Dupee Estate-Mary Baker Eddy Home
Encyclopedia
The Dupee Estate-Mary Baker Eddy Home, located at 400 Beacon Street in the village of Chestnut Hill
in Newton, Massachusetts
, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
as the Dupee Estate, but is better known as the last home of Mary Baker Eddy
, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist
.
The main house has 3 stories and a basement and has 25 rooms, 4 chimneys and 17180 square feet (1,596 m²) of space. The exterior walls are of pudding stone, granite and blue stone blocks. The walls have long been covered by vines. The hip roof is black slate with red copper pans with multiple dormers and skylights.
and National Park service sites, the main house was built in 1880 by William Arthur Dupee, but this does not seem plausible since he was born on November 30, 1871. It seems more probable that it was built by his father, William Richardson Dupee, who was born August 10, 1841, in Brighton and died January 19, 1911, in Brookline
.
In 1895 the estate was sold by the Dupee family to R. Ashton Lawrence..
.
In December 2006, The Longyear Museum, an organization dedicated to preservation of homes associated with Mary Baker Eddy, purchased her last home from the church for $13,301,027. The sale did not include the furnishings and artifacts that had been in the home since her death in 1910. These were removed by the church before closing. In March, 2007, however, Longyear paid $156,000 to obtain some pieces of furniture, rugs, and five of the seven carriages from the estate. Longyear hopes to be able to buy more personal property from the church in the future.
The house is now closed to the public so that Longyear can do the cleaning and restoration work necessary to bring it up to museum standards of quality.
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Chestnut Hill is a wealthy New England village located six miles west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporated municipal entity, but unlike most of them, it encompasses parts of three separate municipalities, each of...
in Newton, Massachusetts
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as the Dupee Estate, but is better known as the last home of Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy
Mary Baker Eddy was the founder of Christian Science , a Protestant American system of religious thought and practice religion adopted by the Church of Christ, Scientist, and others...
, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist
Church of Christ, Scientist
The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, by Mary Baker Eddy. She was the author of the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Christian Science teaches that the "allness" of God denies the reality of sin, sickness, death, and the material world...
.
Property description
The Dupee Estate-Mary Baker Eddy Home property consists of an 8.3 acres (33,588.9 m²) tract of land with a combination gate and carriage house located near the entrance from Beacon Street and the main house located to its southeast. There are also two smaller out buildings located southwest of the carriage house.Main house
The architecture of the main house built in 1880-1881 has been described variously as "Ruskinian Gothic" or "Gothic, Stick/Eastlake." The architects were Peabody & Stearns. The estate was added to the National Register on September 4, 1986, under building number 86001790.The main house has 3 stories and a basement and has 25 rooms, 4 chimneys and 17180 square feet (1,596 m²) of space. The exterior walls are of pudding stone, granite and blue stone blocks. The walls have long been covered by vines. The hip roof is black slate with red copper pans with multiple dormers and skylights.
- A 10-room wing with elevator, designed by noted ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based architect, Solon Spencer BemanSolon Spencer BemanSolon Spencer Beman was an American architect who was based in Chicago, best known as the architect of the planned Pullman community and adjacent Pullman Company factory complex. Several of his other largest commissions, including the Pullman Office Building, Pabst Building, and Grand Central...
was added to the main house in 1907-1908 in preparation for Mary Baker Eddy's occupancy.
Outbuildings
The gate-carriage house, built in 1892, has 6575 square feet (611 m²) of space, while the garage has only 670 square feet (62 m²).Prior to Eddy
According to both Mary Baker Eddy LibraryMary Baker Eddy Library
The Mary Baker Eddy Library is a lending library and museum as well as the repository for the papers of Mary Baker Eddy, an influential American author, teacher, and religious leader who founded Christian Science...
and National Park service sites, the main house was built in 1880 by William Arthur Dupee, but this does not seem plausible since he was born on November 30, 1871. It seems more probable that it was built by his father, William Richardson Dupee, who was born August 10, 1841, in Brighton and died January 19, 1911, in Brookline
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
.
In 1895 the estate was sold by the Dupee family to R. Ashton Lawrence..
Eddy years
Mary Baker Eddy bought the estate from R. Ashton Lawrence in October 1907, but she did not move in until after the addition had been completed in 1908. She used the house not only as her home but also as the office from which she oversaw the management of the church she had founded. Mary Baker Eddy died at home on December 3, 1910, and was buried in Mount Auburn CemeteryMount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
.
After Eddy
The estate at 400 Beacon Street was bequeathed by Mary Baker Eddy to her church which maintained it as she had left it. It was open to the public for many years until escalating costs as well as the need for major repairs and renovations led the church to close it to the public and to offer it for sale so that the proceeds could be better used to promote the church's mission.In December 2006, The Longyear Museum, an organization dedicated to preservation of homes associated with Mary Baker Eddy, purchased her last home from the church for $13,301,027. The sale did not include the furnishings and artifacts that had been in the home since her death in 1910. These were removed by the church before closing. In March, 2007, however, Longyear paid $156,000 to obtain some pieces of furniture, rugs, and five of the seven carriages from the estate. Longyear hopes to be able to buy more personal property from the church in the future.
The house is now closed to the public so that Longyear can do the cleaning and restoration work necessary to bring it up to museum standards of quality.
See also
- List of Registered Historic Places in Newton, Massachusetts
- Mary Baker Eddy Historic House for a list of the 8 houses owned by the Longyear Museum.