Mary Baker Eddy House Museum

Project Details

Project Description

- The goal of this project was to bring a small 1870’s historic house museum—the most important building associated with the life and work of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science—into the 21st century, while better serving its current function as a museum. - This design colorfully transforms a monochromatic, much-altered historic house museum, into a vibrant, restored building, with a contemporary, universally accessible entrance and other programmatic improvements. - The exterior Victorian palette has been recreated (based on historic paint research), to replace what had been, for decades, a battleship gray building. - Further restoration features include exterior envelope repairs, window repairs, new low-profile storm windows, and the removal of the later rear entrance and stairs. - The new entrance pavilion provides universal accessibility from the rear parking lot, to both the basement and first floor. Its design alerts visitors and passers-by that the 19th-century house has been updated, and that it is no longer a private residence, but serves an educational purpose unlike the neighboring structures. - The restored interior recreates the original layout, following extensive on-site research, in order to better tell the story of its historic occupant. - New accessible bathrooms and a coat room have been included in the formerly unfinished basement. - To adapt to the house’s current function as a museum, a small exhibit gallery/multiuse space was created on the first floor, where three rooms had originally existed. Oak strips were inserted into the floors, walls and ceilings to indicate the original wall locations. - The 20th-century flooring was removed to reveal the original painted pine floors. - A new high-velocity heating and air conditioning system was installed with careful, unobtrusive detailing.