The Round House?

Not sure if something new is happening, but the problem with the Round House is that the lady who owns it (she lives on the same street) refuses to sell it or do anything with it (she is elderly and has some mental issues that have prevented any reasonable approach to buying/working on the house). Talk to the historic commission and they will tell you it is a matter of great frustration.

Perhaps something has changed? If so, that would be a great thing, since the house is steadily crumbling.

Yes, I'm on the Historic Commission, and "a matter of great frustration" is putting it relatively diplomatically. :-) I *think* this is good news, but I haven't gotten the details yet to be sure:

It's recently been sold to a local contractor, who is aware of its historic importance. Not sure what the plans are for it at the moment, but I'll try to remember to post an update after next week's Historic Commission meeting, where I'm sure we'll find out more.

Oh, please do post about it if you get a chance! It's a charming piece of weird architectural history and deserves loving preservation....

So, just what is the history of that house? I've often wondered.

Brandon Wilson, director of the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission, sent me this today:

I am pleased to report that I have recently learned that a local
resident, as well as the president of a general contracting firm based
in Somerville, has purchased the Round House from the owner of many
decades. She is the same individual who fortuitously saved the property
from demolition in the mid 1960's! Although in today's age it may be
hard to imagine that this wonderful treasure was once destined for
demolition, it does show how far we have come in learning to appreciate
"old buildings" in Somerville, as well as throughout America, over the
past few decades, and it also reminds us how precious old and
deteriorating, yet "preservation-worthy" structures can be to future
generations...

I am also delighted to say that the new owner is someone who intends to
restore every significant architectural detail of the house, both inside
and outside, over time, and when it is prudent he will move his own
family into it, returning the unique structure to its original use as a
single-family home. The contractor is familiar with historic
restoration standards, having worked on several other historic
structures as part of his long-standing GC business. He earned a
"Preservation Award" several years ago from the Somerville Historic
Preservation Commission (SHPC) for exterior work on a house within a
Local Historic District, as well as a "Director's Award" from the
Commission for fine work restoring details on his own home in
Somerville. The contractor has developed a strong relationship with the
prior owner of the Round House over several years, having been
introduced to her many years ago by me, currently the Executive Director
of the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission. I am very excited
that the property is now in the hands of a person who not only
appreciates the extraordinary significance of the Round House, both
architecturally and historically, but also deeply cares about restoring
it to its original condition. The house was built in 1856 by Enoch
Robinson, a prominent and eccentric man known widely for his innovative
locks and door knobs, and it remains one of only a handful of round
structures built in the nineteenth century that remains today.

For those who are not already aware the Round House is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places, as well as the State Register of
Historic Places, and is part of the Local Historic District that
encompasses many properties on Atherton St., including the current Carr
Schoolhouse condominium building that was converted from an elementary
school in 1984. As such the new owner will be working closely with the
City's Historic Preservation Commission that oversees work on the
exterior of historically designated properties throughout Somerville.
At this early juncture following acquisition, the new owner/contractor
is busy cleaning up the debris that has built up on the grounds and
inside the house, and he is undertaking critical cold weather repairs
and maintenance work. He asks that the wider public be respective of
his privacy and priorities, and not expect to enter the premises without
his express permission, and not likely in the near future.

Information about the history of the Round House, as well as periodic
work updates, will be posted by the SHPC on its website (address below)
in the coming months. The Commission welcomes additional research or
information about the House or its prior owners that others may have, as
well as the skills of a pro bono webmaster that is willing to help
design a site that is informative, interactive and easy to navigate for
all to learn more about our rich history and architecture. For details,
contact me directly via email or phone listed below or via
kchase@ci.somerville.ma.us (tel. ext. 2525).

Sincerely,

J. Brandon Wilson
Executive Director
Historic Preservation Commission
City of Somerville
www.ci.somerville.ma.us/historicpreservation

bwilson@ci.somerville.ma.us
(617)625-6600 x.2532

Oh, I hope the new owner will consider giving tours at least for a short period, near the end of the renovations.

That would be so excellent.

I'd love to see that. Perhaps it can be arranged for a future Bicycle Tour of Historic Somerville. The Bicycle Committee and the Historic Preservation Commission sponsor this ride each May.

Any chance the ride would be on a Sunday, not a Saturday? I keep wishing I could go on the rides, but I don't use my bike on the Sabbath...

We schedule both our October and May rides for Saturday so that the rain date can be one day later. So far we've had to use the rain date once on each ride. Still worth thinking about, though.

round house

I would like to revisit that old house I haven't been in there since I was about nine years old. The house used to belong to my grandfather Patrick. It was sold by my aunts and uncles when he passed away over forty years ago.

Re: round house

You probably won't be able to do that for a while, since construction will be going on, but talk to Brandon.

I would love to see a floorplan of this house. I'm curious to see if they made extensive use of built-in cabinetry and seating to minimize the effect of the arc on the prime/windowed wall of each room.

Hurray, wonderful news! I'm so glad the owner was persuaded to sell, and that the new owner properly appreciates his new treasure.

The Round House

I was sort of lost in Somerville today, driving down some road when out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Round House two streets up. I made the first left and then took another left and there she stood. What a magnificent structure! I came home and googled Round House Somerville and the amount of info. that I got was incredible. I am extremely happy to learn that the house has been purchased by someone who plans on restoring it to its former glory. I also thank the person who purchased it in the sixties to save it from demolition. I wish that more people had such insight. I am familiar with the column shaped folly at Desert de Retz and can see the inspiration it gave to the Round House. I am not sure how far the new owners are going to go with the historical preservation of the interior, but I can help with resources pertaining to fabrics and wall coverings. I know specialists in both fields that could probably recreate the foyer/ stairwell wallcoverings. I wish you all the best. Thank you. Frank FDHODGE@AOL.COM

Round House

Hi Ron,
Your response to the above question regarding the Round House in Somerville is pretty old. I just drove by the house this past weekend and it looks like nothing is happening to the house as far as refurbishing. My mother-in-law grew up across the street from this house and speaks of it as an architechural wonder, which by the looks of it, it was. It is a shame that it sits there in the condition it is at present. What happened to the plans to bring it back to its original beauty? I certainly hope that these plans are still feasible.
Thanks,
Toni

Re: Round House

My understanding from talking to folks at the Historic Preservation Commission is that work is still proceeding slowly. A friend of mine stopped by and talked to the owner this week, and the owner said we should expect to see substantial improvement to the exterior over the next year.