events
Read the Room
Register for Oct 20th Now!
The Gibson House Museum and the Nichols House Museum are pleased to announce the 2021-22 season of Read the Room, our book club inspired by the literary salons of the 19th century. We welcome our familiar friends and those new to the museums alike to join us for group discussion about the Victorian world and its connections to the contemporary moment. Each month’s book selection will reflect some aspect of the museums. Participants will be provided with a list of discussion questions the week prior to the event, and each event will highlight particular objects or spaces at the host museum that connect to the book. Some programs will take place on site; others will happen virtually, so that we can welcome everyone to an experience that feels comfortable for them.
Space is limited, and advanced registration is required. Registration is free for Nichols House Museum and Gibson House Museum members. For non-members, registration is $12 per meeting or $45 for the entire season.
We’re thrilled to offer a very special joint membership in conjunction with the book club: join both museums for $60 (a savings of $35) and receive free access to the book club as well as member benefits at both museums! Register and sign up for membership here.
2021-22 Season
Register for Oct 20th Now!
The Gibson House Museum and the Nichols House Museum are pleased to announce the 2021-22 season of Read the Room, our book club inspired by the literary salons of the 19th century. We welcome our familiar friends and those new to the museums alike to join us for group discussion about the Victorian world and its connections to the contemporary moment. Each month’s book selection will reflect some aspect of the museums. Participants will be provided with a list of discussion questions the week prior to the event, and each event will highlight particular objects or spaces at the host museum that connect to the book. Some programs will take place on site; others will happen virtually, so that we can welcome everyone to an experience that feels comfortable for them.
Space is limited, and advanced registration is required. Registration is free for Nichols House Museum and Gibson House Museum members. For non-members, registration is $12 per meeting or $45 for the entire season.
We’re thrilled to offer a very special joint membership in conjunction with the book club: join both museums for $60 (a savings of $35) and receive free access to the book club as well as member benefits at both museums! Register and sign up for membership here.
2021-22 Season
- Wed, Oct. 20th, 6-7:30pm, location via Zoom: Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley
- Wed, Dec. 8th, 6-7:30pm, location TBD: North and South (1854) by Elizabeth Gaskell
- Wed, Feb 9th, 6-7:30pm, via Zoom: Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Bronte
- Wed, April 6th, 6-7:30pm, via Zoom: Special Read the Room meeting for Poetry Month! - Lyrics of Life and Love (1904), William Stanley Braithwaite
- Wed, June 15, 6-7:30pm, location TBD: Deephaven (1900) by Sarah Orne Jewett
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.
Thursday, October 14, 3:00 p.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.
Thursday, October 14, 3:00 p.m.
$15, $12 students and seniors
Register here!
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.
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.
October 7, November 4, and December 2
$15, $12 students and seniors
Register here!