Hartwell and Swazey « Fall River Painted Ladies

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)
Tags: Hartwell and Swazey, Sarah Brayton, Simeon Borden

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
Tags: Fall River Granite, Hartwell and Swazey

Gargoyles in Fall River

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.