The People
Between 1859 and 1954, three generations of Gibson family members and dozens of servants lived and worked at 137 Beacon Street. In many ways, their experiences are typical of individuals of their particular gender and social class. And yet, their unique stories allow us to explore this period of Boston’s history through a distinctly personal lens.
Click below to learn more about who lived at 137 Beacon.
The People
Between 1859 and 1954, three generations of Gibson family members and dozens of servants lived and worked at 137 Beacon Street. In many ways, their experiences are typical of individuals of their particular gender and social class. And yet, their unique stories allow us to explore this period of Boston’s history through a distinctly personal lens.
Click below to learn more about who lived at 137 Beacon.
The Building
Catherine Hammond Gibson and her nephew, Samuel Hammond Russell, purchased the plots at 135 and 137 Beacon Street on September 1, 1859. She paid $3,696, over $100,000 in today’s dollars.
To design the houses, Catherine and her nephew hired Boston architect Edward Clarke Cabot, who had become famous with his design for the Boston Athenaeum. Cabot (with partner Francis Ward Chandler) would go on to design many Back Bay residences; these two at 135 and 137 Beacon were his first. The house is built in the French Academic style, which is a blend of Neoclassicism and Romanticism. This style is evident in the symmetrical façade and restrained use of ornamentation.
While we don’t know exactly how long it took to build the house, similar houses took about a year to build. On May 25, 1860, the Boston Evening Transcript reported that the house, and its neighbor at 135 Beacon St, were “nearly roofed in.”
For more on 137 Beacon St., see BackBayHouses.org.
