Location Boston, Massachusetts NRHP Reference # 72000145 Opened 1870 Added to NRHP 23 February 1972 | Built 1870 Designated CP August 14, 1973 Architectural style Romanesque architecture Architect Henry Hobson Richardson | |
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Part of Back Bay Historic District (#73001948) Similar Richardson Olmsted Complex, Deer Island Light, The First Church of Christ - Sc, St Mary – St Catherine, Georges Island | ||
The Crowninshield House is an historic house designed by Henry Hobson Richardson, located at 164 Marlborough Street in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.
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Architecture
Commissioned by Benjamin W. Crowninshield, the house was designed in 1868 and built in 1870 by H.H. Richardson. It is the earliest surviving example of Richardson's private residence work. Unlike many of his later works in the signature Romanesque style that he would develop, this house owes more to the Second Empire style. It is built entirely in brick, and features black brick trims and decorative green and blue tiles.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Benjamin Crowninshield
Benjamin William Crowninshield (1837–1892) was a member of the Boston Brahmin Crowninshield family. He attended Harvard College, graduating in 1858, along with classmates H.H. Richardson and Henry Adams. Adams' Education of Henry Adams (1918) includes descriptions of his friendship with Crowninshield.
Crowninshield studied history, publishing and speaking on various topics, such as yachting and military history. Published works include A History of the First Regiment of Massachusetts Cavalry Volunteers (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1891).
In 1868, Crowninshield commissioned his friend Richardson to design and build the house on Marlborough Street in the newly land-filled Back Bay area of Boston.