The Gibson House is a historic house museum located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. Now a National Historic Landmark, the home served as residence to three generations of Gibson family members and their household staff between 1859 and 1954.
Visitors experience the house through a guided tour that interprets class and culture through the stories and objects of the people who lived and worked there. Tours are currently offered through advanced tickets only. Website: thegibsonhouse.org Email: [email protected] Ph: 617-267-6338
Operating as usual
Check out our great raffle prizes, drawing to take place at our benefit on Tuesday evening. Tickets are $10 each, 6 for $25. Good luck!
https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/my-page.html
Check out our great raffle prizes, drawing to take place at our benefit on Tuesday evening. Tickets are $10 each, 6 for $25. Good luck!
https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/my-page.html
Good evening, Everyone! We, the new interns, would love to introduce ourselves to you.
First up is Miranda here to introduce herself: Hello, my name is Miranda Leclerc! This fall, I am a curatorial intern for the Gibson House Museum. I am a junior at Simmons University studying History, International Relations, and Women and Gender Studies. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to intern at the Gibson House combining my passions for material culture, historical interpretation, and the histories of marginalized communities. During my internship, I will be performing inventory and researching items from the Gibson House collections. I will also be developing museum guides for the public, assisting with managing the social media, and contribute to the blog.
Next up is Beck, to introduce themselves to you, too: Hello! My name is Beck Green and I am the archival intern for the Gibson House Museum this fall! I am a second year graduate student at Boston University, working on my master’s degree in Preservation Studies with a concentration in Museum Practices. I am going to be crafting some finding aids for the Charles H. Gibson Jr. manuscript collection and his personal papers collection, to help researchers and museum staff better understand these collections. I can’t wait to dive right into the research of Gibson’s rich body of works and share it all with you via posts here throughout the semester and one big blog post at the end!
We can't wait to share some of our research with all of you this semester.
We still have several spots open for Thursday's specialty tour, Charlie Gibson's Q***r Boston!
Explore the Gibson House and early-twentieth-century Boston through Charlie Gibson's eyes! The story of the museum's founder is one of legacy and family history; of the fading grandeur of Victorian-era Boston; and of the role gay men, like Charlie, had in the historic preservation movement. This unique specialty house tour is not to be missed!
Tickets for the 6 p.m. tour can be reserved on our website: https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/events.html. We will continue to offer this tour on the first Thursday of every month throughout the year.
We still have several spots open for Thursday's specialty tour, Charlie Gibson's Q***r Boston!
Explore the Gibson House and early-twentieth-century Boston through Charlie Gibson's eyes! The story of the museum's founder is one of legacy and family history; of the fading grandeur of Victorian-era Boston; and of the role gay men, like Charlie, had in the historic preservation movement. This unique specialty house tour is not to be missed!
Tickets for the 6 p.m. tour can be reserved on our website: https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/events.html. We will continue to offer this tour on the first Thursday of every month throughout the year.
The Friends of the Gibson House invite you to a Roaring 20s party featuring music by the Craig Ball White Heat Swing Trio. Join us for drinks, food, and music of the 1920s.
The St. Botolph Club
199 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Tuesday, September 21, 2021, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/2021-benefit.html
All COVID guidelines will be followed, including masking except when eating and drinking.
The Friends of the Gibson House invite you to a Roaring 20s party featuring music by the Craig Ball White Heat Swing Trio. Join us for drinks, food, and music of the 1920s.
The St. Botolph Club
199 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Tuesday, September 21, 2021, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/2021-benefit.html
All COVID guidelines will be followed, including masking except when eating and drinking.
Are you planning a micro-event (e.g. a wedding)? Consider the beautiful Gibson House for your venue.
http://beaconhilltimes.com/2021/08/19/gibson-house-museum-offering-micro-weddings/
News Gibson House Museum Offering Micro-Weddings by Dan Murphy • August 19, 2021 • 0 Comments The Gibson House Museum, located at 137 Beacon St., held its first micro-wedding two years ago when a couple with no family nearby who was searching for a unique and historic venue for their nuptial...
New blog post alert!
http://thegibsonhousemuseum.blogspot.com/2021/07/in-sickness-and-in-health-dr-freeman.html
This blog post is part of an occasional series about the Gibson House Museum Archives , a repository of personal documents and photographs f...
You and a friend can come to the Gibson House for free on Saturday September 18!
https://www.boston.com/travel/local-news/2021/07/12/free-admission-museums-across-new-england-museum-day-september/
How to get free admission to museums across New England in September. Read more on Boston.com.
Save the Date!! On Tuesday Sept. 21 our annual benefit is back, in person at the beautiful St. Botolph Club, with a Roaring 'Twenties theme. Stay tuned for more enticing details, and visit www.thegibsonhouse.org to reserve tickets or become a sponsor.
Save the Date!! On Tuesday Sept. 21 our annual benefit is back, in person at the beautiful St. Botolph Club, with a Roaring 'Twenties theme. Stay tuned for more enticing details, and visit www.thegibsonhouse.org to reserve tickets or become a sponsor.
Introducing Olivia Blumenshine, the 2021 summer intern at the Gibson House Museum! Olivia is double majoring in English and Anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis. Her interests in storytelling and Boston history brought her to GHM, where she plans to research the q***r Boston literary scene in the time of Charlie Gibson and the Gibson family’s musical compositions. During her time with us, she will also be developing a post-tour satisfaction survey and an interactive Gibson family tree for the GHM website, as well as assisting with collections inventory. Keep an eye out for her blog posts in the coming months!
Introducing Olivia Blumenshine, the 2021 summer intern at the Gibson House Museum! Olivia is double majoring in English and Anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis. Her interests in storytelling and Boston history brought her to GHM, where she plans to research the q***r Boston literary scene in the time of Charlie Gibson and the Gibson family’s musical compositions. During her time with us, she will also be developing a post-tour satisfaction survey and an interactive Gibson family tree for the GHM website, as well as assisting with collections inventory. Keep an eye out for her blog posts in the coming months!
Thanks to MassRealty for conducting this interview about the museum and featuring it on their site.
Susan Ashbrook, former art history professor at Lesley University in Cambridge, and long-time Back Bay resident, talks to us about the history of the Back Ba...
Gibson House Museum founder Charlie Gibson is a fascinating character and his reasons for turning his family home into a museum are all tied up in his nostalgia for the Victorian past and his romantic heyday. To hear more, register for our upcoming virtual talk with Tripp Evans next Tuesday, 6/15. https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/
#Pride #Pride2021 #pridemonth
a time capsule of domestic life from the mid-nineteenth to early-twentieth centuries
June is Pride Month! This Friday, June 11 we will hold our 'Charlie Gibson's Q***r Boston' in-person tour of the museum. 6.00 to 6.45 pm, $15. Call 617-267-6338 for reservations.
June is Pride Month! This Friday, June 11 we will hold our 'Charlie Gibson's Q***r Boston' in-person tour of the museum. 6.00 to 6.45 pm, $15. Call 617-267-6338 for reservations.
Should a National Historic Landmark Become a Gift to the Privileged Few?
Written by Jeanne Pelletier, Preservation Advisor to the Campaign for the Ayer Mansion, Inc.
Thank you Bonnie of the Garden Club of the Back Bay for taking over planting our urns, now that Carlos can no longer do them. These are spectacular!
Thank you Bonnie of the Garden Club of the Back Bay for taking over planting our urns, now that Carlos can no longer do them. These are spectacular!
Snag one of the remaining spots on our house tours this weekend, and peek into the Gibson House courtyard and coal shed! Learn more about the service world in Back Bay and enjoy the good weather at the same time. See you there!
https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/
Snag one of the remaining spots on our house tours this weekend, and peek into the Gibson House courtyard and coal shed! Learn more about the service world in Back Bay and enjoy the good weather at the same time. See you there!
https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/
Announcing our new specialty tour: 'Upstairs Downstairs: Domestic Service at the Gibson House."
Saturday May 15, 1 and 3 pm
Sunday May 16, 1 and 3 pm.
$15, students and seniors $12. Space is limited. Pre-registration is required.
Explore the lives of the young, Irish immigrant women who worked in domestic service in the Back Bay. On this tour, we invite you to view the Gibson House from a different perspective. We will start in the back alley and move from the working quarters through the rest of the house. Using census records, domestic advice manuals, and the architecture of the Gibson House, this tour explores the work of these women (and some men) and the community they created.
Rarely seen spaces, including the coal shed (the last surviving one in Back Bay) and the fifth-floor servant bedrooms, will be on view.
Additional dates are available this summer through the link below.
*Please note that this tour includes walking up and down six flights of stairs, and that the Gibson House Museum is not air-conditioned.
https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/events.
Announcing our new specialty tour: 'Upstairs Downstairs: Domestic Service at the Gibson House."
Saturday May 15, 1 and 3 pm
Sunday May 16, 1 and 3 pm.
$15, students and seniors $12. Space is limited. Pre-registration is required.
Explore the lives of the young, Irish immigrant women who worked in domestic service in the Back Bay. On this tour, we invite you to view the Gibson House from a different perspective. We will start in the back alley and move from the working quarters through the rest of the house. Using census records, domestic advice manuals, and the architecture of the Gibson House, this tour explores the work of these women (and some men) and the community they created.
Rarely seen spaces, including the coal shed (the last surviving one in Back Bay) and the fifth-floor servant bedrooms, will be on view.
Additional dates are available this summer through the link below.
*Please note that this tour includes walking up and down six flights of stairs, and that the Gibson House Museum is not air-conditioned.
https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/events.
Curious about how 19th century houses worked? This hot water heater stored water, heated by the brick-set range next to it, to be used throughout the house. Learn more on our tour about the domestic staff and work of the house - book your spot for this weekend! https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/
Curious about how 19th century houses worked? This hot water heater stored water, heated by the brick-set range next to it, to be used throughout the house. Learn more on our tour about the domestic staff and work of the house - book your spot for this weekend! https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/
Visitors have often asked what a high chair is doing in the kitchen. Did the servants bring their children to work? In actuality, live-in servants were expected to remain single. Domestic staff often were young, immigrant women who did not start their own families until after leaving service.
The high chair that is sometimes on display in the kitchen is similar to one that would have been used by the Gibson children. It is an oak Renaissance Revival-style high chair, and it is believed to have been crafted in the vicinity of Boston between 1855 and 1885. The main nursery was on the fourth floor, but the children might have been brought down to the kitchen by staff and kept safe in a high chair such as this one. Learn more about the lives of women who worked in domestic service in the Back Bay during our new specialty tour launching later this month!
#HappyMothersDay
Visitors have often asked what a high chair is doing in the kitchen. Did the servants bring their children to work? In actuality, live-in servants were expected to remain single. Domestic staff often were young, immigrant women who did not start their own families until after leaving service.
The high chair that is sometimes on display in the kitchen is similar to one that would have been used by the Gibson children. It is an oak Renaissance Revival-style high chair, and it is believed to have been crafted in the vicinity of Boston between 1855 and 1885. The main nursery was on the fourth floor, but the children might have been brought down to the kitchen by staff and kept safe in a high chair such as this one. Learn more about the lives of women who worked in domestic service in the Back Bay during our new specialty tour launching later this month!
#HappyMothersDay
Happy Mothers Day!
Happy Mothers Day!
This dark corner cabinet is filled with the chambermaid's tools - a rug be**er, a lighter for the gas fixtures, and a carpet-sweeper. Sign up for our new tour and hear the stories of Delia Diamond and Nora Redican, two of the chambermaids who made the Gibson House run.
https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/
This dark corner cabinet is filled with the chambermaid's tools - a rug be**er, a lighter for the gas fixtures, and a carpet-sweeper. Sign up for our new tour and hear the stories of Delia Diamond and Nora Redican, two of the chambermaids who made the Gibson House run.
https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/
New House Tour! Upstairs, Downstairs: Domestic Service at the Gibson House.
Saturday, May 15 & Sunday, May 16, tours at 1:00 & 3:00 p.m.
$15/$12 students & seniors; space is limited
Pre-registration is required.
The Gibson House Museum is delighted to announce the launch of a brand-new tour which explores the lives of the young, Irish immigrant women who worked in domestic service in the Back Bay. Using census records, domestic advice manuals, and the architecture of the Gibson House, the tour explores the work of these women (and some men) and the community they created.
On this tour, we invite you to view the Gibson House from a different perspective. We will start in the back alley and move from the working quarters through the rest of the house. Rarely seen spaces, including the coal shed (the last surviving one in Back Bay) and fifth-floor servant bedrooms, will be on view.
Additional dates are available throughout the summer; register now to reserve your spot.
New House Tour! Upstairs, Downstairs: Domestic Service at the Gibson House.
Saturday, May 15 & Sunday, May 16, tours at 1:00 & 3:00 p.m.
$15/$12 students & seniors; space is limited
Pre-registration is required.
The Gibson House Museum is delighted to announce the launch of a brand-new tour which explores the lives of the young, Irish immigrant women who worked in domestic service in the Back Bay. Using census records, domestic advice manuals, and the architecture of the Gibson House, the tour explores the work of these women (and some men) and the community they created.
On this tour, we invite you to view the Gibson House from a different perspective. We will start in the back alley and move from the working quarters through the rest of the house. Rarely seen spaces, including the coal shed (the last surviving one in Back Bay) and fifth-floor servant bedrooms, will be on view.
Additional dates are available throughout the summer; register now to reserve your spot.
On this day in 1898, the United States declared war on Spain following the sinking of an American ship in Havana’s harbor. While fighting only lasted for a few months, America’s military presence in Cuba continued for years. Dr. Freeman Allen, future husband of Mary Ethel Allen, spent fourteen months on the island following the war as an assistant surgeon for the U.S. Army. Dr. Allen and Mary Ethel wrote many letters to each other during their long courtship, some of which were during his station in Cuba. In this 1900 letter from Cuba, Dr. Allen writes to “Ethel” asking why she hasn’t written to him--is she ill, has she abandoned him? She did not abandon him; the letters continued and the couple eventually married in 1911.
On this day in 1898, the United States declared war on Spain following the sinking of an American ship in Havana’s harbor. While fighting only lasted for a few months, America’s military presence in Cuba continued for years. Dr. Freeman Allen, future husband of Mary Ethel Allen, spent fourteen months on the island following the war as an assistant surgeon for the U.S. Army. Dr. Allen and Mary Ethel wrote many letters to each other during their long courtship, some of which were during his station in Cuba. In this 1900 letter from Cuba, Dr. Allen writes to “Ethel” asking why she hasn’t written to him--is she ill, has she abandoned him? She did not abandon him; the letters continued and the couple eventually married in 1911.
137 Beacon St
Boston, MA
02116
The nearest subway stop is Arlington Street on the Green Line.
| Saturday | 1pm - 4pm |
| Sunday | 1pm - 4pm |
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Repeal Day Celebration at Gibson House Museum December 2013
Tours are given on the hour at 1, 2, and 3 p.m.. Wednesday through Sunday. The museum is closed on major holidays. For groups of twelve and more please call for a reservation. 617-267-6338 or email [email protected] website: www.thegibsonhouse.org
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