Dr. Henry Jacob Bigelow House | |
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Location | 72-80 Ober Rd., Newton, Massachusetts |
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Coordinates | 42°18′9″N71°11′13″W / 42.30250°N 71.18694°W |
Area | 5 acres (2.0 ha) |
Built | 1887 |
Architect | Henry Hobson Richardson |
Architectural style | Shingle Style |
NRHP reference No. | 76000266 [1] |
Added to NRHP | January 1, 1976 |
The Dr. Henry Jacob Bigelow House is a historic house at 72-80 Ober Road in the Oak Hill village of Newton, Massachusetts. Built in 1887, it is one of the last private residences designed by noted American architect Henry Hobson Richardson. [2] It was converted into condominiums in the 1980s by the PBS program This Old House . It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. [1]
The Bigelow House is located high on Oak Hill, from which the Newton neighborhood takes its name. It is a large 2+1⁄2-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. [3]
It was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson, 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, 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. [3]
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. [3] It was restored and divided into five condominium units in the 1980s by the PBS television series This Old House . [4] Some of the original features, including a circular tower, have been preserved. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places at 742 Dedham Street. [1]
Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA 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 of "the recognized trinity of American architecture".
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The Henry Bigelow House is a historic house in the Newton Corner village of Newton, Massachusetts. Built about 1830, it is a good local example of Greek Revival architecture, important as home to Henry Bigelow, a prominent local educator and philanthropist. On September 4, 1986, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Mary Fiske Stoughton House is a National Historic Landmark house at 90 Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Henry Hobson Richardson designed the house in 1882 in what is now called the Shingle Style, with a minimum of ornament and shingles stretching over the building's irregular volumes like a skin. The house drew immediate notice in the architectural community, and was a significant influence in the growth in popularity of the Shingle style in the late 19th century. Richardson's masterful use of space in its design also foreshadowed the work of major 20th century architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989.
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Hampden County Courthouse is a historic courthouse on Elm Street in Springfield, Massachusetts designed by Henry Hobson Richardson. This was the county's second courthouse. The first courthouse was a small meetinghouse structure built in 1740, and the second and was constructed in 1822, but by the 1860s, popular pressure was developing for a new proper courthouse. A grand jury indicted the county commissioners in 1869 for official misconduct since the courthouse did not have fireproof storage for the registry of deeds and the safekeeping of public records. This forced the county to build a new courthouse.
The H. H. Richardson Historic District of North Easton is a National Historic Landmark District in the village of North Easton in Easton, Massachusetts. It consists of five buildings designed by noted 19th-century architect Henry Hobson Richardson, and The Rockery, a war memorial designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.
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The Myrtle Baptist Church Neighborhood Historic District encompasses a historic center of the African-American community in West Newton, Massachusetts. The district includes all of Curve Street, where the Myrtle Baptist Church is located, as well as a few properties on adjacent Auburn and Prospect Streets. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
Hartwell and Richardson was a Boston, Massachusetts architectural firm established in 1881, by Henry Walker Hartwell (1833–1919) and William Cummings Richardson (1854–1935). The firm contributed significantly to the current building stock and architecture of the greater Boston area. Many of its buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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