The Simeon Borden/ Sarah Brayton House

This elaborate  High Victorian Ruskinian Gothic residence was built in 1875 for Simeon Borden. He was a prominent civil engineer and land surveyor who was deeply involved in Fall River’s expanding street system following the Civil War. 

 

The residence was built of brick instead of wood, which at that time made this an unusual building for the city.  This particular style was popular in the mid-1870′s and many of the city’s buildings which resemble this house were designed by Hartwell and Swazey, such as the Academy Building in the Borden Block and the Central Congregational Church on Rock Street.

Simeon Borden sold the residence to Sarah Brayton in 1895 and it was then christened “Broadview”. Sarah S. Brayton died in 1915 and willed the home to her niece, Nancy Jannett Bowers Brayton who married Judge James Madison Morton in 1955.  Their heirs donated the mansion to the Christian Day School which closed in 1992.  Since 2001, it has been the address for the Women’s Center/ OB-GYN.

 

Published in: on July 14, 2008 at 9:07 pm  Comments (1)  
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Summer in the Garden

 

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

Published in: on July 9, 2008 at 6:16 pm  Leave a Comment  
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The Academy Building

Academy Building
Designer Hartwell & Swazey
Location Fall River, Massachusetts, USA
Date 1876
Building Type Commerce/Trade
Construction System Brick, Sandstone, Granite
Architectural Style Ruskinian Gothic
Street Address S. Main St.
Notes also known as Academy of Music Building;Borden Block

 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).

Published in: on March 30, 2008 at 5:45 pm  Leave a Comment  
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New Boston Road Gingerbread Gem

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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.

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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.

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Published in: on February 29, 2008 at 10:14 pm  Comments (1)  
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Painted Ladies of Winter Street

 Winter Street was found quite by accident while driving west on Locust St. The entire street, for the most part, has been preserved almost intact, with few drastic modern interferences to the facades.  It is easy to picture this street as it must have looked in 1890, for little has changed. Some of the trellis work, porches, and architectural “gingerbread” elements are a visual feast.

Published in: on February 22, 2008 at 4:57 am  Leave a Comment  

A Drive Down Highland Avenue

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 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. 

 

Published in: on February 19, 2008 at 4:25 am  Leave a Comment  

Gargoyles in Fall River

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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.

Published in: on February 19, 2008 at 3:13 am  Comments (1)  
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Borden-Durfee House c. 1850

At the very west end of Prospect Street, just before turning left onto Rock Street, there is an amazing home, a neighbor to the Dana Brayton House.  The Italianate house received a facelift late last summer and now boasts gilded pillar capitals, stained walnut balustrades and a very impressive double set of stained wooden front doors and roof corbels. The two pretty sisters side by side command the attention of passers-by!

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The Dana Brayton house next door

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Published in: on February 14, 2008 at 3:52 am  Leave a Comment  

More on the Sanford House

 A little more information today on what may be the most beautiful of the Painted Ladies at 218 Lincoln.  Thanks to the Fall River native and Victorian house enthusiast for this addition.  Please send information about any of the houses featured here to Revdma@aol.com!

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Arnold B Sanford House c1884. Before the addresses were changed, when it was built, it was known as 34 Lincoln Ave. Arnold B. Sandford was treasurer of the Globe Yarn Mills and President of the Davol Mills.

Published in: on February 14, 2008 at 3:39 am  Leave a Comment  

Elizabeth Hitchcock Brayton Memorial

As luck would have it, a visit to New Bedford’s antique mall on the cove yielded this post card of the gazebo discussed below which is on Maple Street behind the Easton tea house.  Unfortunately this is not a color card, but it is clear that the paint scheme today is quite different from the postcard.  Miss Brayton, incidentally, was one of the ladies who accompanied Lizzie Borden on her Grand Tour in 1890.

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Published in: on February 5, 2008 at 2:27 am  Leave a Comment  
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