Abbotsford (Boston, Massachusetts)
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Abbotsford, now the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, is a historic house at 300 Walnut Avenue in
Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, USA. The museum is dedicated to black visual arts heritage worldwide, and presents historical and contemporary exhibitions in many media, including
painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
,
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
, graphics, photography and
decorative arts ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose aim is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. This includes most of the objects for the interiors of buildings, as well as interior design, but typically excl ...
. The museum is operated by the National Center of Afro-American Artists.


House history

The pointed arches on Abbotsford's windows and main entrance are characteristics of the High Victorian Gothic style, inspired by the architecture of the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. Designed by Boston architect Alden Frink for the prominent industrialist Aaron Davis Williams, Abbotsford was built in 1872 in the High Victorian Gothic style. Just as the American economy was becoming industrialized, many people looked with nostalgia to times before machines and factories. Ironically, Aaron Davis Williams, Jr., used his profits from industry to build a house that could remind him of a
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
castle. Following setbacks in his business, Williams was forced to sell Abbotsford to James M. Smith, who was born in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
in 1811, came to Boston in 1854, and was treasurer of the Suffolk Brewery in South Boston. Smith died at his home in Roxbury February 8, 1894. By 1923, the mansion was too large for private use, and the City of Boston purchased it as a disciplinary school for boys. In 1976, the National Center for Afro-American Artists bought the property and turned it into a museum. This new use has made it possible for community residents to enjoy Abbotsford today. This building is significant to Roxbury for several reasons. The most obvious is its beauty. It is a stately
mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...
that commands its site, and continues to be important to the community as the setting for the museum. In addition, it is built entirely of Roxbury puddingstone, a local building material. Finally, this building tells much about how people thought about their houses and their lives. The house was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1987.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in southern Boston, Massachusetts __NOTOC__ Boston, Massachusetts is home to many listings on the National Register of Historic Places. This list encompasses those locations that are located south of the Massachusetts Turnpike. See National Register of Historic Places listings ...


References


Roxbury History - Exploring Boston's Neighborhoods
by the Boston Landmarks Commission 1994.
page 92
Paragraph on James M. Smith in History of the Ancient and Honorably Military Company of the Massachusetts, Volume 4 By Oliver Ayer Roberts, published 1901.
Plate 36 - James M. Smith home on the corner of Walnut and Crawford
Atlas of the City of Boston 1895 by Bromley.


External links


Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists
{{authority control African-American history in Boston Houses completed in 1872 Houses in Boston Art museums and galleries in Boston African-American museums in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Boston Roxbury, Boston Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Suffolk County, Massachusetts