Harrison Gray Otis House facts for kids
There are three important houses in Boston, Massachusetts, all named after a man called Harrison Gray Otis. He was a well-known lawyer and politician from the early days of the United States. All three houses were designed by a very famous American architect named Charles Bulfinch.
First Harrison Gray Otis House
The first house Harrison Gray Otis had built was finished in 1796. You can find it at 141 Cambridge Street, right next to the Old West Church in Boston's West End neighborhood.
Today, this house is a special place called a National Historic Landmark. It's also a historic house museum, which means you can visit it to learn about history. The organization that owns and takes care of it is called Historic New England. They also use part of the house as their main office.
Second Harrison Gray Otis House
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Harrison Gray Otis House (Second)
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U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Contributing Property |
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2nd Harrison Gray Otis House, 85 Mount Vernon Street
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 Location in Boston
Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
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| Built | 1802 |
| Architect | Bulfinch, Charles |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| Part of | Beacon Hill Historic District (ID66000130) |
| NRHP reference No. | 73001955 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | July 27, 1973 |
| Designated NHLDCP | October 15, 1966 |
The second Harrison Gray Otis House is located at 85 Mount Vernon Street. It's a large, square house built in the Federal style between 1800 and 1802. It sits in the busy Beacon Hill neighborhood.
This house has three stories and is made of brick. It has a nice lawn and a curved cobblestone driveway. This driveway is a rare piece of how Beacon Hill was first planned. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Charles Bulfinch designed the first floor with special recessed brick arches. These arches are decorated with iron balconies that look like Chinese patterns. The front of the house has four sections. It also has Corinthian pilasters, which are like flat columns, on the second and third floors. There's a fence-like structure called a balustrade on the roof and a large, eight-sided cupola (a small dome-like structure) on top. Otis lived in this house until 1806.
This house was used in movies and TV shows too! It was shown as the home of Thomas Crown in the original Thomas Crown Affair movie. It also appeared as Thomas Banacek's home in the TV show Banacek from 1972 to 1974.
Third Harrison Gray Otis House
The third Harrison Gray Otis House is at 45 Beacon Street. It was finished in 1806. Today, it is the home of the American Meteorological Society, an organization that studies weather and climate.
This is the last and biggest of the three houses. It was also built in the Federal style. Harrison Gray Otis lived here until he passed away in 1848. The house has four stories and five sections across its front. The main entrance has a small, rectangular portico (a porch with columns) with delicate pairs of Ionic fluted columns.
The ground floor, which is now covered in stone, originally had the same kind of recessed brick arches that Bulfinch often used. When it was first built, the house stood by itself. It was surrounded by the Boston Common park and beautiful English gardens.
