The First Harrison Gray Otis House is a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

and

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

at 141 Cambridge Street in the West End of

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 ...

. The house, built in 1795–96, was the first of three houses designed by

Charles Bulfinch Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Tra ...

and built for Massachusetts politician Harrison Gray Otis. It is notable as one of the earliest three-story brick houses that came to represent the Federal style of architecture, and its interiors show the influence of

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

. The house is now the headquarters of

Historic New England Historic New England, previously known as the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA), is a charitable, non-profit, historic preservation organization headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is focused on New England a ...

, a regional preservation organization, and is open year-round for tours.

Description and history

The house is the simplest of the three designed by Bulfinch for Otis. The design is said to be inspired by a

William Bingham William Bingham (March 8, 1752February 7, 1804) was an American statesman from Philadelphia. He was a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress from 1786 to 1788 and served in the United States Senate from 1795 to 1801. Bingham was o ...

house that Bulfinch saw in 1789 in Philadelphia, which was in turned derived from a house in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The house is three stories tall, five bays wide, with elegant

string course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...

s. Today's graceful entrance was added after 1801. Above it is a fine

Palladian window Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Republic of Venice, Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetr ...

, and above that a

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

. The third floor is very short; ceilings are just over 6 feet tall. The floor plan follows a typical central hall plan, with two rooms on either side of the central hallway. The kitchen was in an ell. The house was purchased in 1916 by the

Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities Historic New England, previously known as the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA), is a charitable, non-profit, historic preservation organization headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is focused on New England a ...

(now

) for use as its headquarters. It was originally located about 40 feet forward of its present location, but was moved in the 1920s after it was threatened by the widening of Cambridge Street. The original cellar was lost during this move. The house is now connected to a group of row houses on Lynde Street, which serve as office and program space for Historic New England. The house underwent a careful restoration in 1960, overseen by

Abbott Lowell Cummings Abbott Lowell Cummings (March 14, 1923 – May 29, 2017) was a noted architectural historian and genealogist, best known for his study of New England architecture. Life and career Cummings was born in St. Albans, Vermont, educated at the Hoo ...

. It is open year-round for tours.

References

External links

Historic New England: Otis House Museum, 1796
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison Gray Otis House 1 Houses completed in 1796 Museums in Boston Historic house museums in Massachusetts Charles Bulfinch buildings Houses in Boston Federal architecture in Massachusetts Georgian architecture in Massachusetts National Historic Landmarks in Boston Historic New England Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Suffolk County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Boston 1796 establishments in Massachusetts

Description and history

See also

References

External links