218 Beacon Street
220 Beacon Street 218 Beacon Street was built ca. 1863. It was probably one of five houses (212-214-216-218-220 Beacon) built on lots purchased in 1862 by attorney William Dehon (deeds for 218 and 220 Beacon refer to them as Lots D and E on a "Plan of Land Conveyed June 13, 1862, by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Boston and Roxbury Mill Company to William Dehon" by Henry W. Wilson, Civil Engineer). He died in December of 1881. Margaret Tucker continued to live there until her death in January of 1889. A. Tucker's Heirs are shown as the owners on the 1883 and 1888 Bromley maps. By 1890, it was the home of Mrs. Eliza Edes (Hickling) Bradford, the widow of merchant Charles F. Bradford, and their son, Dr. Edward Hickling Bradford, a physician and surgeon. Eliza E. Bradford is shown as the owner on the 1908 and 1917 Bromley maps. Dr. Bradford married in 1900 to Edith Fiske. They continued to live at 218 Beacon with his mother until about 1902. They then moved to 249 Beacon, where they lived until about 1905. By 1906, he had purchased and moved to 220 Beacon, next door to his mother, who continued to live at 218 Beacon. Eliza Bradford continued to live at 218 Beacon until about 1915. The house was not listed in the 1917 Blue Book. On September 24, 1917, Edward Bradford applied for (and subsequently received) permission to remodel portions of the interior and installed a fire balcony on the rear fifth floor. The house remained a single-family dwelling. By 1920, Dr. Bradford had leased 218 Beacon to Mrs. Elizabeth Loring (Clarke) Fitz, the widow of Dr. Reginald Heber Fitz. She previously had lived at 18 Arlington Street. Her children, Edward Clarke Fitz and Edith Fitz, lived with her. Reginald Fitz had been a physician and professor of Pathological Medicine at Harvard. He is credited with identifying the cause and treatment of appendicitis. Elizabeth Fitz lived at 218 Beacon until her death in about 1928. She also maintained a summer residence in Manchester. Edward and Edith Fitz may have continued to live there in 1929, after their mother's death. By 1930, however, it was the home of investment banker Barrett Wendell, Jr., and his wife, Barbara (Higginson) Wendell. The house was not listed in the 1931 Blue Book, and by 1932, Edith Fitz was again listed as residing there. The house was not listed in the 1933 Blue Book. By 1934, 218 Beacon was the home of Rev. Palfrey Perkins, minister of King's Chapel in Boston, and his wife, Linda (Wellington) Perkins. They continued to be listed there in the 1935 Blue Book. The house was shown as vacant in the city directories from 1936 through 1943. 218 and 220 Beacon continued to be owned by the Bradford family. Edward Bradford had died in May of 1926, and his widow, Edith, continued to live at 220 Beacon. Emor H. Harding and Edith Bradford, Trustees of the estate of Edward Bradford, were shown as the owners of both houses on the 1938 Bromley map. By 1944, 218 Beacon was the home of Charles P. and Adella Haven. He died in July of 1944, and his widow continued to live at 218 Beacon in 1945. In October of 1946, the Bradford Estate applied for (and subsequently received) permission to remodel 218 Beacon into nine apartments. By 1957, 218 Beacon was owned by Joe Arata. In September of 1957, he applied for (and subsequently received) permission to remove a one-story ell at the rear of the building. By 1963, 218 and 220 Beacon were owned by the 220 Beacon Realty, Inc. In January of 1963, it applied for (and subsequently received) permission to convert 218 Beacon from nine apartments to twelve apartments, to convert 220 Beacon from seven apartments to ten apartments, and to combine the two buildings into one property, with the address of 220 Beacon In January of 1965, 220 Boston Realty, Inc., applied for (and subsequently received) approval to increase the number of units from 22 to 23. 218-220 Beacon subsequently changed hands several times; it remained apartments in 2009. |
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