Beautifully preserved Brookline manse
One of the first things to get thrown out in old homes is anything made obsolete by new technology — but fans of preservation understand the value of these artifacts, which offer a window into what life was like generations ago.
And that’s exactly the type of people who, for the last 50 years, owned this great Spanish-style home on picturesque Fisher Hill at 97 Holland Road in Brookline. Not only did the couple protect and maintain the integrity of the classic interiors — the formal wainscoting in the entry hall, the elegant white staircase, the rich wood mantels and overmantels of the main fireplaces — they also kept old, early 20th century shoebox-shaped telephones, a detective-novel-style safe hidden under the master bedroom window seat, and early bathroom fixtures like white claw-foot bathtubs and antique hardwood toilet seats.
“He was very meticulous,” said Ross Levine of his late grandfather, who owned the six-bedroom, six-bathroom manse with Levine’s grandmother until the two recently passed away.
Levine, who gave a tour of the century-old house earlier this week, said his grandfather kept most of the place as it was, save for installing an in-ground pool in the basement and converting a porch on one side of the home into another sunroom. The 6,000-square foot home is now listed for just under $3 million.
Maintaining makes sense here over remaking. The home was built by the prominent local firm, Chapman and Frazer, who in the late 1800s and early 1900s would become responsible for some 100 historic buildings and houses from Brewster to Barnstable to Boston’s Back Bay.
From the outside, the home is clearly of architectural significance, built in a quasi-Spanish Revival style, with creamy stucco walls and a low-pitched hipped roof covered in green, rounded tiles.
Inside, the place is equally impressive over its three floors. The central staircase is magnificent, adorned with fine details such as carved white wood decorations along the sides and ornately turned balusters that show off the high-end millwork of the day. Views from the second floor landing add to the grandness of the foyer, letting you look far over the town.
On the right side of the entry hall is the formal living room that’s heavy with black-coffee-color wood paneling, decorative ceiling beams and fireplace surround. At the left of the entry, a bit brighter and lighter, is the dining room, which has softer, caramelcolor woodwork, including a finely carved overmantel. Both rooms are flanked by sunrooms, with one at the far left and the other at the far right of the home.
“My grandmother would sit in the afternoons in this sunroom,” Levine said, “and my grandfather would sit in the other, and then they would meet for cocktails.”
The sale of the home is being handled by Deborah M. Gordon, 617-974-0404.