224 Beacon Street

222-224 Beacon Street

224 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 1869, it was the home of Josiah Caldwell and his wife, Anita (Smith) Caldwell.

Josiah Caldwell was a merchant and promoter of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad. His dealings with John G. Blaine, then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, were called into question in 1876, when Blaine was seeking the Presidency.  It was alleged that Caldwell provided bonds in the railroad to Speaker Blaine in exchange for his support of granting rights of way to the new railroad, and that the Speaker subsequently prevailed on several other railroads to buy the bonds from him at an inflated price.

The Caldwells continued to live there in 1872, joined by Edward Livingston Adams and his wife, Emily (Macy) Adams.  Edward Adams affiliated with his family's express company and also was treasurer of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad.  They previously had lived next door, at 222 Beacon, with his brother and sister-in-law, Waldo and Isabella (Burnham) Adams.

By 1874, 224 Beacon was the home of dry goods merchant and railroad investor Samuel Henry Gookin and his wife, Frances (Sistare) Gookin.  Francis Gookin is shown as the owner on the 1874 Hopkins map.  They continued to live there in late 1875.

By 1875, 224 Beacon also was the home of John and Emily (Dunbar) Wooldredge.  John Wooldredge was a shoe manufacturer in Lynn, where they also maintained a home.  He also was President of the Eastern Railroad and the First National Bank of Lynn.

They continued to live there in 1877.  By 1878, they probably had made Lynn their primary residence, but Emily Wooldredge also was listed in the Blue Book at 159 Beacon for the 1877-1878 winter season.

224 Beacon was listed as vacant in the 1878 Blue Book.

224 Beacon was not listed in the 1879, 1880, 1882, and 1884 Blue Books.

William B. Dinsmore is shown as the owner of 224 Beacon on the 1883 Bromley map.

By 1885, it was the home of brush manufacturer and dealer William W. Eastham.  It appears that his wife, Caroline Bartlett (Tirrell) Eastham, was deceased, inasmuch as Caroline Eastham's Heirs are shown as the owners on the 1888 Bromley map.

Living with him were his son-in-law and daughter, Chester Guild, Jr., and Annie (Eastham) Guild.

They continued to live there in 1887, but probably moved soon thereafter to Newton.

By 1888, 224 Beacon was the home of oil dealer John Hatch Haines and his wife, Jane (McCleary) Haines.  They continued to live there in 1889, and probably until his death in September of that year.

By 1890, it was the home of Dr. Maurice Howe Richardson and his wife Margaret White (Pierson) Richardson.  They previously had lived at 66 Beacon, where Dr. Richardson also maintained his medical offices.  Margaret Richardson is shown as the owner of 224 Beacon the 1890 Bromley map.

Dr. 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.

By 1908, and probably by about 1903, the Richardsons had acquired 222 Beacon, next door.  Margaret W. Richardson is shown as the owner of both 222 and 224 Beacon on the 1908 Bromley map.  It appears likely that Dr. Richardson used 222 Beacon for medical offices (it is not listed in the 1903-1913 Blue Books).

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 1924, John Humphreys Storer, who owned 222 Beacon, purchased 224 Beacon.  He was a real estate developer; he and his wife, Edith (Paine) Storer, had lived at 222 Beacon until about 1920.

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.

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.