220 Beacon Street

220 Beacon Street

220 Beacon Street was built ca. 1863 for William Tucker, probably merchant William Warren Tucker whose brother, Alanson, owned and lived next door, at 218 Beacon.  William Tucker and his wife, Susan (Lawrence) Tucker, lived at 98 Beacon.
           
220 Beacon probably was 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).

By 1865, 220 Beacon was the home of Israel Goodwin Whitney and his wife, Christiana Kadie Swan (Sargent) Whitney.

He was a shipping merchant in the East India trade.  They previously had lived in Calcutta, returning in 1864; 220 Beacon probably was their first home in Boston.  By 1868, they had moved to West Roxbury.

By 1869, 220 Beacon was the home of commission merchant Charles Lowell Andrews and his wife, Sarah (Jeffries) Andrews.  In 1869, they had lived at 60 Bowdoin.

They continued to live at 220 Beacon in 1872, and he is shown as the owner of 220 Beacon on the 1874 Hopkins map.  By 1874, however, they had purchased and moved to 175 Marlborough Street.

By 1874, 220 Beacon was the home of Aaron H. Allen and his wife, Angie N. (Sturdevant) Allen.  He is shown as the owner on the 1883 and 1888 Bromley maps.

Aaron Allen was a dealer in furniture, feathers, and related items.

He died in June of 1889.  Angie Allen continued to live at 220 Beacon until her death in March of 1904.

The house was not listed in the 1905 Blue Book.

By 1906, it was the home of Dr. Edward Hickling Bradford, a physician and surgeon, and his wife, Edith (Fiske) Bradford.  They previously had lived at 249 Beacon, and before that at 218 Beacon with his mother, Eliza Edes (Hickling) Bradford (the widow of Charles E. Bradford).  She continued to live at 218 Beacon in 1915.

Edward Bradford is shown as the owner of 220 Beacon on the 1908, 1917, and 1928 Bromley maps.  He also is shown as owner of 218 Beacon on the 1928 map, probably having inherited from his mother.

The Bradfords also maintained a summer residence in Marshfield, Massachusetts.

Dr. Bradford died in May of 1926.  Edith Bradford continued to live at 220 Beacon.  Emor H. Harding and Edith E. Bradford, Trustees of the estate of Edward Bradford, were shown as the owners of 218 and 220 Beacon on the 1938 Bromley map.

In September of 1940, Edith Bradford applied for (and subsequently received) permission to install an elevator and to convert the property from a single-family dwelling into seven apartments.  She continued to live at 220 Beacon and it is unclear whether she actually converted the house into apartments, inasmuch as she was the only person named in the City Directories at that address through 1953.

By 1957, the house was shown as vacant in the City Directory.

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.