Melrose spotlight: The Neoclassical building style

The subject of the third in our series on Melrose architectural styles is the Neoclassical elegance of the Beebe Estate.

Imagine that the balustrade and the cupola were missing from this house; now what do you see? The house you are left with would look not terribly dissimilar to the Sprague House on the other side of the Beebe School, which we discussed last time under the rubric of Georgian. Like that house, it would be a symmetrical, five over five bay design with a hipped roof. Research into the structure of this house has in fact revealed that the balustrade and cupola are later additions.

Even so, there are a few original details that work to give this house a very different feel. Start at the bottom. Note that the foundations are a bit exposed, and the portico is built onto a stepped platform, raising the height of the house as if it were perched on a dais. The windows on the first floor are nearly floor-to-ceiling, creating further illusion of height. The narrow size of the four symmetrical chimneys makes the massing of the house seem greater. All of these elements, when accompanied by the substantial portico with its heavy entablature and thick fluted columns, add up to a powerful visual impact.

The addition of the detailed ornamentation on the roof gave this house a different aesthetic dimension. The center and corners of the balustrade contain delicately carved palmettes and scrollwork. The six-sided cupola is made up of Ionic columns supporting an entablature with wreaths, a dental cornice, and palmettes, topped with an urn. With these additions, the house now projects an arresting combination of strength and sophistication.

For many years, it was believed that this house was constructed in its current form in 1828 by Boston merchant William Foster; recent research has cast doubt onto this narrative, and proven that elements of the house were built in stages. This timeline helps to explain the unexpected combination of Neoclassical elements that could be considered Georgian, Federal, or Greek Revival, that together add up to a house that is unique in Melrose and in Greater Boston.