Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 2079
We are interrupting the images of the First Parish Church to bring you the news that the Boston Landmarks Commission will conduct a hearing on Tuesday, August 13th, 2013, at 5:45 pm in Room 900, Boston City Hall for the proposed designation of the Kehew-Wright House at 24 Grampian Way as a Boston Landmark.
The study report is available at
http://www.dorchesteratheneum.org/pdf/Kehew-Wright%20House%20study%20report.pdf
The following comes from the study report.
The Kehew-Wright House is approximately 40 feet square and rises two stories
above a fully exposed basement level at the back. The dominant mansard roof
form is elaborated by two steep cross-gambrels, one centered on the south façade and one located at the north bay of the west elevation. Enlivening the simple rectangular volume of the main block are an assortment of three-dimensional projections: a large, square-shaped front entry porch; a linear porch wrapping around the north (back) and part of the east elevations; a small, one-story angled bay and a small projecting entrance vestibule on the east elevation; and a larger, two-story angled bay on the west elevation, which extends from the basement and first floor levels. In the late 20th century, a small angled bay window was added at the basement level of the north (back) elevation, under the porch, along with an enclosed sunroom over the front entrance porch.
Measuring approximately 50 feet long by 28 feet deep, the stable is a simple
rectangular structure. Its mansard roof is enlivened by a band of diamond-shaped shingles in the middle of the lower slope, shed-roofed dormers with scalloped slate shingles and small sawn brackets, and a rectangular center cupola with louvered sides and scalloped and diamond-shaped roof shingles. All elevations are asymmetrical. The south façade is accentuated by a center cross-gambrel with a pair of barn doors on the main floor surmounted by a diagonally-boarded hayloft door and a hoisting beam. A low stone retaining wall extends south from the southwest corner of the stable.
The first known occupant of 24 Grampian Way, John Kehew (1818-1889) bought the property in 1873 (although he seems to have moved here in 1871) and lived there until 1887. Before he occupied the Kehew-Wright House, Kehew was well known in New England for his business in manufacturing and importing mathematical and nautical instruments in New Bedford, and for his partnership for several years with a nationally-prominent instrument maker, Edward Ritchie, in Boston. By the time he lived at Grampian Way, Kehew was partner in an oil business that supplied, among others customers, numerous textile mills in Massachusetts.
Best-known today of the occupants of 24 Grampian Way is George Wright (1847-1937), who bought the Kehew-Wright House in 1887 and lived here until his death in 1937. (The Wright family continued to occupy the property until 1948.) George Wright was one of the countrys first professional baseball celebrities, who parlayed his fame and talent into a successful sporting goods business and an influential national role as a sports promoter. Wright was largely retired as an active baseball player by the time he occupied 24 Grampian Way, but his contributions to American sports history (including the popularization and organization of baseball, golf, and tennis as recreational and professional activities) were pivotal during his tenure here. Wright’s two sons, who were distinguished athletes in their own right, also occupied the house during the early parts of their careers.
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