What are the opening hours?

Wednesday 10am - 12:45pm Thursday 10am - 12:45pm Friday 10am - 12:45pm Saturday 10am - 12:45pm Sunday 10am - 12:45pm

Nichols House Museum

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Nichols House Museum

We are open Thursday - Sunday for tours at 10:00, 11:00, and 12:00. More info on our "Visit" page! The Nichols House Museum welcomes visitors year-round.

In 1885, Dr. Arthur Nichols and his wife Elizabeth purchased an 1804 townhouse attributed to architect Charles Bulfinch. The house was where their three daughters matured into designers, writers, and social activists. In 1930, Rose Standish Nichols (1872-1960) inherited the property and began laying the plans for its establishment as a museum. Soon after her death in 1960, the Nichols House Museum

opened to the public. Today, the Museum engages with the social concerns of those who lived and worked in the house. The Nichols House Museum maintains and preserves an original collection that reflects the Nichols family's cultural values and changing tastes across two generations. Highlights include sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Flemish tapestries, Japanese woodblock prints, and Boston furniture. Visitors also encounter day-to-day objects including an 1897 dumbwaiter and a 1936 radio. It provides an active schedule of lectures, programs, and special events for its members and the surrounding Boston community. The Nichols House Museum offers engaging tours and public programming for all ages. Groups that visit include students from nearby colleges and universities, adult learners, and youth. Visit and join the conversation.

08/27/2026

We had a wonderful staff trip to visit Uncle Gus and Aunt Gussie in Cornish, NH! Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park and Saint-Gaudens Memorial were great hosts.

08/21/2026

Part of processing museum objects involves marking them with their numbers safely and securely, so they can be tracked and matched to their documentation.

For costume pieces, labels are created from chemically neutral cotton twill tape and thread, with numbers written in archival, fade-resistant Pigma ink. Placed in one of several typical spots that are easy to access yet hidden from view when the item is on display, the labels are affixed in a secure yet fully reversible manner.

This label identifies a fringed mourning jacket from the late 19th century. Black mourning clothes such as this, common in museum collections, may tend to have survived better than everyday clothes because of their heavy construction and limited wear. While research into this piece’s history is still ongoing, its shape, style, and provenance suggest it may have been a maternity garment— possibly belonging to Elizabeth Fisher Nichols, whose childbearing years extended through the 1870s.

08/07/2026

Join us on Thursday, August 13 at 6 pm for our Brahmins & Bohemians Beacon Hill walking tour!

07/30/2026

Happy International Day of Friendship! Rose Nichols believed in the power of friendship to help foster peace, and as a way to develop an understanding of others' lives. Through her work with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and her support of the International Friendship League, she lived this belief. Her hope was that her home would welcome visitors from all nations, something we are proud to continue to do today.

Rose felt "there is such excitement in meeting people from all over the world." She is pictured here with just a few of her international friends.

07/24/2026

We’re celebrating Christmas in July with a special announcement…

07/17/2026

Our beloved parlor tapestry has returned from conservation and is looking its best!

The c1600 Flemish tapestry was purchased by Elizabeth Nichols in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. During the winter seasons, it hung in the parlor at 55 Mount Vernon Street. Summers it was the star of the tapestry room in the Nichols family's Cornish, NH, country place.

Last July, the tapestry travelled to the Textile Conservation Lab at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City. There, it was very carefully cleaned and stabilized— a painstaking, ten month process. In late May, the tapestry returned to the Nichols House, debuting at our Spring Fête.

We invite you to visit for a tour and see the tapestry yourself, once again the centerpiece of the parlor, ready for the next 400 years.

07/09/2026

What’s involved in caring for historic textiles? Like all things in museums, thoughtfulness, planning, and a lot of specialized supplies.

This stunning ca. 1920 shawl, also known as an assuit or tulle-bi-telli ("net with metal"), was likely created in Egypt and owned by Margaret (Nichols) Shurcliff. Made of linen bobbinet, it is decorated with thousands of thin strips of silver alloy placed in geometric patterns, in the Art Deco style. The weight and reflectiveness of the metal strips made it drape and shimmer beautifully on its wearer.

However, the fragility of this object means that it requires special care. Because folding could damage its metal strips and linen fibers, it must be rolled for storage. Layers of archival tissue keep it cushioned and snag-free, and protect it from moths, moisture, and tarnish, as well. Of course, it resides in a climate-controlled, insect-monitored space, like all of our collections here at NHM.

07/02/2026

Come hang out where it's cool and take an (air conditioned) tour of the Nichols House!

The shivering winter cherub in our courtyard is baking in the heatwave— too bad he can't come inside where it is nice and cool. You can enjoy our well chilled museum this holiday weekend during a tour on Friday or Sunday. (We will be closed on Saturday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day.)

06/30/2026

The Nichols family loved their old house and filled it with art and antiques reflecting their interest in Boston history.

We'll be highlighting some of these pieces on July 3rd, during special tours of the Museum in honor of Independence Day. We hope you'll join us as we share Colonial, Revolutionary, and Federal-era stories hidden in the Nichols House and its collections.

More information and tickets on our website, nicholshousemuseum.org

06/26/2026

We are very excited to introduce our 2026 Julie Linsdell and Georgia Linsdell Enders Research Fellow, Morgan Sanders.

Morgan has just completed her first year of Boston University’s Masters program for the History of Art and Architecture and is also pursuing the accompanying Museum Studies Certificate. She aims to work in a variety of museum contexts, possibly in collections management or curation, and enjoys involved archival research. In her free time, she loves painting, reading, and walks by the Charles River. For her Linsdell project, Morgan is investigating Rose Standish Nichols’ unpublished final manuscript, New England Baroque.

Stay tuned for updates about Morgan’s discoveries!

Address

55 Mount Vernon Street
Boston, MA
02108

Opening Hours

Wednesday	10am - 12:45pm
Thursday	10am - 12:45pm
Friday	10am - 12:45pm
Saturday	10am - 12:45pm
Sunday	10am - 12:45pm

Website

http://www.nicholshousemuseum.org/

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