On the Market: A Condo on Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Former Property

Tradition and charm come together in this spacious unit, built on a historic Back Bay property once owned by Isabella Stewart Gardner.


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Photos by Drone Home Media

150 Beacon St. #1, Back Bay
Price: $13,500,000
Size: 4,698 square feet
Bedrooms: 3 bedrooms
Bathrooms: 3 full, 1 partial

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a piece of Boston history, you’re in luck: A condo built on the expansive Back Bay property where Isabella Stewart Gardner and her husband, Jack Gardner, once lived is officially up for grabs. The property was once home to two townhouses that the couple bought and merged into one building to make room for Isabella’s rapidly growing art collection. The couple lived at this renovated abode until Jack’s passing in 1898.

Four years after Jack’s death, Isabella left her Back Bay abode behind, moving to the Fenway home that would eventually become the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Eben S. Draper, a cotton machinery manufacturer and politician, purchased the lot soon after Isabella left, demolishing the original buildings and replacing them with the current structure at 150 Beacon St. Later, in the 1920s, two-term Massachusetts governor Alvan T. Fuller moved in, decorating the home with his own private art collection, like Isabella did all those years before. In 2001, house was split into six individual condos. Unit 1—a palatial three-bedroom, two-story space—is the crown jewel of the building: traditional, architecturally gorgeous, and oh-so-spacious.

The condo, accessible from the building’s first floor, welcomes you in with its formal dining and living spaces, which feature show-stopping 14-foot ceilings. On the same floor, an open-concept living space accommodates an expansive family room and  kitchen. Off this area is a deck with greenery, perfect for entertaining.

A large custom pantry, the elegant primary bedroom (with its own fireplace!) plus one-and-a-half bathrooms round out the first story, but there’s more to discover on the second floor. Here, two more bedrooms and another large family room overlooking the garden are complemented by two spa-like bathrooms, a laundry room and a mud room. With this much space, this home is perfect for anyone who wants to feel like Boston royalty…or a renowned art collector.

For more information, contact Bill French, Coldwell Banker Realty – Back Bay, coldwellbankerhomes.com.

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