Explore the grounds in the slide show below this map.
Tips: Click on the arrows to move from one slide to another. Prompts should appear when you hover your cursor over each photo. On a mobile phone, hold the phone horizontally and scroll down for the full prompt.
George Paine remembered when this summer house was “raised up on railroad ties and slowly, very slowly, moved up the slope to where it now stands with the fine stone addition by Henry Hobson Richardson.” Can you find this house in the new spot in the next photo?
Photo before 1883, Stonehurst Archives.
Stonehurst Archives.
Architect H.H. Richardson built the stone house in 1886. Do you think the huge evergreen tree is older or younger than the house? (Hint: Look closely at the old photos.)
In designing Stonehurst, Richardson and Olmsted chose materials, shapes and colors that would blend with the New England landscape. Can you name some?
Sundials keep time by the sun. The Latin phrase translates to “I do not count the hours unless they are bright.” What does this mean? Can you think of another meaning?
The Paine family used the terrace and porch as an outdoor play space. Imagine a time with no electricity, no telephones, no television and no computers. What would you do for fun?
Where do you suppose Mr. Paine found the stone for his house and terrace?
Mr. Paine admired this rock because it was shaped by the great glaciers (huge masses of ice) that once covered New England. Do you see evidence of the glaciers that scraped and shaped the rock?
How many Waltham Third Graders can fit on Glacier Rock?
Imagine yourself sitting on the bench inside The Arch. Would it be lighter or darker? Warmer or cooler? Does it remind you of a feature found in nature?
Visitors arriving by horse-drawn carriage were dropped off at this entrance with its friendly guard on the porch. (shown in the next photo)
What is the unusual object at the main entrance?