Boston single-family home is hidden off North End lane

John Tileston was born Feb 27, 1735, in Boston. When he was an infant, he fell into a fire and burned his hand so severely that he was never able to use it normally. However, a quill pen fit into his hand perfectly. 

His parents sent him to North Writing School where he became a star pupil and then the school’s teacher. Many Boston boys attended his school on Love Lane in the North End and remembered him fondly.

Love Lane is shown on the 1814 map of Boston, but on June 20, 1821, the street name was changed to Tileston Street in his honor. Tileston died Friday, Oct. 13, 1826.

Tileston Street is a short road that starts at Salem Street near the Old North Church and ends on Hanover Street, near St. Stephen’s Church. It runs parallel to the Paul Revere Mall, where the famous statue of Paul Revere on his horse is located.

Carmela Laurella of CL Waterfront Properties LLC is marketing a special property at 5 Tileston Place, a pretty courtyard just off Tileston Street, accessible only by foot or bike. 

It is rare to fine a single-family home in the North End, she says, but this is one of them.

This home has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, an eat-in kitchen, granite countertops, a gas cook surface, a family room, a large utility and storage room, architect-designed storage cabinets, a balcony and a roof deck.

A dining area has been created in the spacious living room where a long window seat in front of a picture window looks out onto the lane.

The list price is $995,000.

The present owner says he often sees athletes with the Boston Bruins or the Boston Celtics in the neighborhood, and he has seen the Stanley Cup many times.

He also sees famous movie stars who visit the North End when they are in town. But, he says that even when there is a saint’s feast parade on Hanover Street, it is quiet and private on his lane.

A cast iron decorative gate marks the location of Tileston Place a few doors down Tileston Street, near Hanover Street.

The brick walls and clapboard residences around it block excessive noise and provide a pleasant respite from the activity of the North End. 

The kitchen features granite counters, KitchenAid appliances, including a gas range, and Scavolini kitchen cabinets.

Pavers and light colored brick cover the ground. Gardens outline some of the buildings, and planters fill in other areas. Hostas, miniature boxwoods, ornamental grasses, a Japanese maple and other plants soothe the spirit. At the end opposite the gate on Tileston Street is the brick wall of Paul Revere Mall.

The original building permit is not available, but the wood-frame clapboard home was already there in 1915 when an adjacent brick row house was built at 15 Tileston St.

In 1998 a developer sought permission to remodel 5 Tileston Place and ultimately replaced the wiring and plumbing, added recessed lighting to the public rooms, put on a new roof and made the home almost like new when it was completed in 2000.

He also added a second wood-frame clapboard building next door that contains two condominiums. Those are only three residences on Tileston Place.  

Two entrance doors, each with its own stoop, face the courtyard.

The one closer to Tileston Street is the formal front entrance. The second, just as in the suburbs, opens to the kitchen.

This North End single-family clapboard-sided house at 5 Tileston Pl. is accessed by a walkway off Tileston Street.

Through the front door a shallow storage closet gives space to hang coats. Beyond it a staircase leads to the upper floors, and down the hall, stairs descend to the family room and the utility room. To the right from the front door a wide doorway opens to the living room. 

The living room has a wood-burning fireplace and a niche to hold firewood. A long window seat is under the windows on the front wall. Built-in, architect-designed bookcases are at each end of the window seat. 

The Scavolini kitchen cabinets include a pantry with a chromed carousel inside. The carousel rolls forward and turns so that either side can be accessed easily. Opposite the pantry, a large area provides plenty of space for a table for casual dining.

The white appliances, many of them KitchenAid, include a gas range, wall ovens, a dishwasher, a trash compactor, a refrigerator/freezer and a microwave.

There are also a vented range hood and a garbage disposal. The granite counters are mottled gray, black, brown and cream and look good with any color.

A cast iron decorative gate marks the location of Tileston Place a few doors down Tileston Street.

A half bath off the lower level family room also holds the washer and dryer. The utility room is also off the family room.

The full bath on the second floor has a Jacuzzi soaking tub. Two bedrooms, each with a fireplace, are on this level. The back bedroom has a deck large enough for a table and chairs.

The third floor comprises the master suite, which includes a large sitting room with a fireplace and a Juliet balcony. The en suite bath includes a steam shower. Another full staircase leads to the head house and roof deck.

All of the windows in the house feature custom interior wooden louvered shutters.

Amenities include a central vacuum cleaner, gas central heat, central air conditioning and an audio/visual system that allows people using it inside and out to be seen and heard.

The roof deck is one of the outdoor spaces of this home. A Juliet balcony is off the master bedroom suite.

There are retractable scroll screens on all doors. The master suite wall unit and closet and the second floor closet are all by California Closets.

A deeded parking space is available for $100,000.

DETAILS 

Address: 5 Tileston Pl., the North End

BR/BA: Three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths

Size: 1,940 +/- square feet

Age: Circa 1800; 2000

Price: $995,000 

Taxes: $5,801 (FY 201 with residential exemption)

Features of home: Set in a charming courtyard beside the Paul Revere Mall, home has four fireplaces, eat-in kitchen with granite counters, a Juliet balcony, a large deck and a roof deck; many architect-designed built-ins, California Closets, laundry equipment and storage in the half bath; a Jacuzzi soaking tub, a steam shower, a master suite, a utility room and storage room, gas heat, central vacuum system and central air conditioning.

Close by: The Paul Revere Mall, Old North Church, St Stephen’s Church, shops, bakeries and restaurants of the North End; Boston Harbor and the waterfront, ball fields, swimming pool, TD Garden, the Financial District, the Aquarium, Christopher Columbus Park, Rose Kennedy Greenway, Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market; easy access to Orange Line at Haymarket station, Route 93.

Contact: Carmela Laurella, CL Waterfront Properties, 113 Lewis Wharf, Boston, MA 02110. Phones: 617-624-9700 (office) or 617-797-2538 (cell).

Website: www.wpboston.com

An open house will be held at this property Sunday, Oct. 16, from 1 to 2 p.m.