Dr. Henry Jacob Bigelow House, Historic residence in Oak Hill, Newton, United States.
The Dr. Henry Jacob Bigelow House is a wood-clad residence in Newton, Massachusetts, built in the Shingle style with a central courtyard layout, varied rooflines, and a conical turret at its southwest corner. The property sits on Ober Road and is today divided into several private residential units.
The house was designed in 1887 by Henry Hobson Richardson, one of the most influential American architects of the 19th century, and was among his last works before he died. In the 20th century it served as part of the New England Peabody Home for Crippled Children before being converted into private housing in the 1980s.
The Shingle style gives the house a continuous wooden skin that wraps walls and roof together, a look that was popular along the northeastern US coast in the late 19th century. The conical turret at the southwest corner is one of the most noticeable features from the street.
The house sits in a residential neighborhood in Newton and can be seen from the street, but it is not open to the public since it remains a private property. Walking along Ober Road gives a clear view of the facade and the roofline without entering the grounds.
Richardson designed this house while already seriously ill and completed it just months before he died in 1886, making it one of the very last works he finished. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which helped preserve its exterior even after decades of changes in use.
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