Historic House Tours in Boston & PEM

History buffs should move to Massachusetts. My love of historical houses started on the Lower East Side of NYC when I visited the Theodore Roosevelt House. I loved the idea that every house possibly had a remarkable history and loved being transported to another time.

If you want to sample the architecture of another country without bringing your passport, then visit the Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home, a late Qing dynasty country residence. Visitors can get a sense of life for a Chinese family over two hundred years. It was a real privilege to see this site because everything in it is so beautiful and the layout of the family home is such a contrast to the American home. It reminded me of an apartment building for a huge family.

Adjacent to the house is a gallery which features some of the Huang family's photographs and belongings. The gallery also has a mini-theatre area which features three short films: one on how the house was transported from China to Salem, MA, another on a wedding ceremony and finally one of a Chinese New Year celebration. The films complemented the Yin Yu Tang house by showing viewers how certain items are actually used on a daily basis and remind viewers that these exhibits are not featuring artifacts, but household items which are as practical as they are ornate.

The Yin Yu Tang house and the accompanying film exhibit also remind visitors that lives of other people can be very different. I was very shocked to discover that very little has changed with respect to the wedding ceremony. The parents still arrange the marriage and the bride defers to her parents. The documentary focused on one woman, who was older than her 21 year old fiance and unable to read. The bride seemed resigned to marry, but I was mainly struck by the fact that she did not believe there were any options other than getting married to him.

Her mother felt so bad that she was unable to afford a better education for her daughter, so she tearfully gave her a generous dowry. The father remained stoic as he fought his own tears by reciting how people look at him for having three daughters. You could tell that regardless of the common belief that sons were preferably to daughters, he was unable to adhere to this theory in practice and would miss his daughter terribly.

If you want to see some of the oldest preserved houses in the world, then you don't have to leave the state. When I visited Denmark, I assumed that I would find older houses there, but because of the Great Fire of Copenhagen in 1689, there were none dated earlier than the eighteenth century.

During the summer, on the weekends, I try to walk home from my church--from Boston to Cambridge. I was delighted to accidentally stumble on the Gibson House, one of the first houses in Boston with electricity. This Victorian house is part of Boston's Historic House Museums with authentic period interiors. Other historic houses featured in Boston, such as the Harrison Gray Otis House, are managed by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA). SPNEA preserves many houses, but some are outside of Boston and are not easily accesible by public transportation.

As someone dependent on public transportation, I discovered that there are many opportunities to see archtecture spanning several centuries within one block. The North End not only has the Paul Revere House, which was built on or about 1680, but also has the lesser known, but just as notable Pierce/Hichborn House, which was built on or about 1711. (Random aside: I was fortunate enough to be on a tour with another history buff who spoke exactly like Christopher Walken.)

If you want to experience three centuries of New England architecture, then visit the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), the oldest museum in the United States. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to visit the exhibits, but I was able to see the historic houses: the John Ward House, the Crowninshield-Bentley House, and the Gardner-Pingree House.

So next time you are going to work or returning home, keep your eyes open for other opportunities to compare and contrast different eras and lifestyles in your neighborhood.