Samuel Haven House-Dedham Community House - Boston, MA
Posted by: NorStar
N 42° 14.949 W 071° 10.608
19T E 320423 N 4679733
The Samuel Haven House, better known as the Dedham Community House, is rumored to have been designed by Charles Bulfinch and built for Judge Samuel Haven in 1798.
Waymark Code: WMDRGQ
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 02/19/2012
Views: 2
In Dedham, at the corner of High Street and Ames Street, is the Dedham Community House, which was originally built for Judge Samuel Haven.
The pdf, Historic Dedham Village: A Self-Guided Walking Tour, has a passage about this house (No. 7 on the tour).
The building is a brick and wood building, with an ornate facade facing High Street and a porch facing Ames Street and another on the other side of the house. There is a bay window off the back. The house is three stories tall.
The house was built in 1798 according to the self-guided tour (1794 accoring to the Dedham Community House site) is rumored to be designed by well-known architect Charles Bulfinch. Bulfinch is best known for designing the U.S. Capitol dome, but he designed many houses in the Boston area, as well. The Dedham Community House site has the following about the interior: "The rooms on the first floor feature high ceilings, long French windows, tiled fireplaces, carved mahogany mantles and moldings, and original chandeliers. A graceful curved staircase leads to a second floor with smaller chamber rooms. The curved staircase lends its natural beauty to family photos or as a perfect setting for the bride to enter her ceremony."
Judge Haven's daughters invited guests to the house, such as writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne (writer of The Scarlet Letter and the House of Seven Gables). Then U.S. Congressman Abraham Lincoln had lunch at this house before giving a campaign speech for Zachary Taylor.
In 1922, the Dedham Community House was founded and this organization bought the house and currently holds events. The house is available for rental for small weddings and other events.
Sources:
Dedham Square Circle (Historic Dedham Village):
(
visit link)
Dedham Community House:
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visit link)