On the Market: An Architectural Wonder Inspired by a Vintage Car in Swampscott

Rev up with swooping lines and an abundance of decks at this seaside showstopper.


Photo by Joel Gross

45 Littles Point Road, Swampscott
Price: $6,500,000
Size: 8,399 square feet
Bedrooms: 5
Baths: 5 full, 2 half

Staring at this architectural marvel of a manor at the ocean’s edge in Swampscott, you’d almost think you stumbled onto the lair of a spy-flick villain.

Really, though, you’re spying a stunner of steel and glass that was inspired by the homeowner’s 1948 Delahaye 135M vintage car, an Art Deco beauty that’s currently on loan to the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline. You can spot the car’s curves and sloped lines both outside and in the house—built in 1996 on the rocky outcrop of land called Little’s Point—where every wall is curved or twisted, with not a plain plane in sight.

The look might be cribbed from a vintage car, but here you’ll find a nod to another mode of transportation. Step in through the front door into the grand glass atrium, and if you look up you’ll notice the walls form a boat shape. Schwartz/Silver Architects, who designed this home, are also the firm behind the New England Aquarium, so this nautical nod might not come as a surprise.

Four en-suite bedrooms, each with ocean views, await guests on the first floor. Up a staircase to the second level you’ll find the kitchen and the expansive second-floor great room, which cashes in on the sweeping views offered by the house’s rear wall of windows. Here, the palette is a soothing white for a feeling of art-gallery intrigue where the masterpiece is the ocean view. Wander out on the deck that spans the home and you might catch sight of whales far offshore. Though you don’t need to go far to enjoy a bit of nature, as tiny fossils dot each of the limestone tiles of the floor. You’re literally walking on little pieces of history, toasty from the radiant heating.

From the grand common spaces, the main suite on the second floor offers a luxe getaway. Hang up your threads in the two walk-in closets and rinse away the day in the bathroom, with two separate vanity areas and water closets that branch away from the central hub of the shower and tub. In the bedroom, you can spy the sun rising over the water as you sip coffee on your own private deck and craft your next plan for world domination.

For information, contact Matthew Dolan, Team Harborside at Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty, teamharborside.com.

Photo by Joel Gross

Photo by Joel Gross

Photo by Joel Gross

Photo by Joel Gross

Photo by Joel Gross

Photo by Joel Gross

Photo by Joel Gross

Photo by Joel Gross

Photo by Joel Gross

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