148 Commonwealth Avenue

148 Commonwealth Avenue

148 Commonwealth Avenue was designed and built in 1876 by architect and builder George W. Pope, one of two contiguous houses (146-148 Commonwealth).  It was built as the home of wholesale shoe and boot merchant Franklin Lewis Fay and his wife, Hannah Sophia (Blackwood) Fay, on a lot purchased he had purchased from the Commonwealth on January 11, 1876.

The house probably was completed in 1877, and the Fays were living there by 1878.  They previously lived at 102 West Chester Park in the South End.

The Fays son-in-law and daughter, Albert Winslow Hobart and Sophia Hopkins (Fay) Hobart, lived with them from 1879 to about 1886.

Franklin Fay died in September of 1885.

After his death, Hannah Fay kept 148 Commonwealth but appears not to have lived there for about ten years.  She is listed in the Boston City Directories at that address in 1886, but no longer is there in 1887.

By 1887, it was the home of Mrs. Randolph M. Clark

By 1888, it was the home of Mrs. J. W. Bellows and Mrs. H. A. Bridge.  They continued to live there in 1891.

By 1892, it was the home of George Phipps.  He continued to live there in 1893.

By 1894, it was the home of cotton and dry goods merchant Francis Wright Fabyan and his wife, Edith (Westcott) Fabyan, the daughter of Stephen E. Westcott, who owned 146 Commonwealth. They continued to live there until about 1896, but had moved to 169 Commonwealth by 1897.

By 1897, Hannah Fay returned to 148 Commonwealth, joined by her son-in-law and daughter, Frank E. Warner and Blanche Hobart (Fay) Warner.  They also maintained a home in Beverly.

In 1898 and 1899, Hannah Fay and the Warners were joined at 148 Commonwealth by Hannah Fay's daughter, Evelyn Daggett, and probably her husband, Henry L. Daggett, Jr. (who may have died at about this time).

Hannah Fay died in January of 1905.  At the time of her death, Frank and Blanche Warner continued to live with her.  By 1906, they had moved to 329 Beacon Street.

On June 1, 1909, Frank Blackwood Fay, "sole surviving trustee under the will of Franklin L. Fay," sold 148 Commonwealth to the noted architect, Arthur Little.

It appears that, after acquiring 148 Commonwealth, Arthur Little undertook a major remodeling and, at about the same time, his firm (Little and Browne) remodeled 146 Commonwealth.  It probably was at this time that the front entrances of both houses were lowered to street level.

Arthur Little lived at 148 Commonwealth with his wife, Jessie (Whitman) Little, in 1910, and three of her children.  They also maintained a residence in Swampscott.

In 1911, Arthur Little leased 148 Commonwealth to George Hastings Swift and his wife, Lucile Darst (Casey) Swift.  They had lived at 369 Beacon Street in the previous year.  Arthur and Jessie Little moved to 35 Commonwealth.

George Swift was the New England representative of his father's meat packing firm, Swift & Company.

The Swifts (probably with Arthur Little's help) decorated 148 Commonwealth largely in a French Empire style (photographs of the interior are in the Historic New England collection in Boston). George and Lucile Swift continued to live at 148 Commonwealth until 1928.

Arthur Little died in 1925 and, on September 1, 1927, the trustees of his estate sold 148 Commonwealth to leather and wool merchant Eugene Rosenthal and his wife, Sadie (Rosenbaum) Rosenthal.  The deed specified that it was subject to a lease with George H. Swift, which would expire August 31, 1928.

Prior to moving to 148 Commonwealth, the Rosenthals had lived at 167 Commonwealth.

They also maintained a summer home in Beverly.

The 1938 Bromley Atlas shows Eugene Rosenthal as the owner of this house.

On April 7, 1949, Eugene Rosenthal sold 148 Commonwealth to Howard S. Cosgrove of Winchester, Massachusetts.  Eugene and Sadie Rosenthal moved to Beverly.

Five days later, on April 11, 1949, Howard Cosgrove sold the house to Amy Elizabeth Untz, a widow, of Boston.

On May 1, 1951, John and Winifred Gundry purchased 148 Commonwealth from Amy Untz.  The Gundrys continued to live there in 1956, and probably later.

John Gundry died between about 1956 and 1959, and on July 22, 1959, Winifred Gundry sold the house to Constantine and Olga Tingus, and Andrew G. Tingus, probably their son.

On October 14, 1960, James Albert purchased the house from the Tingus family.

It is unclear whether the house remained a single-family dwelling during the 1950s, but it appears likely that it had become a lodging house.
On May 31, 1961, Chamberlayne Junior College purchased 148 Commonwealth from James Albert.  Chamberlayne was located at 128-130 Commonwealth and purchased the house to use as a dormitory.

In the mid-1970s, Chamberlayne went bankrupt and on December 15, 1976, Back Bay Restorations Company bought 148 Commonwealth from the bankruptcy trustee.  At the same time, Back Bay Restorations also purchased a number of Chamberlayne's other properties (including 199 Marlborough Street, 238 Marlborough Street, 278-282 Commonwealth, and 298 Commonwealth).

Back Bay Restorations received permission to convert 148 Commonwealth from a dormitory into seven apartments.

In conjunction with the purchase, Back Bay Restorations entered into an agreement with the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) to operate 148 Commonwealth and the other buildings acquired from Chamberlayne as rental properties. On September 24, 1984, however, the company subdivided 148 Commonwealth into seven condominiums.

Back Bay Restorations also sought to convert the other properties it owned to condominiums and, in 1985, the BRA brought legal action for violation of the 1976 agreement.  In the course of the litigation, 148 Commonwealth was purchased by Managed Properties Inc of Chicago.  Managed Properties also acquired some if not all of the other buildings that were the subject of the BRA's suit, and, it appears, continued to operate them as apartments until the litigation was resolved.