by The Lyman Estate in Waltham, Massachusetts, is a Federal-style historic house built in 1793 by Boston shipping merchant Theodore Lyman. In 1882 it was enlarged and remodeled in the Victorian style, and then it was remodeled again in 1917, this time in the Colonial Revival style. Traces of all styles can still be seen today.
The original estate, which is also known as “The Vale,” was on 400 acres, and with just 24 rooms, it’s probably obvious that it was only used by the family as a summer residence. Financial difficulties in the 1960s forced the family to sell off land, so that less than 10% of the original property remains today.
The house remained in the family for generations, until 1951 when it was donated to Historic New England. A fun fact is that the home was used in the 2019 film adaptation of Little Women.
The tour of the house was not very exciting, as the rooms were mostly empty of their furniture, which have been moved elsewhere for preservation. What furniture was there we were allowed to sit on! We mostly looked at empty or under-decorated rooms while learning about the generations of family that had lived there.
Today the house is a popular wedding venue, providing income to help with the upkeep of the property.
The highlight of the visit was the greenhouses on the estate, which of course – flowers! – gets its own post.
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