FRAMINGHAM HISTORY CENTER VIRTUAL HOUSE TOUR A I R I N G S A T U R D A Y A N D S U N D A Y , N O V E M B E R 1 4 & 1 5 , 2 0 2 0 F R A M I N G H A M H I S T O R Y . O R G MURPHY, EDWARDS, GONCALVES & FERRERA, PC Certified Public Accountants and Business Advisors Reservoir Corporate Center 144 Turnpike Road, Suite 340 Southborough, MA 01772 Tel: 508-229-7900 Fax: 508-229-2025 With MEGF on your team, you will confidently move forward...maintain stability...gain strength. You’ll always know where you are, and where you’re going. WELCOME TO THE FIRST FRAMINGHAM HISTORY CENTER VIRTUAL HOUSE TOUR! We are so pleased to be able to present four beautiful homes for you to explore and enjoy during this time of global pandemic and social distancing. It was with great disappointment that we made the decision to cancel our traditional “in-person” tour in the spring, but many of you encouraged us to go virtual. With help from our old friends at MediaBoss and some very special homeowners, we are so excited to be able to present our beloved House Tour on a virtual platform that will ensure a wonderful viewing experience. You can watch at your own pace and rewind to your heart’s content. Normally we offer a refreshment stop during the tour, but for this experience, we hope you’ll take advantage of our suggested period cocktail either with your “pod” or at a Zoom gathering after watching the tour. This is a first for us and we would love to know how you enjoyed the entire experience. Let us know, or ask any questions you might have about more of the history surrounding these homes by emailing us at [email protected]. This year’s House Tour is generously sponsored by BETA Group, Consigli Construction, Ferrini 4 Homes, Murphy, Edwards, Goncalves and Ferrera, PC., MutualOne Bank, and Webster First FCU. We hope that you will support their businesses as their support of us, and by extension, the Framingham community, has been critical to our mission. We also ask that you support the many advertisers in this digital tour booklet. Their links are live in the Index of Advertisers, so please give them a click! This event would not be possible without the homeowners who were open to switching gears and the tireless crew from MediaBoss. We are so fortunate that their enthusiasm and excitement for Framingham history brought their talent back into our orbit to create these beautiful videos. This tour is the Framingham History Center’s (FHC) largest fundraiser and all proceeds benefit our operations in support of our mission. We are not funded by the City of Framingham. We are an independent non-profit 501c3 organization dependent on your membership, donations, bequests and participation in events like this. To learn more about us, visit framinghamhistory.org. Enjoy your tour! Annie Murphy Executive Director Framingham History Center MISSION To celebrate and share the many stories of Framingham, past and present, by preserving local history and instilling a sense of place within our vibrant community. 3 THE VIRTUAL HOUSE TOUR IS PRESENTED BY: THE FRAMINGHAM HISTORY CENTER P.O. BOX 2032 FRAMINGHAM, MA 01703 508-626-9091 BOARD OF STAFF 2020 HOUSE DIRECTORS Annie Murphy TOUR COMMITTEE Christine Tibor EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Stacen Goldman PRESIDENT Laura Rankin Bonnie Henrickson ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Charlene Frary Meg Kelley VICE PRESIDENT Stacen Goldman Patti McCarthy Diana Edwards CURATOR TREASURER Rebecca Reiner Annie Murphy Nancy Devine DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Terry Murphy CLERK Rebecca Helgeson Anne O’Donnell Francesca Cerutti-Harris COLLECTIONS MANAGER Laura Rankin Jeffrey Delvy Patsy Green VILLAGE HALL RENTAL Rebecca Reiner Nancy Hulme COORDINATOR Susan Silva Mary Kiely Steve Henning Lisa Sinisalo FACILITIES MANAGER Doug Lawrence Joan Spinazola Kaitlin MacKenzie Susan Tarini Susan Nicholl Brett Peruzzi Nancy Prince Kevin Swope Jake Tosti ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Framingham History Center would like to thank the homeowners who have made this tour possible by graciously opening their homes, to Brightcove for providing the dynamic video platform, and to MediaBoss for producing these amazing videos. We thank our contributors, sponsors, patrons, and advertisers for their support. We encourage you to patronize these businesses. MARKETING: Lisa Sinisalo, Laura Rankin RAFFLE/HOLIDAY AUCTION: Susan Tarini TOUR BOOK WRITE-UPS: Alison Courchesne, Annie Murphy TOUR BOOK PUBLISHER: Joe Mola TOUR SCRIPT AND NARRATION: Annie Murphy TOUR VIDEOGRAPHY AND PRODUCTION: MediaBoss 5 I DELIVER EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE AND RECORD SETTING RESULTS. THINKING OF MAKING A MOVE? CALL ME, I’D LOVE TO WORK WITH YOU! FRAMINGHAM OFFERED AT $2,950,000 FRAMINGHAM SOLD $4,200,000 FRAMINGHAM SOLD $1,460,000 FRAMINGHAM SOLD $1,250,000 FRAMINGHAM SOLD $1,095,000 THE BOW HOUSE 716 Grove Street his house was built in 1984 and is a reproduction of a 17th century bow house Tfound in the fishing villages of Cape Cod. The bow house or “rainbow house” is modeled after the curved hull of a ship or after its cambered decks which shed rain or sea water. Apparently, thrifty New Englanders would dismantle ships that were no longer viable and literally place the hull of the boat on a house as a roof. The homeowners worked with Bow House, a reproduction company out of Bolton, MA. The company provided an architectural package that included the laminated curved rafters, wide pine floors, 12 over 12 windows with antique glass in four or five of the panes, cedar shakes, beaded edge molding for trim, and custom made paneling including doors. None of the doors in the house have nobs – they are all latched adding to the 1700s ambience. Also included in the package were the angled bricks required for the Rumford fireplace in the living room. In the 1790s Count Rumford, an Anglo –American physicist, invented this shallow fireplace with angled sides and a streamlined “throat” to carry away smoke without losing heat. Jefferson installed the Rumford fireplace in Monticello and Thoreau listed them among the modern conveniences everyone took for granted. CONTINUED 7 THE BOW HOUSE 716 Grove Street (continued) This home provides the feel of living in an antique home without having to do the upkeep required in an older house. A perfect match, because there is an avid collector living in this home! She moved to Framingham in 1951 and remembers trips to her mother’s favorite antique store in Framingham Centre – this was before Route 9 was rerouted under Edgell Rd. She grew up riding horses at the Millwood Hunt Club and you will see evidence of that in the study with her collection of miniature pieces that include a hunt that one might have seen in Framingham 100 years ago. The study features some of the homeowner’s favorite collections - a piece of Dutch delft china from the 1600s – a miniature farm with pieces collected in the town of Honitan England made by the William Britain & Sons toy company, and a stained glass image of Richard the Lionhearted. There are beautiful stained glass pieces in most every room of this house. The staircase up to the second floor is another split staircase or “good morning” staircase. (See the staircase in Amos Gates house.) Imagine family members emerging from either side of the house and greeting each other at the landing. Perhaps the beautiful portrait of a child at the top of the stairs may have attracted the homeowner because some say that it resembles her when she was younger. The homeowners’ love of the Cape, Martha’s Vineyard, and the sea is evident throughout the house. In the master bedroom the owner’s collection of Native American baskets, wampum found on the beaches of Martha’s Vineyard, and beautifully carved pieces are close at hand. The collections throughout this house are stunning as are the gardens and back yard which backs up on what used to be the sixth hole of the Millwood Golf course. 8 MutualOne Bank has a proud history of “doing good.” Whether providing grants through the MutualOne Charitable Foundation, contributions to fund local programs or events, or sending employee volunteers to help make a difference, MutualOne is proud to be a good bank – and good neighbor. Framingham 828 Concord Street • One Lincoln Street Natick 49 Main Street 508.820.4000 Member FDIC/SIF MutualOne.com 5” x 8” Framingham History Center THE MID-CENTURY MODERN 180 Winch Street his home was built in 1957 and designed by Marjorie Pierce, a 1923 graduate of TMIT’s architecture program who worked as an architect in Massachusetts for 70 years. In an oral history she recorded for MIT, she explained that when clients initially balked at hiring a female architect, she would explain that male architects just “don’t know how a house works. They don’t know how a kitchen works. Why should they design it?” Upon entering this mid-century modern home, the first architectural detail you will notice is the striking two-sided fireplace which separates the living room on the left from the dining room on the right. The sunken living room is a hallmark of the mid-century style. This room features original walnut paneling on the rear wall and floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides of the room that allow light to enter from many angles and integrates the interior and exterior of the home. The kitchen, to the right, retains the original cabinetry, though has otherwise been remodeled. The current owners have lived in this home for the past four years.