735 Columbia Road
Owner: Dorchester Historical Society
Architect & Preservation Consultant: John V. Goff
Project Team: Earl Taylor, President, Dorchester Historical Society, Ellen Berkland, caretaker of the Blake House, Jerry Eide, Principal of Hill Town Restoration

Built in 1661, the Blake House is a rare example of a post-Medieval timber-frame house. It is thought to be one of only a few examples of “West of England Country” framing in the United States. The Blake House is of high historical significance to the Dorchester neighborhood and the city of Boston as a Boston Landmark and as the second oldest surviving house in Massachusetts. In 2005, the Dorchester Historical Society, owners of the Blake House, undertook the major effort of rehabilitating the building. After completing a thorough study and assessment of the house, the Society decided to return the first period building not to a conjecture of what it possibly looked like in 1661, but to its appearance following the Society’s 1890s “Arts and Crafts” style restoration of the structure. The Dorchester Historical Society took advantage of the vast amount of documentation and photographic evidence of these early efforts in historic preservation to create an accurate representation of the building as it existed at the turn of the 20th century. 

“The Alliance is very excited about the rehabilitation of the Blake House.  The philosophy of taking the building back to the era of its 1890s Arts and Crafts restoration was an extremely thoughtful approach and highlights an important moment in the history of the preservation movement,” said Sarah D. Kelly, Executive Director of the Boston Preservation Alliance.

Courtesy of Earl Taylor, Dorchester Historical Society