17 Commonwealth Avenue

17 Commonwealth Avenue

17 Commonwealth Avenue was built ca.1866 as the home of attorney William Howard Gardiner and his wife, Caroline (Perkins) Gardiner.  In 1865, they had lived at 11 Temple Place.

Caroline Gardiner died in May of 1867, possibly even before 17 Commonwealth was completed.  William Gardiner continued to live there until his death in February of 1882.

The house was not listed in the 1884 Blue Book.

By 1885, it was the home of wool merchant William Hilton and his wife, Esther Althine (Ward) Hilton.  In 1882, they had lived at 217 Beacon Street.

He died in December of 1887.   Esther Hilton continued to live there until her death in November of 1895.

By 1897, it was the home of woolen manufacturer Frederic Simmons Clark and his wife, Isabella W. (Talbot) Clark, daughter of former Governor Thomas Talbot.  In 1894, they had lived at 56 Commonwealth.  Isabella W. T. Clark is shown as the owner of 17 Commonwealth on the 1908 Bromley map.

They continued to live there in 1913.

The house was not listed in the 1915 and 1917 Blue Books.

By 1917, it was the home of dry good merchant William Whitman, Jr., and his wife, Ruth (Loring) Whitman.  He is shown as the owner on the 1917 and 1928 Bromley maps.

They also maintained a summer home in Simsbury, Connecticut.

The Whitmans continued to live at 17 Commonwealth until mid-1930, when they sold the house to Mr. and Mrs. William Phillips and moved to 12 Marlborough Street.

In August of 1930, soon after acquiring the house, the Phillips remodeled it to lower the front entrance from the first floor to the ground level, and to add a bay window and two stories to the rear ell.

They continued to live there in 1933.  They no longer were listed there in the 1934 Blue Book, but continued to own the house (William Phillips is shown as the owner on the 1938 Bromley map).

By 1934, it was the home of George Hastings Swift and his wife, Lucile Darst (Casey) Swift, who probably leased the house from William Phillips.

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

The Swifts continued to live at 17 Commonwealth in 1937, and probably later.

By 1942, the house was owned by the Associated Jewish Philanthropies, which remodeled it into an Army and Navy Club with a caretaker's unit.

In December of 1946, 17 Commonwealth was acquired by Zionist House, Inc., and in August of 1952, which converted it to offices and headquarters their organization.