Thomas Handasyd Perkins House, 1833-1854

Thomas Handasyd Perkins House, 1833-1854. . , This three-story, Greek revival building was built in 1833, as the residence of Colonel Thomas Handasyd Perkins (1764–1854), a Boston Brahmin, philanthropist, and China Trade merchant. Situated in what was then a residential neighborhood, the home had large, bow windows on either side of its tall, Doric-porticoed entryway. The former front-entrance door was constructed of hardwood from the frigate USS Constitution. The building's façade featured granite cut from the same Quincy quarry that supplied the stone for the Bunker Hill monument on Breed's Hill in Charlestown. The narrow, brick walkway bordering the house on its South side provided access to the residence's paddocks on what is now Winter Place. Twenty-three Italian marble fireplaces, one of which remains, adorned the home's private chambers and reception rooms., The Provident Institution for Savings purchased the property from Perkins' estate on March 24, 1854, for $52,000. The former residence was fitted with ornate vaults and a large, marbled banking hall with brass ornamentation characteristic of high Victorian style. The building survived the Great Fire of 1872, which leveled much of Boston, destroying nearly 800 buildings., In 1991, the building was acquired by its third owner, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education. The former banking hall is now a 350-seat auditorium, and the building's three floors have been fitted as office and learning spaces, in which many of the original architectural details have been retained and restored. Five of the vaults installed by Provident remain in use, and much of the ornate plaster detailing and marble wainscoting can be seen throughout the building.