Mary Baker Eddy Historic House Receives Paul & Niki Tsongas Award

Mary Baker Eddy Historic House, Chestnut Hill

Preservation Mass is pleased to announce that the Mary Baker Eddy Historic House received a 2025 Paul & Niki Tsongas Award.

Added to the National Register in 1986, the Mary Baker Eddy property at 400 Beacon Street in Chestnut Hill, MA, was originally designed by Peabody and Stearns Architects (circa 1880), with the main house significantly expanded for Mrs. Eddy by Solon Spencer Beman in 1907-1908.

Restoration of the last home of Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science, was completed thanks to the passion and dedication of a large group of dedicated people. By engaging a talented team of professionals and skilled craftspeople, property owner Longyear Museum was able to restore the residence, carriage house, gatehouse and landscape in a way that preserves the historic buildings and accurately represents the way the property looked and felt in the early 20th century.

Planning, design and construction of the restoration of the property took place in several phases from 2015 to 2024. The overall process included extensive research into documentation from the time when Mrs. Eddy and her devoted “workers” occupied the house. Both the exterior and interior restoration efforts involved delving into historic photos to determine how to recreate and detail missing elements.

The 18,000 sf main house and 7,300 sf carriage house and gatehouse needed new slate and copper roofs, and exterior walls constructed from local puddingstone required cleaning and repointing. Every element, from matching the original slate roof to restoring the wrought iron entrance gates, was done with extraordinary attention to detail and resource selection.

The 28 period rooms were recreated by fabricating exact replicas of original wallpaper (835 rolls) and original carpeting. Nineteen different carpet patterns were woven on specialized looms that replicate the original width of the carpet segments. A total of 175 historic light fixtures were restored, rewired, re-lamped and reinstalled. Finally, original furnishings were brought to Chestnut Hill from other locations and other collections, thus alleviating the need to purchase or fabricate new items.

The project also discreetly introduced modern systems and amenities to improve the safety, efficiency, and accessibility of the house in a way that respected its historic character. Behind the scenes, a high-pressure mist fire suppression system, new cooling, upgraded heating, new wiring and control systems, and new elevator machinery were installed in a manner that is completely sensitive to and largely concealed within the historic building.

The 8.5-acre site was carefully restored to preserve Mrs. Eddy’s carriageway and recreate her historic pergola and gardens while protecting existing wetlands and buffers.

Balancing the priorities of historic preservation and creating functional and state-of-the-art updates was done in a way that creates a seamless blend of old and new.

By preserving an 8.5-acre estate, the non-profit owner has provided the public with a way to enjoy a leafy retreat that provides a lens to the past. The final product is a faithfully restored property that serves to educate the neighboring community and greater public about the life of a truly pioneering woman.