Hi Everyone,<\/p>\n
A couple of nights ago, I ran over to the little Trader Joe\u2019s 6\/10th of a mile from me. The air was so wet, one could drink it.<\/p>\n
With 20 pounds of groceries, I began making my way home. However, since I\u2019m a masochist and also need to walk as much as possible, I went one more block west to Hereford Street.<\/p>\n
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As soon as I rounded the bend, I went, Oh, shit! The damned lights are on at the Burrage Mansion Solarium.<\/h4>\n
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There is no way I\u2019m stopping to take pics.<\/p>\n
I stopped to take pics.<\/p>\n
Of course I stopped! I\u2019ve only seen the lights on a few times, and this was my golden opportunity for one of my peeping-Laurel-legal-distance sidewalk photo seshes. So folks, if you don\u2019t want me taking photos of your interiors, please either get window treatments or turn off the lights.<\/p>\n
Of course, they\u2019re not the best quality images, but clear enough for you to see what you need to see.<\/p>\n
![\"Burrage](\"https:\/\/laurelberninteriors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Burrage-Conservatory-exterior-840x1120.png)
This is no ordinary solarium. At any time of day, this 1899 Conservatory is jaw-dropping.<\/p>\n
However, it\u2019s only a tiny portion of the massive Burrage mansion on the corner of Commonwealth Ave and Hereford Street in Boston\u2019s Back Bay neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The design was hugely influenced by William K. Vanderbilt\u2019s Petit Ch\u00e2teau, itself inspired by Ch\u00e2teau de Chenonceau. Therefore, one can conclude that the style was considered \u201cFrench.\u201d<\/p>\n Let\u2019s just say it\u2019s late 19th-century French style, but on massive steroids.<\/p>\n At the time, the taste makers of all taste makers, Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman, Jr., viewed the Burrage mansion as a vulgar, overly ostentatious novelty that lacked traditional architectural logic and proportion.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Ugliest Buildings In Boston & Who\u2019s Responsible<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
via Backbay Houses<\/a><\/p>\nDesigned by architect Charles Brigham and built in 1899 for copper magnate and horticulturist Albert Burrage and his wife, Alice.<\/h4>\n
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![\"314](\"https:\/\/laurelberninteriors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/314-Commonwealth-Ave-Boston-exterior.png)