Otis House II, Boston

The second of three mansions designed for Harrison Gray Otis, it's the only one among the trio that's been continuously used as a private residence. Merely four years after constructing their first home, the Otis family decided to relocate to Beacon Hill, an area rapidly gaining prestige as an elegant place to reside. Otis was a member of the "Mount Vernon Proprietors", a consortium of real estate developers who owned the south slope of Beacon Hill, where the Massachusetts State House now stands. Together, they successfully transformed a once undeveloped pastureland into the most opulent residential enclave. As for the Otises, they once again turned to Bulfinch for the design.

Built between 1800 and 1802, this grand Federal-style structure rises three stories tall, featuring brick walls arranged in Flemish bond. It occupies a parcel of land with a relatively spacious lawn and a semicircular cobblestone driveway—a rare, surviving vestige of the original vision for Beacon Hill's development by the Mount Vernon Proprietors. Bulfinch's hallmark recessed brick arches grace the first floor of this house, embellished with ornate Chinese fretwork iron balconies. The facade comprises four bays, marked by the somewhat unusual use of Corinthian pilasters on the second and third floors. The Otis family resided here for only five years before enlisting Bulfinch once more to design their third and final residence.