predominantly Shingle style. These houses are typically somewhat rambling in character, often with gambrel roofs, and with porches, projecting gables, and dormers to give visual interest. They are set on larger lots (typically or more). One particularly handsome example of the houses built is the Calvin Prescott House, 550 Wianno Avenue, which was built in 1882-83. It is 2-1/2 stories in height, with a gabled roof pierced by eyebrow windows, corner turret and complex entry pavilion. The Isobel Richards House, 432 Wianno, has Queen Anne features, and has a

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

on the property, one of several found in the district. The Tiffany House, located next to the Wianno Club and now one of its guest houses, was built for a member of

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...

's family in 1879.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Historic districts in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Shingle Style architecture in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Barnstable, Massachusetts Barnstable, Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts

Description and history

See also

References