The unexpected color combinations of sage with violet shutters, surrounded by the white picket fence and exuberant plantings of hot pink cosmos make this gambrel-roofed “Cape Anne”  a Painted Lady of sorts.

The facing sister cape in buttercream paint with chocolate door and shutters boasts a venerable brick chimney and picture book welcome home warmth.

One, among many reasons to visit and admire the art and architecture of the library atrium is a work by Fall River artist Mary Lizzie Macomber entitled, Marconi.  Miss Macomber (1861-1916) was a much-celebrated artist of the American Pre-Raphaelite school whose paintings of beautiful women won international acclaim, and whose works were exhibited at the 1892 Chicago Columbian Exposition.

There are several works by Miss Macomber at the library, but one in particular is unusual and haunting. In April, 1912, the world was stunned by the sinking of the Royal Mail Steamer Titanic, bound for New York from Southampton on her maiden voyage. Thanks to Marconi’s invention of the wireless, the Cunard rescue ship Carpathia received the SOS and was able to save over 700 souls.  In her painting Marconi, Mary Macomber portrays an ethereal, angel-like woman, listening over the ocean, with both hands to her ears. In the far distance at the top of the canvas, faint sparks can be seen traveling out over the water; a tribute to the life-saving invention of Gugliemo Marconi.

Everything is in bloom at the Fall River Historical Society’s Victorian Garden!

 East side stone carvings and remaining two pillars from the old city hall at the start of Old Second Street, now a pedestrian mall.

(The music heard is from the 1980 film Somewhere in Time- based on the novel Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson which was set in 1896 at the Hotel Del Coronado in California. The film version was updated to 1912 and filmed at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan).

Also in the north end of town, New Boston Road, which passes by the Charlton Hospital is peppered with charming smaller Victorian homes and storefronts.  The former 1890 Leanna Barker grocery store is a captivating and nicely -restored storefront, now functioning as Dr. McDonald’s Primary Care office. The porch is an inviting spot to linger in the summer months.

After admiring the houses on New Boston Road, a pot of tea and fresh cream puffs may be enjoyed in Victorian splendor at the New Boston Bakery.

 Highland Avenue boasts many styles of glorious houses from Victorian to turn of the 20th century to the 1930′s. The drive portrayed in the slide presentation below represents both the east and west sides of Highland Avenue  and begins just north of the Charlton Hospital , crosses over President’s Avenue and follows north on Highland Avenue up to about Harvard Street. 

 Click to view slideshow.

It’s no wonder Lizzie Borden wanted to belong to the stylish Central Congregational Church  at 100 Rock Street.  Many of the fine mill owner families from The Hill were congregants there. Listed today on the National Register, the granite, Nova Scotia freestone and red brick edifice was designed by Hartwell and Swazey (also architects of the Academy Building) in the Ruskinian Gothic Style, in 1872. It is the only church in Fall River which features gargoyles on its exterior facades.

The Sanford House on Lincoln Avenue

The term “Painted Lady” has now become part of the American vernacular and describes a Victorian house of three or more colors.  The painting scheme is also called “polychrome”. 

The term was first used for San Francisco Victorian houses by writers Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen in their 1978 book Painted Ladies – San Francisco’s Resplendent Victorians.  There has since been sequels to the popular book, which has never been out of print since its first publication.

Fall River has a particularly fine collection of these glorious homes both in the Historic Highlands or “The Hill” section of the old mill town, and also in the south end of the city.  “Painted Lady” refers to the Victorian disdain for using too much make-up, paint and powder, which became associated with showgirls, ladies of the evening and actresses.  By using three or more colors on the intricate gingerbread details of these homes, highlighting the architectural elements is achieved.

The exquisite Queen Anne in the photographs below, the Sanford House, is located on Lincoln Avenue, and was recently repainted in October 2007.  It is surely one of the loveliest homes on The Hill and a favorite of locals.

As the world becomes more hurried and streamlined, a certain nostalgia for the workmanship and attention to detail has rekindled in today’s generation.  These amazing homes are being once again appreciated as testimonials to a slower, more gracious time when neighbors stopped to visit over lemonade on the porch, ladies bent over their needlework in wicker chairs, and children were happy to toss a ball on immaculate rolling lawns.  Fall River is rich in architectural heritage- may it ever be so.

Before The Rescue

In Bygone Days