The Gibson House Museum

The Gibson House Museum The Gibson House is a historic house museum located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. Now a Na Tours are currently offered through advanced tickets only.

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. Website: thegibsonhouse.org Email: [email protected] Ph: 617-267-6338

Thank you to the Garden Club of the Back Bay for sprucing up the museum with these beautiful flower arrangements! We are...
06/20/2023

Thank you to the Garden Club of the Back Bay for sprucing up the museum with these beautiful flower arrangements! We are now ready for summer!

06/13/2023

We are excited to share that our Beacon Hill neighbor, the William Hickling Prescott House, is now open for public tours!
Our staff was recently invited to join a tour of Beacon Hill with Hub Town Tours, who have built a partnership with the NSCDA MA to lead tours of the Prescott House, while also offering tours of Beacon Hill and the Freedom Trail! The tour was a great way to not only celebrate the opening of another historic home to the public, but to get to learn more about the lesser known Civil War history of the neighborhood...which the Gibson family would have been witness to.

We highly recommend if you are looking for a way to celebrate Juneteenth, or if you simply want to learn more about the abolitionists of Beacon Hill, take a walking tour with Hub Town Tours! They also are leading tours of the Prescott House from Friday-Sunday, if you want a peek into another local historic home.

Happy Pride Month! Special tours: **Charlie Gibson's Q***r Boston**Celebrate Pride and support the LGBTQ+ history of Bos...
06/02/2023

Happy Pride Month! Special tours:
**Charlie Gibson's Q***r Boston**
Celebrate Pride and support the LGBTQ+ history of Boston with a special **30% discounted ticket** offered only during Pride Month! See below for dates and times.
Explore the Gibson House Museum and the gay subculture of early-twentieth-century Boston through Charlie Gibson's eyes on this interactive tour. The story of the Museum's founder is one of legacy and family history, of the fading grandeur of Victorian-era Boston, and of Boston's LGBTQ+ history.
Go to https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/events for tickets and details.
Tours Offered:
6/10: 4:00-5:00pm
6/24: 4:00-5:00pm

Warren Gibson Winslow, nephew of Charles Hammond Gibson, lost his life 3 January 1944.Winslow was an officer on the Bris...
05/28/2023

Warren Gibson Winslow, nephew of Charles Hammond Gibson, lost his life 3 January 1944.

Winslow was an officer on the Bristol Class destroyer USS-Turner DD-648, captained by Commander Henry S. Wygant, Jr.; the ship was at anchor just outside the submarine net protecting New York Harbor, about 6 miles off Sandy Hook, New Jersey, when it suddenly exploded and sank with the loss of approximately 140 lives, including those of most of her officers-- the official cause of the explosion was listed as defective ammunition but it is believed that the Turner was hit by a German torpedo

Thank you Matthew Dickey of the Boston Preservation Alliance for your terrific Preservation Month article in Accidentall...
05/25/2023
Philanthropic Preservations | Accidentally Wes Anderson

Thank you Matthew Dickey of the Boston Preservation Alliance for your terrific Preservation Month article in Accidentally Wes Anderson's newsletter about the Gibson House Museum.

Accidentally Wes Anderson Philanthropic Preservations Humble Humans

05/19/2023

Happy International Museum Day! I'm proud of the many museums and historical sites that enrich and serve the Third Suffolk District.

Revere Historical Society and Museum
Museum of Science, Boston
The West End Museum
The Gibson House Museum
Deane Winthrop House
Donald McKay House
The Paul Revere House
Old North Church & Historic Site
Old State House
Old South Meeting House
Pierce–Hichborn House
ICA Watershed
Veteran Association of the First Corps of Cadets and Museum
Nantucket Lightship/LV-112
The Sports Museum
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company
Folk Americana Roots Hall Of Fame
New England Aquarium
Museum of African American History - Boston

This Thursday May 18 is International Museum Day, the purpose of which is to raise awareness of the fact that museums ar...
05/17/2023
International Museum Day - International Council of Museums

This Thursday May 18 is International Museum Day, the purpose of which is to raise awareness of the fact that museums are a means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.
For more information:

Each year since 1977, ICOM has organised International Museum Day, which represents a unique moment for the international museum community.

**Pride Month: Charlie Gibson's Q***r Boston**Celebrate Pride and support the LGBTQ+ history of Boston with a special **...
05/17/2023

**Pride Month: Charlie Gibson's Q***r Boston**
Celebrate Pride and support the LGBTQ+ history of Boston with a special **30% discounted ticket** offered only during Pride Month! See below for dates and times.

Explore the Gibson House Museum and the gay subculture of early-twentieth-century Boston through Charlie Gibson's eyes on this interactive tour. The story of the Museum's founder is one of legacy and family history, of the fading grandeur of Victorian-era Boston, and of Boston's LGBTQ+ history.

Go to https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/events for tickets and details.

Tours Offered:
6/1: 6:00-7:00pm
6/10: 4:00-5:00pm
6/24: 4:00-5:00pm

05/05/2023

May is Preservation Month. Pay us a visit!

05/02/2023
beaconhilltimes.com

Thank you Beacon Hill Times for your great coverage of our Benefit.

We are delighted to announce that we are the recipients of a $69K City of Boston CPA grant for some much-needed exterior...
04/20/2023
Mayor Wu Announces Community Preservation Act Funding Allocated for 56 ProjectsTotaling More Than $40 Million

We are delighted to announce that we are the recipients of a $69K City of Boston CPA grant for some much-needed exterior repairs.

Mayor Michelle Wu and the City of Boston Community Preservation Committee (CPC) today announced the approval of 56 projects totaling over $40 million through the Community Preservation Act (CPA). Following the CPC's public hearing and Mayor Wu's recommendation, the proposed projects were approved by...

Thanks to everyone who attended and supported our Annual Benefit on Tuesday night. We had a delightful evening “à la Bel...
04/13/2023

Thanks to everyone who attended and supported our Annual Benefit on Tuesday night. We had a delightful evening “à la Belle Epoque!”

As the Museum’s primary fundraising event, the Benefit raises funds critical to maintaining the house and its collections, and providing educational programming to the public.

We’d like to say a special thanks to our corporate sponsors, Manzi Appraisers and Restoration and Ovation Data.

It's not too late to buy raffle tickets for next Tuesday's Benefit. Sales end at noon on April 11. The prizes are great ...
04/07/2023

It's not too late to buy raffle tickets for next Tuesday's Benefit. Sales end at noon on April 11. The prizes are great (tours, theater and concert tickets, wine. jewelry, gourmet items). Follow the link https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/raffle-items

Thank you Garden Club of the Back Bay volunteers for our beautiful spring urns.
04/07/2023

Thank you Garden Club of the Back Bay volunteers for our beautiful spring urns.

https://thebostonsun.com/2023/04/06/gibson-house-museums-annual-benefit-to-honor-the-french-library/Next Tuesday's Benef...
04/06/2023
Gibson House Museum’s Annual Benefit To Honor the French Library – The Boston Sun

https://thebostonsun.com/2023/04/06/gibson-house-museums-annual-benefit-to-honor-the-french-library/

Next Tuesday's Benefit is a big story in the Boston Sun.

News Gibson House Museum’s Annual Benefit To Honor the French Library by Dan Murphy • April 6, 2023 • 0 Comments At “À la Belle Époque,” the organization’s 26th annual benefit set for Tuesday, April 11, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the St. Botolph Club at 199 Commonwealth Ave., the Gibson H...

Our interpretive team visited our friends at the Russell Museum at MGH yesterday. Did you know that Rosamond Gibson's gr...
03/23/2023

Our interpretive team visited our friends at the Russell Museum at MGH yesterday. Did you know that Rosamond Gibson's grandfather, John Collins Warren, was the first doctor to perform an operation using anesthesia? That surgery took place in 1846 in the Ether Dome at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Tickets to the Annual Benefit are now on sale!"À la Belle Époque"Tuesday, April 11, 2023, St. Botolph Club, Boston6:00-9...
03/11/2023

Tickets to the Annual Benefit are now on sale!
"À la Belle Époque"
Tuesday, April 11, 2023, St. Botolph Club, Boston
6:00-9:00 p.m.

The Friends of the Gibson House Museum invite you to "À la Belle Époque,” a fun and festive party with a French theme. The evening includes drinks, a light supper, a raffle, and French music.
Tickets are $150 and may be purchased via https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/events
or by sending a check with the names of your guests to the Gibson House Museum, 137 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02116.
Join us in honoring the French Library, our Back Bay neighbor, for its many years of providing high-quality French-language instruction and cultural programs that inspire our community. We recognize, too, the library’s dedication to preserving Boston’s architectural history with a recent renovation of its 1867 brownstone headquarters that sensitively balances future needs with a respect for the building’s original charm and character.
All proceeds will support the preservation and operation of the Gibson House Museum.
Festive attire, French flair optional!

Interesting programs this month at Nichols House.
03/02/2023

Interesting programs this month at Nichols House.

From the Nichols family and the staff they employed to visual depictions of women and the artists who painted them, the Nichols House is full of women's history! Celebrate Women's History Month with us through a special program, house tour, or membership month.

Depicted here is Nora (Burke) Hurley, resident at 55 Mount Vernon Street in 1910 as a "chambermaid". Photo courtesy of her family.

This winter, we are surveying Charles H. Gibson, Jr.’s large print collection, some of which is in museum storage. This ...
02/24/2023

This winter, we are surveying Charles H. Gibson, Jr.’s large print collection, some of which is in museum storage. This lithograph by Italian engraver Francesco Bartolozzi accompanied Charlie Gibson’s 1908 collection of self-published sonnets. Bartolozzi was a prolific 18th-century engraver and reproduced many royal and classical scenes in his work. The print is labeled in Charlie’s handwriting: “Original of Frontispiece in The Wounded Eros, 1908”.

***Upcoming Specialty Tours:***Upstairs, Downstairs: Domestic Service at the Gibson House.*Thursday, Feb. 23, 3:00 p.m.*...
02/04/2023

***Upcoming Specialty Tours:***

Upstairs, Downstairs: Domestic Service at the Gibson House.
*Thursday, Feb. 23, 3:00 p.m.
*Friday, Feb. 24, 3:00 p.m.

The World of Little Women
*Saturday, Feb. 25, 3:00 p.m.

Charlie Gibson's Q***r Boston
*Thursday, March 2, 6:00 p.m.

Follow this link to book:

Specialty tour: Charles Gibson's Q***r Boston, Sunday January 29, 4 pm.Explore the Gibson House and early-twentieth-cent...
01/23/2023

Specialty tour: Charles Gibson's Q***r Boston, Sunday January 29, 4 pm.
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!
Ticket link: https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/thegibsonhouse/items/306874/calendar/2023/01/?flow=468779&full-items=yes

We are sad to learn of the passing of John Norton who served for many years on the board of the Gibson House Museum, as ...
01/10/2023
John Norton Obituary - Boston, MA

We are sad to learn of the passing of John Norton who served for many years on the board of the Gibson House Museum, as well as playing an important role in many other organizations as his obituary details. His wry sense of humor and his practical financial sense are still missed.

Celebrate the life of John Norton, leave a kind word or memory and get funeral service information care of .

Thank you Garden Club of the Back Bay for creating beautiful seasonal urns for us. Happy holidays, everyone!
12/20/2022

Thank you Garden Club of the Back Bay for creating beautiful seasonal urns for us. Happy holidays, everyone!

This Saturday, December 10, 3 pm, **Special Tour: The World of Little Women at the Gibson House.**The story of Little Wo...
12/08/2022

This Saturday, December 10, 3 pm, **Special Tour: The World of Little Women at the Gibson House.**
The story of Little Women has long been associated with the holidays. Come revisit this beloved story through a lively specialty tour that explores the similarities--and the many differences--in the experiences of Jo March, Louisa May Alcott, and Charlie Gibson as nineteenth-century writers. In addition to exploring the shared worlds of these real and imagined characters, visitors will hear behind-the-scenes details about the filming of Greta Gerwig's 2019 adaptation of Little Women at the Gibson House.
https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/thegibsonhouse/items/417433/calendar/2022/12/?flow=468779&full-items=yes

The museum is now beautifully decorated for the holidays. Why not plan a visit?
12/07/2022

The museum is now beautifully decorated for the holidays. Why not plan a visit?

Joseph Warren is Rosamond Warren Gibson's great grand uncle.
12/01/2022

Joseph Warren is Rosamond Warren Gibson's great grand uncle.

Excited for this meeting and to see friends!

www.djwf.org/the-trailer

Gibson House: The OG of Boston’s Back Bay
11/28/2022
Gibson House: The OG of Boston’s Back Bay

Gibson House: The OG of Boston’s Back Bay

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts made the decision in 1856 to fill in a section of Boston Harbor, which previously was being used as a trash dump and was the source of many complaints due to it& #8…

Photos from Nichols House Museum's post
11/23/2022

Photos from Nichols House Museum's post

Back in person: Etiquetteer's 11th Annual Repeal Day Celebration! Friday Dec. 2, 6-8 pm. After two pandemic years of Rep...
11/07/2022

Back in person: Etiquetteer's 11th Annual Repeal Day Celebration! Friday Dec. 2, 6-8 pm.
After two pandemic years of Repeal via Zoom, Etiquetteer’s Repeal Day Celebration returns its Prohibition-era gaiety to the cozy Victorian atmosphere of the Gibson House! Hosted by Etiquetteer Robert B. Dimmick, and with the effervescent Miss Kitty back behind the speakeasy bar, the evening will feature heavy hors d’oeuvres, a brief program on Prohibition trivia and behavior from Etiquetteer, and cocktails and camaraderie with the cognoscenti.

For tickets: https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/events
Space is limited, and period attire is encouraged. We hope to see you there!

Well, we hadn't thought about being a destination for a rom-com fantasy date night, but we are happy to be listed as one...
10/03/2022
10 Meet-Cute Destinations to Live Out Your Rom Com Fantasies

Well, we hadn't thought about being a destination for a rom-com fantasy date night, but we are happy to be listed as one by Fodor's Travel Guide!

This is a guide for tender-hearted readers craving an itinerary that's romantic without being overly romanticized, from books bound to win your heart.

The 5-4-3-2-1 Architectural Walking Tour, Saturday September 10, 10 a.m. or 11.15 a.m.Admire and learn about the exterio...
09/06/2022
5-4-3-2-1 Architectural Walking Tour

The 5-4-3-2-1 Architectural Walking Tour, Saturday September 10, 10 a.m. or 11.15 a.m.
Admire and learn about the exteriors of 5 of Boston’s landmark historic houses that span 4 centuries of architecture as you explore 3 of Boston’s iconic and picturesque neighborhoods on this 2-hour walking tour and get 1 free admission to return to any of the houses! (Tour must be taken during regular operating hours before October 31, 2022.) From Colonial to Federal to Victorian, the histories and stylistic intricacies of the Paul Revere House, Otis House, Nichols House, Prescott House, and Gibson House will all be highlighted.
There are three ticket options for this event. You can participate in the full tour or choose either half:
Full Tour: Back Bay to the North End: 2.5 hours; 10:00 a.m.– 12:30 p.m. Meet at the Gibson House Museum, 137 Beacon St., Boston
Half Tour: Back Bay to Beacon Hill: 75 minutes; 10:00 a.m.– 11:15 a.m. Meet at the Gibson House Museum, 137 Beacon St., Boston
Half Tour: Beacon Hill to the North End: 75 minutes; 11:15 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Meet at the Nichols House Museum, 55 Mount Vernon St., Boston
Participants can return to their choice of any 1 of the 5 houses for a free visit by October 31.
Advance ticket purchase is required. The tour will be held rain or shine.
Register:

Walk through 3 of Boston's historic neighborhoods featuring 5 historic houses.

Ironing clothes ​can be tedious, even with electric irons. Imagine​, then, having to heat a solid lump of metal over a f...
08/26/2022

Ironing clothes ​can be tedious, even with electric irons. Imagine​, then, having to heat a solid lump of metal over a fire or coal stove every time it was laundry day, and having to reheat it multiple times. An innovation that made this process a little easier was a flat iron stove, like the one in the Gibson House laundry room! This carousel-style stove kept up to ten irons heating at a time, making the job a little easier for laundress Mary McDonnald, who lived with and worked for the Gibson family for eighteen years.

Medicine evolved rapidly in the Victorian era, not always progressively. Male physicians seized more prominent roles in ...
08/25/2022

Medicine evolved rapidly in the Victorian era, not always progressively. Male physicians seized more prominent roles in obstetrics and began systematically excluding female midwives by withholding training in new techniques. In order to combat the education disparity, Dr. Marie Zakrzewska founded the New England Hospital for Women and Children in 1862 in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The hospital was the first in New England to be operated by women physicians for women patients. It also opened the first school of nursing in the United States in 1872. The facility still operates today as The Dimock Center in Roxbury.

Address

137 Beacon Street
Boston, MA
02116

Opening Hours

Thursday 3pm - 5pm
Friday 1pm - 3pm
Saturday 1pm - 4pm
Sunday 1pm - 4pm

Telephone

(617) 267-6338

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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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BOSTON FUN FACT FRIDAY

GIBSON HOUSE - BOSTON

Boston architect Edward Clarke Cabot designed the Italian Renaissance style Gibson House. Located at 137 Beacon Street, in 2001 the residence was awarded a National Historic Landmark distinction. A tribute to the fact that the Victorian era row house’s exterior architecture and interior layout have remained true to their original blueprint. Stately in appearance, the red brick and brownstone exterior is topped with a sloped slate roof. Inside the home visitors receive a glimpse of Boston’s once golden age. Interior highlights include: a walnut wood crafted staircase, mahogany furniture, Japanese wallpaper, imported carpets, paintings and sculptures. Decorative room schemes are personalized with selected family furnishings.

In 1859, newly widowed Catherine Hammond Gibson purchased a Back Bay lot for her son, Charles Sr. Her desire was to relocate her family to a quieter part of the city, a further distance from the hustle and bustle of Beacon Hill. The Gibson House was completed in 1860, and marked the second lot built on within (former swampland) the newly developed Bay neighborhood. Regarded as one of the city’s most affluent families, the Gibson’s paid $3,000 to have their new home built. Three generations of the family resided at the estate from 1860 to 1954.

The Gibson House & Museum celebrates the family’s legacy and fondness for Boston. Charles Gibson, Jr. long believed his family’s stories and possessions needed to be preserved and shared with all. He wanted the Boston opulence which filled his family’s estate to continue to be a part of the community. Through the efforts of Charles, Jr., the Gibson House is forever safeguarded as a place for the public to enjoy, and a piece of Boston history.

Bob Cushing
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