Boston Flora

Tag: Gibson House

  • Saturdays, April 20 and May 18, 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, and 3:00 pm – The Art of Entertaining

    A House Museum Alliance of Downtown Boston Focus Tour will take place at the Otis House, Nichols House, and Gibson House on Saturday, April 20 and Saturday, May 18, with tours at 1, 2 and 3 pm.  Each tour will take approximately 40 minutes, and admission is $5 at each museum.  Children under 12 free.  Three Boston house museums will draw on their rich collections to illuminate a variety of amusements in 18th, 19th, and 20th century Boston.

    Teas, dinners, musical entertainment and dances were all part of daily life for Boston’s elite in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. For the hosts, entertaining was not just a way to spend time, it was also a way to impress, and to make important social, business and political connections. Learn how Boston mayor Harrison Gray Otis and his endearing wife Sally charmed and entertained guests at their home, including some of their harshest critics.  Tour the public rooms of the Otis House Museum, 141 Cambridge Street in Boston, and explore the splendor and entertaining traditions of the federal era that helped make the Otises one of the most prominent and popular couples in Boston.

    For Rose Standish Nichols, the best form of entertainment was interesting conversation. At her famous salon-style afternoon tea parties at 55 Mount Vernon Street, she hosted artists, intellectuals, writers, politicians, religious leaders, and other accomplished individuals for discussions about current events, the arts, and philosophy. Rose Nichols continued the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Beacon Hill tradition of women promoting social causes through gatherings in their homes. Come to the Nichols House, 55 Mount Vernon Street, to learn of the fascinating ways women on Beacon Hill, including Rose Nichols, used their homes as gathering places for discussion and activism. After the tour, guests will be able to taste the strong Hu-kwa tea Rose famously served at her tea parties!

    Be charmed by the Gibson family traditions. Learn about the different types of tea gatherings – simple tea and formal tea. At each of these tea ceremonies, the most important aspect was the appearance of the tea table. A well-equipped table was typically adorned with fine china, gleaming silver, and flowers. Tea time was the most fashionable part of the day for women. A formal tea often took place when one wished to invite eighteen to twenty guests but did not want to undertake the trouble or expense of dinner. Drinking tea became more popular as the Victorian era progressed.  Learn more about the Gibson family and the very important social event of tea time. The Gibson House is located at 137 Beacon Street.

    http://www.angelpig.net/victorian/tea/tea_victorian1.jpg

  • Tuesday, November 27, 5:30 pm – International Preservation Talk

    Join members of the Victorian Society of America/New England Chapter on Tuesday, November 27, at the Gibson House, 137 Beacon Street, for a lecture by Melanie Hall, Associate Professor of Art History at Boston University. Melanie Hall teaches courses in American and English architecture and preservation, decorative arts, and Museum Studies. She is currently the Director of the Museum Studies Program at Boston University. Ms. Hall will speak on her new book about international preservation, Towards World Heritage.  A reception will begin at 5:30, with testimonials on behalf of the Victorian Society London and Newport at 6:30, and the lecture at 6:45.  RSVP: 617.267.6338 or email: lauragresh@thegibsonhouse.org.

  • Monday, September 24, 6:00 pm – Puddingstone, Pinnacles and Pointed Arches: Church Construction in the Back Bay 1860 – 1880

    Please join the members and friends of the Gibson House Museum for a tour of churches of the eastern Back Bay lead by architectural historian Ed Gordon. We will view ecclesiastical edifices built in the eastern part of the neighborhood from Arlington to Dartmouth Streets during the first twenty years of the Back Bay’s massive land making project. During the course of the tour we’ll touch on topics ranging from architect Arthur Gilman’s unusual choice of English Georgian as the style for the Arlington Street Church (below) through Richard Upjohn’s early use of Roxbury puddingstone for the Church of the Covenant to the roles played by colorful personalities such as H.H. Richardson and Phillips Brooks in shaping the design of Trinity Church.

    Meeting Place: The Gibson House Museum, 137 Beacon Street, Boston (between Arlington and Berkeley Streets)

    Admission: $10 Members GHM & VSA/NE $12 Non Members. For information, visit www.thegibsonhouse.org.

  • Wednesday, March 21, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Gibson House Benefit

    Save the Date! The Gibson House will hold its 16th Annual Benefit at the Algonquin Club, 217 Commonwealth Avenue, on Wednesday, March 21, from 6 – 8 pm.  Call 617-267-6338, or email info@thegibsonhouse.org to reserve a space or to put your name on the invitation mailing list.

  • Saturday, November 19, 9:00 am – 11:00 am – Victorian Holiday Ornaments

    Imagine yourself in an earlier time and capture the feeling of the past.  Use lace, glitter and ribbon to bring the look and feel of the Victorian era to life.  This Gibson House Museum child’s workshop will be held Saturday, November 19, from 9 – 11 at the Gibson House Museum, 137 Beacon Street.  Each child will create a keepsake Victorian Ornament.  The workshop is designed for children ages 7 – 9 years, and the cost is $35 per child.  Advance registration is requested.  For more information, call 617-267-6338, or email gibsonhousedirector@gmail.com.

  • Sunday, November 13, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Tea at the College Club

    The Gibson House Museum invites you to Tea at the College Club at 44 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, on Sunday, November 13, from 3 – 5.  The Gibson House Museum is the only house museum in Back Bay.  Since 1957 it has told the story of the Gibson family’s daily life from the mid-19th to the early 20th centuries through their everyday possessions, decorative objects, and furnishings.  This benefit tea will include assorted fine teas, iced tea, mint lemonade, petite tea sandwiches, fresh fruit, mini scones, tea breads and cookies, and the cost is $45 per person.  Please make checks payable to The Gibson Society and mail to The Gibson House Museum, 137 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116.  Seating is limited and reservations are required.  You may rsvp to 617-267-6338, or email info@thegibsonhouse.org. The Gibson House is a Massachusetts not-for-profit corporation, and all but $23 of the cost of your attendance may be tax deductible.

  • Thursday, February 24, 5:30 pm – A Virtual Walk Down Beacon Street

    Gibson House Museum Executive Director Charles Swift is the featured speaker at a program hosted by the Gibson House Museum on Thursday, February 24, 2011 beginning at 5:30 p.m. Although the weather outside might be frightful, it’s still possible to take a stroll down one of Boston’s most famous streets. Sit in the Gibson House Museum’s beautiful Music Room as Mr. Swift takes you on a virtual trip down Beacon Street in this illustrated lecture, covering over three hundred years of buildings, families, and history, starting at the corner of Beacon and Tremont streets and heading out into the Back Bay.

    The Gibson House Museum is the only museum in Back Bay, preserved as it was lived in by three generations of the Gibson family (1859-1954). Opened as a museum in 1957, the house tells the story of daily life in the Back Bay from the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century. The Museum also displays its collection of Victorian and Edwardian decorative arts. The Gibson House Museum is located at 137 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02116.

    Free for Gibson House Museum members, $10 non-members. Reservations recommended. Please RSVP to 617-267-6338 or info@thegibsonhouse.org to reserve a space. Space is limited.  Photo below by Eric Hill.

  • Sunday, December 12, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Gibson House Museum Holiday Open House and Tree Trimming

    Help celebrate the Gibson House’s new Christmas Tree.  Please bring a vintage or homemade ornament to the Gibson House, 137 Beacon Street, on Sunday, December 12, from 1 – 4. (Ornament below from www.zazzle.com)  Free tours and light seasonal refreshments will be served.  The Gibson House Museum is the only house museum in Back Bay.  Since 1957 it has told the story of the Gibson family’s daily life during the mid 19th and early 20th centuries through their everyday possessions, decorative objects, and furnishings.  For more information, log on to www.thegibsonhouse.org.

  • Sunday, November 21, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Gibson House Tea at The College Club

    The Gibson House Museum
    invites you to
    Tea at the College Club

    Sunday, November 21, 2010
    3pm to 5pm
    44 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston

    Assorted fine teas, ice tea, mint lemonade, petite tea sandwiches,
    fresh fruit, mini scones, tea breads and tea cookies

    Tickets are $45.00**
    (checks payable to The Gibson Society)
    Seating is limited. Reservations are required.
    Rsvp: 617-267-6338 or info@thegibsonhouse.org

    The Gibson House Museum is the only house museum in Back Bay.
    Since 1957, it has told the story of the Gibson family’s daily life
    during the mid-19th to early 20th centuries. There are also
    displays of Victorian and Edwardian decorative arts.

    The Gibson House Museum
    137 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02116
    www.thegibsonhouse.org

    **The Gibson House is a Massachusetts not-for-profit corporation.
    All but $23.00 of the cost of your ticket is tax deductible.

  • Tuesday, June 16, 5:30 pm – Alley Tour with William Young

    William Young, senior preservation planner for the City of Boston Environmental Department, will lead a tour of Back Bay alleys beginning at The Gibson House Museum, 137 Beacon Street, on Tuesday, June 16, beginning at 5:30 pm.  The event is free for Gibson House Museum members and $10 for non-members.  Space is limited.  RSVP to 617-267-6338, or email info@thegibsonhouse.org.