New Guidebook to the Best Kept Secret in Greater Boston: Stonehurst

The best kept secret in Greater Boston may not be a secret for much longer, now that Stonehurst has a guidebook. The 40-page eye-catching guidebook, Stonehurst: An American Masterwork by Henry Hobson Richardson and Frederick Law Olmsted, tells the story of a house that has inspired artists for over a century.

The country retreat of an influential housing reformer, Stonehurst was created by two of America’s most revered designers: Henry Hobson Richardson and Frederick Law Olmsted. Hidden on its hilltop site on 109 acres of Conservation Land in Waltham, Stonehurst is the quiet country cousin of Richardson’s famous Trinity Church, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Boston.

The bold, charismatic personality of its architect, Richardson, still fills every corner of his last work. The special interests of his clients, the Paines, and the guiding hand of his thoughtful mentor and friend, Olmsted, are also unmistakable.

Only a talented creative team could do justice to such a national treasure. Funding from the National Park Service, the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities and the Robert Treat Paine Historical Trust (the Trust) ensured that such a team could be assembled and that the book would be published. Stonehurst curator and City employee, Ann Clifford recruited the team and co-authored the book with Trust president Thomas M. Paine. Gilbert Design Associates of Providence beautifully combined the text with dozens of breathtaking new images, many of which were specifically tailored to the text by Thomas P. Lang. Lang is Waltham resident and retired head of photographic services for the Museum of Fine Arts. The book was published by the non-profit Robert Treat Paine Historical Trust, founded in 1990 to help the City of Waltham care for Stonehurst.

To order a copy of the $15 guidebook, please call 781-314-3237. VISA and Mastercard are accepted. Thank you!