'Tis not easy for a house to stand out architecturally in Boston because the city is home to centuries of design trends. Yet, here we have five recent listings—all available at once—that do just that. Come along.
We start with 60 Ocean Street, the gorgeous Shingle-style pile in Dorchester that is asking a potentially neighborhood-record-busting $1,750,000. It includes at least nine bedrooms spread over a main house and a converted carriage house out back.
All totaled, there are 5,675 square feet, with the main house encompassing more than 4,300 of those. Signs of 60 Ocean’s 1890s roots run throughout both properties, starting with the main house's grand entry foyer and its staircase. The estate covers a half-acre at the top of Ashmont Hill.
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Now on to the 2,500-square-foot Greek Revival at 51 Green Street in Jamaica Plain.
The nine-room house dating from the 1840s includes touches such as an eat-in kitchen remodeled (and expanded) two years ago, a lower-level au pair-slash-in law suite with a separate entrance, five bedrooms total, and just lots and lots of color and detail. Note the fireplace in the living room and said room’s coffered ceiling.
Yours for $1,300,000 even.
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The 10-room, 3,837-square-foot Venetian Gothic townhouse at 19 Rutland Square in the South End originally dropped on the sales market in March for $3,795,000. It's now asking a mere $3,495,000.
The circa 1860 spread includes flourishes such as a grand staircase, an elevator to every floor, an extra-wide living room, and an eat-in kitchen that leads to a private deck. There are also two parking spaces.
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The 2,544-square-foot Queen Anne Victorian at 21 Meredith Street in West Roxbury is retailing for $949,000. Few other neighborhoods would offer such space for such a price (roughly $370 a square foot).
How much space? All the way to a built-out third floor with a large bedroom and a full bathroom.
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We finish in Dorchester's Ashmont Hill. Architect Harrison Henry Atwood designed the colonial at 61 Alban Street in 1888, right as he embarked on his long design career (a career he would interrupt for stints in both the U.S. and Massachusetts houses).
The 5,239-square-foot spread still shows its late-19th-century roots in touches such as carved reliefs, stained glass, and intricate woodworking. There’s also a deck and a back yard, never mind the potential for seven bedrooms.
Yours for $1,100,000.