32 Commonwealth Avenue

20-36 Commonwealth Avenue

32 Commonwealth Avenue was designed by Gridley Bryant and Arthur Gilman, architects, and built ca. 1861, one of nine contiguous houses (20-22-24-26-28-30-32-34-36 Commonwealth).  In his Houses of Boston’s Back Bay, Bainbridge Bunting calls the group “one of the most imposing compositions in the whole district.”

32 Commonwealth was built as the home of Lemuel Miles Standish and his wife, Olive (Nutter) Standish.  He is shown as the owner on the 1874 Hopkins map and on the 1883 and 1888 Bromley maps.

L. Miles Standish was a mason and builder in the firm of Standish & Woodbury (his partner, Charles Woodbury, lived at 16 Commonwealth).  He served as a member of the Boston Common Council, Board of Alderman, and the State House of Representatives.  He represented Boston on the Tripartite Commission formed to resolve disputes between the City, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the Boston Water Power Company relating to the filling and laying-out of the Back Bay.

L. Miles Standish died in June of 1888.  Olive Standish continued to live at 32 Commonwealth until her death in September of 1900.  Their daughter. Adelaide Standish, continued to live at 32 Commonwealth in 1901.

By 1902, it was the home of attorney James Lowell Putnam and his wife, Eleanor (Robinson) Putnam.  They had lived at 188 Marlborough Street in 1901.

They continued to live at 32 Commonwealth in 1905, but had moved to 125 Beacon Street by 1906.

By 1906, 32 Commonwealth was the home of dry goods merchant George M. Preston and his mother, Catherine (Faulkner) Preston, the widow of George H. Preston.  They had lived at 13 Chestnut Street in 1905.  George Preston is shown as the owner of 32 Commonwealth on the 1908 Bromley map.

He married in September of 1908 to Georgia (Carpenter) Lee.  After their marriage, they lived at 32 Commonwealth.  His mother continued to live with them until her death in July of 1909.  George and Georgia Preston moved from 32 Commonwealth soon thereafter.

By 1911, it was the home of William Vail Kellen and his wife, Ella Frances (Sturtevant) Kellen.  In 1910, they had lived at 341 Beacon Street.

William Kellen was an attorney and also served as treasurer of the B. F. Sturtevant Company, manufacturers of fans and air handling equipment, founded by his father-in-law, Benjamin Franklin Sturtevant.

By 1913, 32 Commonwealth was the home of wholesale grocer Frederick Henshaw Pollard and his wife, Anne (Durling) Pollard.  They no longer were listed there in the 1915 Blue Book, but he continued to be shown as the owner on the 1917 Bromley map.

By 1915, it was the home of John McKibbin and his daughter, Emily Wood McKibbin.

John McKibbin probably died in 1927 or 1928.  Emily McKibbin continued to live at 32 Commonwealth, and is shown as the owner on the 1928 and 1938 Bromley maps.

In November of 1973, Gioconda King acquired 32 Commonwealth from the Estate of Emily Wood McKibbin.  In April of 1974, she converted the house from a single-family dwelling into eight apartments.

In December of 1992, Gioconda King transferred 32 Commonwealth to her daughter, Diane Barrett.