Boston's iconic Porter House has two-bedroom duplex
A beautiful two-bedroom duplex at 1724 Washington St. in the South End is one of five condominiums rebuilt between 2000 and 2004 in the Porter House, the oldest extant building in the South End.
Ricardo Rodriguez of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage has listed this home at $799,000.
It features a chef’s kitchen, a wood-burning fireplace, interior French doors and a spacious patio.
COURTESY PHOTOS / ELEVIN STUDIO
The Boston Preservation Alliance honored the Porter House development with an award for significant renovation/restoration in 2005. The project also included a new carriage house on East Springfield Street.
Its history is fascinating.
In the early 1800s Boston selectman and distiller William Porter bought a lot from the city. Architect Charles Bulfinch who was also a selectman signed the deed. The lot was on the only road that connected Boston to the mainland and ran through marshland that would later be filled to become more of the South End.
In 1806 Porter built two elegant side-by-side Federal-style homes that shared a center wall. One was for him and his wife, and the other was for his son. The beautiful arched entrances mirrored each other, but one faced northeast and the other faced southwest.
The houses stayed in the Porter family until the late 1800s, but an 1899 photo shows a laundry, a jewelry store and a grocery shop in the building.
On June 19, 1917, a city inspector reported that a paint store and other stores were on the first floor and an umbrella manufacturer and four residences on the upper floors.
French doors separate the living room from the dining room on the upper level of this condo.
In 1951, application was made to turn the first floor into a taproom and restaurant.
Forty years later, on March 13, 1991, it was still a taproom and restaurant, but by 1994 the building was vacant and owned by the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
It was in such poor shape that something had to be done. The BRA hired a construction company to stabilize the exterior walls and remove and replace any exterior and interior wood that was necessary.
Knowing that fine Federal details could be lost, a group from the Society of Architectural Historians entered the property before the work began.
The dining room has recessed lighting, a ceiling fan and French doors with sidelights.
They videotaped and took still photos and made moldings of the woodwork to create a permanent record of the Federal details.
The property was then sold to a developer who, on May 21, 1998, applied to turn the building into five condominiums. The Landmark Commission rules don’t require developers to restore interiors, but exteriors must be preserved.
The developer agreed he would renovate the exterior to its original style and received permission to restore the property Jan. 11, 2000.
He worked with the South End Landmark District Commission and consulted a watercolor of the home painted around 1810.
The chef’s kitchen has granite counters, Shaker-style cabinetry and stainless steel appliances, including a gas cooktop.
Work included reinforcing the existing foundation, replacing bricks that would match the originals, adding granite steps and facings at the doorways, and building a wooden roof balustrade.
Today, the building, located at the corner of Washington and East Springfield streets, is now beautiful.
The sidewalk around the building is red brick held in place by granite curbs.
The building has a granite base, and walls of red bricks that are slightly smaller than those that are made today.
The windows are six-over-six on the first and second levels and three-over-three on the top level. All of the windows have dark shutters.
The white eaves are in three tiers with dentil molding at the bottom and a dark gutter at the top. Rainspouts matching the gutter run down near the corners of the East Springfield side. Above it all, the white balustrade adds elegance to the roofline.
There is no door on the Washington Street side.
Instead, on East Springfield a beautiful arch encloses the recessed entry of five granite steps and the paneled oak front door surrounded by sidelights and large fanlight set in a white wooden frame.
Unit 2 is at the end of the entry hall.
The living room features a wood-burning fireplace, hardwood flooring and recessed lighting.
Inside is the living room with deep windows that have deep white woodwork and beautiful, intricate paneling under each window. The paneling on the mantelpiece matches the window paneling.
The fireplace is wood burning, and its dark hearth, interior and surround set off the white mantelpiece. French doors at the end of the room separate the living room from the dining area and the eat-in kitchen.
Between the French doors and the kitchen is a dining area with plenty of space for a dining table and chairs.
The kitchen has wooden cabinets, granite counters, stainless steel appliances and a granite-covered breakfast bar. The appliances include a General Electric Profile side-by-side refrigerator/freezer and a Viking range and gas cooktop.
A door between the dining area and the kitchen leads to the enclosed paved patio.
Opposite that door a staircase leads to the two lower level bedrooms, baths, laundry closet with Maytag washer and dryer and lots of storage closets.
The master bedroom suite is carpeted and has lots of built-in shelving. The overhead fan is sculptural.
The master bedroom is huge and includes four cedar closets and an en suite marble-tiled bath with a deep soaking whirlpool tub/shower with an oversized showerhead and a long vanity with dual sinks. The second bedroom is good-sized as well and could be used as a home office.
There is central heat and air conditioning. A parking space adjacent to the unit is available for $150 per month.
DETAILS
Address; 1724 Washington St., Unit 2, South End
BR/BA: Two bedrooms, two baths
Size: 1,560 +/- square feet plus a 225-square-foot patio
Age: 1806; 2004
Price: $799,000
Taxes: $5,872 (FY 2010 includes residential exemption)
Condo fee: $395 per month (includes hot water)
Features of building: Beautifully restored Federal-style home with five condominiums, central heat and air conditioning; pet friendly.
Features of unit: High ceilings with recessed lighting, wood-burning fireplace, beautiful living room woodwork, glistening hardwood floors, granite and stainless steel kitchen, patio with paving stones and cast iron surround, marble baths, abundant storage.
Close by: Popular South End restaurants, galleries, parks, medical facilities; MBTA Silver Line bus stop is a block away.
Contact: Ricardo Rodriguez, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, 137 Newbury St., Boston, MA 02116. Phones: 617-266-4430 (office) or 617-796-6084 (voice mail).
Websites: www.NewEnglandMoves.com or www.PorterHouseUnit2.com
An open house will be held at this property Sunday, Sept. 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There is no open house Sept. 5.
