History of the House
This impressive four-story town house was constructed in 1804 as one of four row houses, and is one of the earliest structures on Beacon Hill. The original Federal design is attributed to Charles Bulfinch, the eminent architect who designed the Massachusetts State House as well as other Beacon Hill mansions.
Interior architectural styles are reflected in door frames remodeled to incorporate Greek Revival on one side, leaving the original Federal style intact on the other side. The two styles are cleverly merged through a change in the shape of the balusters at an upper landing. Lighting fixtures, originally candle and oil lamps, were replaced by gas sconces and later, by electric lamps. Other manifestations of "contemporary" remodeling abound.
The Nichols House Museum is open to the public as an historic house museum reflecting the domestic life of a typical family of Beacon Hill at the turn of the last century. The museum is part of the historical legacy of one of the most famous neighborhoods of America. Located at the heart of Beacon Hill, the Nichols House Museum receives visitors from many foreign countries and from all over the United States.
The Museum Collection
The House is furnished with priceless possessions gathered from every corner of the globe. They have been accumulated over several generations and include fine European and American wooden furniture from the 17th-19th centuries, ancestral portraits, Flemish tapestries, oriental rugs, European and Asian art, and works by America's foremost sculptor of the 19th century, Augustus Saint Gaudens.
