222 Beacon Street

222-224 Beacon Street

222 Beacon Street was designed and built by architect and builder Charles K. Kirby ca. 1865, probably for speculative sale, one of two contiguous houses (222-224 Beacon).

By 1868, it was the home of Waldo Adams and his wife, Isabella H. (Burnham) Adams.  They also lived in Watertown with his parents, Alvin and Ann (Bridge) Adams.  His father is shown as the owner of 222 Beacon on the 1874 Bromley map.

Waldo Adams was the New England manager of the Adams Express Company, founded and owned by his father.

Waldo Adams's brother, Edward Livingston Adams, also lived at 222 Beacon.  He married in February of 1870 to Emily Macy.  They continued to live with his brother in 1871, but by 1872, they were living next door at 224 Beacon with Josiah and Anita (Smith) Caldwell.  Like his brother, Edward Adams was affiliated with his family's express business.  He also was treasurer of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad, of which Josiah Caldwell was a principal promoter.

Waldo and Isabella Adams continued to live at 222 Beacon in 1878, but then appear to have lived elsewhere for several years, continuing to own the house.  He is shown as the owner on the 1883 and 1888 Bromley maps.

By 1879, it was the home of Susan Howes Cabot.

She had moved by 1880 and it was the home of William Arnold Buffum, a noted collector of amber, and his wife, Marian (Simmons) Buffum. 

By 1882, the Buffams had moved to 56 Commonwealth Avenue and 222 Beacon was the home of Charles Porter Hemenway and his wife, Ellen Louise (Tileston) Hemenway.  He was a shipping merchant in the South American trade.  By 1883, they had purchased and moved to 242 Beacon.

By 1884, the Waldo and Isabella Adams once again were living at 222 Beacon.  They continued to live there until his death in March of 1892.

The house was not listed in the 1894 Blue Book.

By 1895, it was the home of Perkins Bass and his wife, Clara (Foster) Bass.  They also maintained a summer home in Peterborough, New Hampshire.  Perkins Bass had been an attorney in Chicago and served as US District Attorney for Northern Illinois during the Lincoln Administration. 

By 1897, 222 Beacon was the home of wool broker John Hurd Hutchins and his wife, Olivia Lee (Endicott) Hutchins.  They had lived at 315 Marlborough Street in 1895.  They continued to live at 222 Beacon in 1900.

During the 1900-1901 winter season, the Hutchins lived elsewhere and 222 Beacon was the home of dry goods merchant Francis Wright Fabyan and his wife, Edith (Westcott) Fabyan.  They had lived at 217 Beacon in 1900, and by late 1901 had made 146 Commonwealth Avenue their permanent Boston home.

The Hutchins were again at 222 Beacon for the 1901-1902 winter season, but had moved to 262 Beacon by 1903.

222 Beacon was not listed in the 1903-1913 Blue Books.

By 1908, and probably by about 1903, it was owned by Margaret White (Pierson) Richardson, the wife of Dr. Maurice Howe Richardson.  She is shown as the owner of both 222 and 224 Beacon on the 1908 Bromley map.

Maurice Richardson was a physician and surgeon, and was Moseley Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School.  In 1911, he was named surgeon-in-chief at Massachusetts General Hospital.  The Richardsons lived at 224 Beacon and it appears likely that Dr. Richardson used 222 Beacon for medical offices.

Dr. Richardson died in July of 1912.  Margaret Richardson sold 222 Beacon soon thereafter and continued to live at 224 Beacon with their children.

By 1915, 222 Beacon had been acquired by real estate developer John Humphreys Storer and his wife, Edith (Paine) Storer.   They previously had lived at 286 Beacon.  Edith P. Storer is shown as owner on the 1917 Bromley map.

The Storers continued to live at 222 Beacon in 1920 and also maintained a home in Waltham.

By 1922, 222 Beacon was the home of Mrs. Randolph K. Clarke, who leased the house from the Storers and accepted lodgers.  She continued to live there in 1924.

By 1924, John Storer had purchased 224 Beacon. In April of 1924, he filed for (and subsequently received) permission to combine the buildings and convert them into lodging houses.  As part of the remodeling, doors were cut through the party wall connecting the two the buildings, the front entrances were lowered to street level, and the interior was remodeled.

In September of 1924, he entered into an agreement with the Salmagundi Club to operate a public restaurant in the basement of the building.

Mrs. Clarke continued to live at 222 Beacon, presumably operating the lodging house.  In June of 1926, she filed for (and subsequently received) permission to convert an existing storage building at the rear of the property into a two car garage.

Edith Storer had died in May of 1924, and John Storer is shown as the owner of 222-224 Beacon on the 1928 Bromley map.

In March of 1929, a complaint was filed with the Building Department, noting that the building was not zoned for a restaurant.  In May of 1929, John Storer filed for permission to change the occupancy of 222-224 Beacon from a lodging house to a lodging house, community dining room, and kitchen.  The permit was denied by the Building Department but overturned on appeal by the Board of Appeal in June of 1929 (largely on the grounds that the restaurant had been there prior to the effective date of the 1924 Zoning law), with provisos that the permission was granted only for the current operator (the Salamagundi Tea Room) and there could be no exterior changes.

John Storer died in December of 1935.  222-224 Beacon probably remained the property of his estate, inasmuch as he is shown as the owner on the 1938 Bromley map.

The property subsequently changed hands, and by 1947 was owned by Francis J. and Mary B. Malinowski.  They continued to operate the building as a lodging house and restaurant, expanding the operation to include a gift shop.  In June of 1947, they were ordered to remove the gift shop, inasmuch as it was not permitted under the 1929 Board of Appeal decision which allowed the restaurant use.

By mid-1947, 222-224 Beacon was owned by the Salmagundi Building Trust, Amos A. Peterson, trustee, which continued to operate it as a lodging house and restaurant.  In August of  1947, the Trust filed to expand the restaurant.  The permit was denied, but the denial was reversed by the Board of Appeal in September of 1947, finding that "there is a great need in the immediate vicinity for the enlargement of this high type restaurant to serve the general public" and "the appellant has established a good name for its food and its address has become known to the general public at its present address."

By 1958, 222-224 Beacon was owned by David Adams.  He continued to operate the buildings as a lodging house and restaurant.  In April and again in September, there were small fires which damaged portions of the upper floors.

By 1961, 222-224 Beacon were owned by Saul B. Moffie.  The Salmagundi Restaurant continued to operate in the basement in 1962, but by 1967 had been renamed the La Montparnasse Restaurant.

In May of 1967, Saul Moffie filed for (and subsequently received) permission to eliminate the restaurant use and convert the property into 23 apartments.  He also requested (and received) permission to tear down the garages and accessory buildings at the rear of the property.

In November of 1969, the Beacon Street Improvement Company filed for permission to tear down 222-224-226-228-230-232-234 Beacon and replace it with a 32-story, steel framed and brick clad tower at the northeast corner of Beacon and Dartmouth.  The building would have had 96 units and a 100 car garage.  The project was not pursued.