Misplaced Pages

Beauport
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Beauport
Show map of MassachusettsShow map of the United States
Location	75 Eastern Point Boulevard, Gloucester, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°35′28″N 70°39′38″W / 42.59111°N 70.66056°W / 42.59111; -70.66056
Area	.75-acre (3,000 m)
Built	1907
Built by	Henry Davis Sleeper
Architect	Halfdan M. Hanson
Architectural style	Shingle Style
NRHP reference No.	03000641, 76000246
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	April 26, 1976
Designated NHL	May 27, 2003

Beauport, also known as Sleeper–McCann House, Little Beauport, or Henry Davis Sleeper House, is a historic house in Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA.

Background

Beauport was built starting in 1908 as the summer home of interior decorator and antique collector Henry Davis Sleeper. Situated on the rocks overlooking Gloucester Harbor, Sleeper repeatedly enlarged and modified the structure, and filled it with a large collection of fine art, folk art, architectural artifacts, and other collectible materials. He decorated its rooms, which came to number 56, to evoke different historical and literary themes. Beauport served as his escape, a backdrop for summer parties, and as a showcase for his professional skills.

After Sleeper's death, Charles and Helena Woolworth McCann acquired the house and its contents. They preserved much of Sleeper's designs and decorations, but made some modifications, including adding their porcelain collection to the house. In 1947, their heirs donated the property to the Society for the Protection of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England), which operates the property as a house museum.

The house has frequently been written about in books and magazines, with the first major article appearing in House Beautiful in 1916. It has been featured in publications including Architectural Digest, Country Living, and The Boston Globe, and has been showcased on television programs such as America's Castles.

Preservation

Beauport was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2003, in recognition of its distinctive architecture, its unique collection of artifacts, and for its association for Sleeper, whose design influence extended across the wealthy elite of the eastern United States.

In addition to the main house, the property also has a gate house, garage, and toolshed that were built by Sleeper. The gate house has been adapted by Historic New England as a visitor reception area, and the toolshed now houses restrooms.1 The garage is used for storage and as office space. There is a single non-contributing building on the property, a caretaker's house, which is potentially of local historic interest as an example of a prefabricated post-World War II residential structure.

Gallery

• Beauport, 2016
• Paul Revere Room (Chapel Chamber), Beauport, Sleeper–McCann House, 1928
• Amethyst Glass passage, Beauport, Sleeper–McCann House, 1928
• Octagon Room, Beauport, Sleeper–McCann House, 1928
• China Trade Room, Beauport, Sleeper–McCann House, 1928
• Pine Kitchen, Beauport, Sleeper–McCann House, 1928

External links

• Official web site at Historic New England

See also

Media related to Beauport, Gloucester at Wikimedia Commons

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Gloucester, Massachusetts
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, Massachusetts
• List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts

References

Notes

1. ^ Timothy T. Orwig, Carolyn Pitts, and Patty Henry (2001-08-31) National Historic Landmark Nomination: Beauport / Sleeper–McCann House; Little Beauport; Sleeper, Henry Davis, House, National Park Service (including maps and plans and Accompanying nine photos, exterior and interior, from 1977, 1979, 1980s, 1994
2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
3. ^ "Beauport". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2008.

Bibliography

• Shoemaker, L. "Backstage at Beauport: SPNEA shines a spotlight on the extended family who made the house work." Historic New England, Summer 2004.

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Barnstable Berkshire Bristol Dukes Essex Franklin Hampden Hampshire Middlesex Nantucket Norfolk Plymouth Suffolk Worcester (northern)
Lists by city	Barnstable County Barnstable Harwich Bristol County Fall River New Bedford Taunton Essex County Andover Gloucester Ipswich Lawrence Lynn Methuen Salem Hampden County Springfield Middlesex County Arlington Cambridge Concord Framingham Lexington Lowell Marlborough Medford Newton Reading Sherborn Somerville Stoneham Wakefield Waltham Weston Winchester Norfolk County Brookline Milton Quincy Suffolk County Boston northern southern Worcester County Southbridge Uxbridge Worcester eastern northwestern southwestern
Other lists	Bridges Cape Cod National Seashore National Historic Landmarks Boston
Category National Register of Historic Places portal United States portal

• Houses completed in 1907
• Historic house museums in Massachusetts
• National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts
• Museums in Essex County, Massachusetts
• Biographical museums in Massachusetts
• Shingle Style houses
• Houses in Gloucester, Massachusetts
• Decorative arts museums in the United States
• Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts
• Historic New England
• Shingle Style architecture in Massachusetts