I found this house via the Tiny Stories series over on the Boston Preservation Alliance blog and decided to draw it because of all the fun details and colors.
George Milliken was an inventor credited with advancing the technology of the telegraph (and hiring a young Thomas Edison). He commissioned this design from John H. Besarick, a prominent architect in the late 1800’s. It is because this house is connected to two notable people, plus the fact that the exterior remains (mostly) unchanged (looking at you first floor windows) that it was granted landmark status in 2004/2005ish.
It’s a combo of Queen Ann (fish-scale shingles, irregular footprint), and Stick Style (horizontal and vertical boards pretending to be framing members, exposed rafter tails, curved porch braces) and is an early example of Besarick’s work.
I’ve included some images that were pulled from the George Milliken House Study Report, which is where I found all this info.
FYI, by donating to the Boston Preservation Alliance during the month of May (Preservation Month!), you’re entered into raffle to win a print of this illustration.
