events
Photo by John Woolf
Upstairs, Downstairs: Domestic Service at the Gibson House
Explore the lives of the young, Irish immigrant women who worked in domestic service in the Back Bay. On this tour, we invite you to view the Gibson House from a different perspective. We will start in the back alley and move from the working quarters through the rest of the house. Using census records, domestic advice manuals, and the architecture of the Gibson House, this tour explores the work of these women (and some men) and the community they created.
Rarely seen spaces, including the coal shed (the last surviving one in Back Bay) and the fifth-floor servant bedrooms, will be on view.
Sunday, July 18 at 11:00 a.m. and Thursday, July 29 at 3:00 p.m.
Thursday, August 12 & 26 at 3:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 21 & Sunday, August 28 at 11:00 a.m.
$15, $12 students and seniors
Register here!
Explore the lives of the young, Irish immigrant women who worked in domestic service in the Back Bay. On this tour, we invite you to view the Gibson House from a different perspective. We will start in the back alley and move from the working quarters through the rest of the house. Using census records, domestic advice manuals, and the architecture of the Gibson House, this tour explores the work of these women (and some men) and the community they created.
Rarely seen spaces, including the coal shed (the last surviving one in Back Bay) and the fifth-floor servant bedrooms, will be on view.
Sunday, July 18 at 11:00 a.m. and Thursday, July 29 at 3:00 p.m.
Thursday, August 12 & 26 at 3:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 21 & Sunday, August 28 at 11:00 a.m.
$15, $12 students and seniors
Register here!
1874 Nahant beach scene
by L. Prang & Co.
(Courtesy Boston Public Library)
Etiquette of the Brahmin Summer
with Etiquetteer Robert B. Dimmick
Tuesday, Aug. 17
6:00-7:00 p.m., via Zoom
$10 members, $12 non-members
Before air conditioning, Brahmin (wealthy Boston) families retreated for the summer season to homes on the New England coast. Join Robert B. Dimmick, Etiquetteer, for an entertaining look at the rituals, pastimes, and domesticity of the Gibson family and other Yankees. This virtual program will include images from the Gibson House and Gibson family archives.
with Etiquetteer Robert B. Dimmick
Tuesday, Aug. 17
6:00-7:00 p.m., via Zoom
$10 members, $12 non-members
Before air conditioning, Brahmin (wealthy Boston) families retreated for the summer season to homes on the New England coast. Join Robert B. Dimmick, Etiquetteer, for an entertaining look at the rituals, pastimes, and domesticity of the Gibson family and other Yankees. This virtual program will include images from the Gibson House and Gibson family archives.
Charlie Gibson’s Queer Boston
Explore the Gibson House and the gay subculture of early-twentieth-century Boston through Charlie Gibson's eyes. The story of the Museum's founder is one of legacy and family history, of the fading grandeur of Victorian-era Boston, and of Boston's LGBTQ history. Read more about Charlie here.
This tour is offered on the first Thursday of every month at 6:00 p.m.
August 5, September 2, October 7, November 4, and December 2
$15, $12 students and seniors
Register here!
Explore the Gibson House and the gay subculture of early-twentieth-century Boston through Charlie Gibson's eyes. The story of the Museum's founder is one of legacy and family history, of the fading grandeur of Victorian-era Boston, and of Boston's LGBTQ history. Read more about Charlie here.
This tour is offered on the first Thursday of every month at 6:00 p.m.
August 5, September 2, October 7, November 4, and December 2
$15, $12 students and seniors
Register here!
Twenty-Fourth Annual Museum Benefit
We are very happy to announce that the Gibson House Museum will hold its Twenty-Fourth Annual Benefit—in person!—on Tuesday, September 21, 2021, at Boston's St. Botolph Club. Our honoree will be the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, which has worked tirelessly for over 65 years to preserve Back Bay’s architectural beauty and residential character. We had hoped to honor the association at last year's canceled Benefit, and look forward to doing so this year.
The Benefit is our major fundraising event, and this year we will celebrate with a “Roaring Twenties” theme. The party will feature drinks, food, trivia, and music and dancing from the 1920s. We’ll also offer fun ’20s-themed raffle items for you to take a chance on.
Click here for more information and to purchase tickets to the Benefit!
The Benefit is our major fundraising event, and this year we will celebrate with a “Roaring Twenties” theme. The party will feature drinks, food, trivia, and music and dancing from the 1920s. We’ll also offer fun ’20s-themed raffle items for you to take a chance on.
Click here for more information and to purchase tickets to the Benefit!