DRAFT Historic Structure Report: Beale House, Adams National Historic Site
Phillips MK. 1993. DRAFT Historic Structure Report: Beale House, Adams National Historic Site. Historic Structure Report. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Boston, Massachusetts
The Beale House and property, including the Carriage House, are located adjacent to the Adams Old House estate and are part of the Adams National Historic Site (now Adams National Historical Park). The Beale House is considered significant because it is associated with the lives of persons in our past, is an excellent example of late-18th century high style architecture, and is a rare example of an early era of preservation methodology by a noted, early-20th century preservation architect. The Beale House was purchased by the National Park Service to preserve the home and property of Captain Benjamin Beale and his descendants. The house was visible from the Old House, and the Beale family were neighbors, friends, and business associates of John and Abigail, John Quincy and Louisa Catherine, and Charles Francis and his wife. Architecturally, the Beale House is an example of late Georgian/early Federal-period architecture, a design style that would be more commonly found in the cosmopolitan setting of late-18th century Atlantic seaports than the farmland south of Boston. The only significant alterations to the house were made in 1908 by Joseph Everett Chandler, one of the first preservation architects. The goal of the project was to prepare a modified Level II HSR. The historical research for the report focused on analysis of the fabric of the structure, which helped identify the physical evolution and character-defining features of the house; documentation of existing features and conditions; and an evaluation of the feasibility of adapting the building to the proposed uses. Those proposed uses were administrative space with the possibility of conference and exhibit space. This report was prepared by the Building Conservation Branch of the Cultural Resources Center, part of the Office of Planning and Resource Preservation, Cultural Resources Management Division, North Atlantic Region of the National Park Service.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Phillips, Maureen
- Date of Issue
- 1993
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- ADAM , NER
- Keywords
- Abigail Adams, Benjamin Beale, Charles Francis Adams, early Federal-period architecture, Fred Rice, Georgian architecture, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Joseph Everett Chandler, Level II HSR, political history, preservation architect, President, Quincy, view
- Subjects
- CRIS-HS: 022655: Beale House (022655)