128 Commonwealth is located on the south side of Commonwealth, between Clarendon and Dartmouth, with 126 Commonwealth to the east and 130 Commonwealth to the west.

128 Commonwealth was designed by architect Samuel D. Kelley and built in 1882 by Antoine Xavier, builder, one of two contiguous houses (128 and 130 Commonwealth). 128 Commonwealth was built for building contractor Samuel M. Shapleigh, who is shown as the owner on the original building permit application, dated July 18, 1882; 130 Commonwealth was built for building contractor William Seavey Rand, who is shown as the owner on the original building permit application, also dated on July 18, 1882. As originally built, both houses had brownstone façades and octagonal bays.

Samuel Shapleigh purchased the land for 128 Commonwealth on May 11, 1882, from Vanlora Joanna (Aiken) Clapp, the wife of George Bucklin Clapp, of Rockland. They had purchased the land on April 4, 1881, from Frances Ann (Richardson) Moseley, the wife of Alexander Moseley, who had purchased it from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on September 13, 1872.

Click here for an index to the deeds for 128 Commonwealth, and click here for further information about the land between the south side of Commonwealth and Alley 435, from Clarendon to Dartmouth.

On July 23, 1883, 128 Commonwealth was purchased from Samuel Shapleigh by Col. Jonas Harrod French.

Jonas French was a distiller, President of the Cape Ann Granite Company, and banker.  He and his second wife, Nella Jane (Pearson) Foss French, had been married in August of 1883 and he had bought 128 Commonwealth to be their new home.  He previously had lived at 15 Marlborough.

During the Civil War, he had served under General Benjamin Butler, rising to the rank of Colonel and serving as Provost Marshal General of Louisiana during General Butler’s controversial administration of the captured New Orleans.  He was a central player in the financial irregularities which caused Butler’s removal in December of 1862.  After General Butler’s departure, Col. French was replaced immediately as Provost Marshall but remained as New Orleans Chief of Police until the Spring of 1863, when he resigned.

In 1869, Jonas French organized the Cape Ann Granite Company in association with Benjamin Butler, who by then was a Member of Congress.   They both built summer estates in the Bay View area of Gloucester, Jonas French naming his Rock Lawn.

From 1873, Jonas French also was a director and part owner of the Maverick National Bank of Boston.  In October of 1891, the bank failed. Jonas French, Asa Perkins Potter (of 29 Fairfield), the bank’s president and other principal owner, and Thomas Dana (of 311 Commonwealth), a bank director, were indicted on various charges, including embezzlement and violating federal banking laws. The Cape Ann Granite Company went into receivership due to Jonas French’s liabilities, estimated at $900,000, and the ownership passed into the hands of one of the Rockport quarrying companies.

On November 5, 1891, Jonas French transferred 128 Commonwealth to Charles Almy and William H. Coolidge, assignees for the benefit of his creditors. Jonas and Nella French moved to their home in Gloucester.

By the 1893-1894 winter season, 128 Commonwealth was leased by Charles Henry Bond and his wife, Isabella (Bacon) Bond. They also maintained a home in Cliftondale, which previously had been their primary residence, and a home, Peacehaven, on Puritan Road in Swampscott.

Charles Bond was president of Waitt and Bond, one of New England’s largest cigar manufacturers, and an investor in real estate.

On March 31, 1894, he purchased 128 Commonwealth from Charles Almy and William H. Coolidge.

The Bonds were joined at 128 Commonwealth by Sara Augusta Bond, his daughter with his first wife, Martha Augusta (Morrison) Bond (who had died in March of 1881), and by his children with Isabella (Bacon) Bond: Edith Louise Bond, Mildred Mary Bond, and Kenneth Bacon Bond. After moving to 128 Commonwealth, they had two more children, Charles Lawrence Bond (called Lawrence) and Priscilla Isabelle Bond.

In his memoirs, Lawrence Bond described the house where he was born and grew up in some detail:

“The house at that time was four stories and a basement, a twenty-six foot brown sandstone house on the southerly side of the Avenue, midway between Clarendon and Dartmouth Streets.  A twin to the house at 130, it had a long flight of steps to the front door and a short flight to the basement level.

“Inside, a partition wall separated the right hand third of the house from the larger two thirds, all the way from the cellar to the roof.  On the first floor, the vestibule, front stairway and butler’s pantry were on the right; the formal parlor at the front, the reception hall amidships, and the dining room at the rear.

“On the second floor the Library and Oriental room were at the front; a sewing room used as a play room, and in later years as quarters for Grandma Bacon, with a bed room was at the right, and a bath was across the hall.

“On the third floor was Mother’s room and my room as a baby, later Mother’s office, and, at the front, two bedrooms for my siblings.

“On the fourth floor was Papa’s room and a guest room at the front, three servants’ rooms at the rear and two baths.”

Lawrence Bond recalled that the staff of full-time servants included a cook, butler, a nurse for the children, and a chambermaid.  In addition, there was a laundress who came in three days a week and a janitor who probably worked at other houses in the neighborhood as well.

Sara Bond married in November of 1897 to Delos Edward Goldsmith, a newspaper reporter and later real estate editor of the Boston Herald. After their marriage, they lived at 5 Haviland. He died in August of 1903 and she resumed living at 128 Commonwealth.

Priscilla Bond died in April of 1904.

Sara (Bond) Goldsmith married again in January of 1906 to Scobell Pomery Trood.  He was an Investment broker in New York City. Soon after their marriage they moved to Pasadena, California.

In March of 1908, Charles Bond purchased 130 Commonwealth from Clara Clapp, the widow of Dr. Dwight M. Clapp, who had died in September of 1906. The property was conveyed to Charles Bond on May 15, 1908.

The March 12, 1908, Boston Globe article describing the transaction stated that it was Charles Bond’s “intention to make extensive improvements by using both estates and erecting one of the finest private houses in this section of the Back Bay.”  According to Lawrence Bond’s memoirs,  his father “bought the house at 130 Commonwealth Avenue with the intent of having a large music room in which to entertain.  To eliminate the walls between the houses required major changes in the foundations and supporting beams.”

Charles Bond purchased 130 Commonwealth at a point when his finances already were over-extended due to the Panic of 1907 and a series of commercial real estate acquisitions. In February of 1908 he had purchased the Hotel Netherlands at 17-21 Boylston (at Bumstead Court) and began extensively remodeling it as the Hotel Bonair. In March of 1908 he entered into a longterm lease of the Hotel Baltic next door, which he combined with the Bonair and renamed the entire property the Hotel Brewster. At about the same time, he embarked on construction of the Lyric Theatre at 265 Tremont. He also owned additional property in Boston, Brookline, and Washington DC.

On May 18, 1908, Charles Bond transferred his property to John C. F. Slayton and Arthur W. Newell as trustees of the Charles Bond Trust, formed to manage all of his properties in Massachusetts and Washington DC on his behalf.

Charles Bond died in July of 1908 at his home in Swampscott.

His trustees completed the remodeling of the Hotel Brewster, which opened in October of 1908, and in March of 1909 it was purchased by former actress Lotta Crabtree. She also owned the adjoining properties where the Hotel Cecil and the Park Theater were located.

His trustees stopped work on the Lyric Theatre and sold the property to the Shubert Holding Company in June of 1909. The company completed the construction and opened it as the Sam S. Shubert Theatre in January of 1910.

Work to combine 128 and 130 Commonwealth had commenced, but after his death, according to his son’s memoirs, the walls between 128 and 130 Commonwealth “were restored so that 130 Commonwealth could be sold.”

130 Commonwealth was purchased in January of 1909 by Frances (Thorley) Goodwin, the wife of Augustus Franklin Goodwin. Both houses then were significantly remodeled; the original brownstone façades and bays were removed and replaced with complementary Beaux Arts façades.  The entrance to 128 Commonwealth was lowered to street level and the entrance to 130 Commonwealth was centered on the façade. The drawings for the remodeling of 128 Commonwealth also show the addition of a one story ell on the east side at the rear, running to the alley; which ultimately was not built.

In his Houses of Boston’s Back Bay, Bainbridge Bunting erroneously placed the remodeling at about 1905, but noted: “The files of the city Building Department, usually so complete, fail to mention these alterations. The facades were evidently entirely rebuilt and some new interior paneling and mantels added; the floor system and partitions of the old structures, particularly on the upper levels, were retained, however.”

Bunting does not attribute the remodeling of the two buildings to a specific architect. Douglass Shand-Tucci, in his Built in Boston, speculated, “one wonders if Arthur Bowditch could have been their architect,” and Susan and Michael Southworth’s AIA Guide to Boston (second edition), perhaps relying on both Bunting and Shand-Tucci, credits Arthur Bowditch with the design and dates the remodeling to 1905.

In fact, the two houses were remodeled in 1909, each designed by different architects: 128 Commonwealth by James T. Kelley and Harold S. Graves, and 130 Commonwealth by Otto Strack.

When he purchased 130 Commonwealth it was Charles Bond’s intention to combine it with his home at 128 Commonwealth. He retained architect James T. Kelley to design the combined house, as reported by the Boston Evening Transcript on May 8, 1908: “Plans for the alterations and additions to the estate of Charles H. Bond, 130 Commonwealth avenue, Back Bay, have been prepared by James T. Kelley. The new front will be of limestone, and a four-story addition of brick and stone will be built on the rear lot.”

After Charles Bond’s death and the sale of 130 Commonwealth, revised plans for 128 Commonwealth were drawn by James T. Kelley and his partner, Harold S. Graves, and separate plans for 130 Commonwealth were prepared for the new owner of 130 Commonwealth by architect Otto Strack. The plans by James T. Kelley and Harold S. Graves for remodeling 128 Commonwealth are included in the City of Boston Blueprints Collection in the Boston City Archives (reference BIN A-75). They were drawn in April of 1909 for the C. H. Bond Trust, and include front and rear elevations, floor plans, and foundation and piling plans.

Click here to view the elevations and floor plans for the 1909 remodeling.

In 1905, James T. Kelley had remodeled the Bonds’ home in Swampscott. Lawrence Bond describes the remodeling in his memoirs, and photographs of the remodeled house appeared in the August 25, 1905, issue of the American Architect and Building News, described as “House of Charles G. W. Bond, Esq.”.

128 Commonwealth continued to be the home of Isabella Bond and her four surviving children: Edith, Mildred, Kenneth, and Lawrence Bond.  The house was not listed in the 1909-1910 Blue Books while the remodeling was underway.  During the 1908-1909 season, Isabella Bond and her children first lived at the recently-completed Hotel Brewster (still owned by the Charles Bond Trust) and then traveled to Pasadena to visit Scobell and Sara (Bond) Goldsmith Trood.

By the 1910-1911 winter season, Isabella Bond had been joined at 128 Commonwealth by her mother, Louisa Jane (Lynde) Bacon, the widow of George Allen Bacon.

Edith Bond married in April of 1912 to Frederick (“Gale”) Hugh Stearns, a former news reporter and an impressionist painter.  After their marriage, they lived in the Bonds’ home in Cliftondale.  Mildred Bond married in August of 1914 to John Alexander Rogers, an investment broker, and they moved to an apartment at 82 Chestnut.

During the 1919-1920 winter season, Isabella Bond, her mother, and her two sons were living in an apartment at 1080 Beacon in Brookline and 128 Commonwealth was the home of James Arthur Neal and his wife, Mary Palmer (Metcalf) Neal. He was a director of the Christian Science Church (of which Isabella Bond was a member) and a trustee under the will of its founder, Mary Baker Eddy. The Neals’ usual residence was in Brookline.

Isabella Bond and her family had resumed living at 128 Commonwealth by the 1920-1921 season. Kenneth Bond, a lawyer, married in June of 1921 to Marion Pond of Brookline, where they lived after their marriage.

Louisa (Lynde) Bacon died in September of 1921.  Isabella Bond and Lawrence Bond, an engineer with a construction firm, continued to live at 128 Commonwealth.  In about 1922, they were joined by Edith (Bond) Stearns, who had separated from Frederick Stearns.  They divorced in 1923 and Edith Stearns continued to live with her mother and brother.

On September 1, 1922, Kenneth Bond, as the sole surviving trustee of the Charles Bond Trust, transferred 128 Commonwealth to the Old Colony Trust Company, in its capacity as trustee under Charles Bond’s will.

Lawrence Bond married in July of 1930 to Barbara Dailey. After their marriage they lived at 31 Fairfield, which he had purchased in 1928 and converted into two apartments. They subsequently lived in Topsfield.

Isabella Bond died in January of 1931. On February 11, 1931, the Old Colony Trust Company transferred 128 Commonwealth to Charles Bond’s five surviving children, and on February 15, they transferred it to Kenneth Bond and C. Lawrence Bond as trustees on their behalf. They subsequently leased 128 Commonwealth to others.

During the 1930-1931 winter season, it was the home of Robert Shuman Steinert and his wife, Lucy Pettingill (Currier) Steinert.  They previously had lived at 75 Mt. Vernon and, before that (during the 1928-1929 season) at 13 Gloucester.  They also maintained a home in Beverly Farms.  Robert Steinert was president of M. Steinert & Sons, piano and music dealers, on Boylston, and of the Jewett Piano Company, manufacturers of pianos.  By the 1931-1932 season, they had moved to 291 Marlborough.

During the 1931-1932 winter season, 128 Commonwealth was the home of real estate dealer and developer William J. McDonald and his wife, Maud Annie (Severance) McDonald.  They previously had lived at the Hotel Statler in Park Square.  By the 1932-1933 season, they had moved to an apartment at 276 Marlborough.

In 1933, 128 Commonwealth was the home of Harold Albert Landy, an investment broker, and his wife, Florence (Foote) Landy. They previously had lived at 5 Cedar Lane Way. They operated the Deschapelles Club of Boston, of which Robert Steinert was an organizer, at the house. According to its brochure, the club was “organized to serve as a headquarters for those interested in the advancement and play of contract bridge.”  It also served luncheon and dinner, made private rooms available for “those who may wish to entertain a small or large bridge party,” and offered bridge lessons by Florence Landy to non-members for a fee.

The club continued to operate at 128 Commonwealth in January of 1934, but probably closed soon thereafter. The Landys divorced and both remarried, Florence Landy in March of 1936 to James Aspell of New York City, and Harold Landy in April of 1936 to Mary Evangeline Walker, a portrait artist and illustrator.

During the 1933-1934 winter season, it appears that 128 Commonwealth also was the home of Jacob (John) Joseph Lowe (Lowenburg) and his wife, Janet (Jennie) (Rosenfeld) Conrad Morse Lowe, who were listed there in the 1934 Blue Book. They previously had lived at the Lenox Hotel at 61 Exeter.

Jacob Lowe was a radiologist.  He operated the Boston Dental X-Ray Laboratory and developed and patented a device to use X-Ray technology for fitting shoes to feet. He died in January of 1934 and Janet Lowe subsequently moved back to the Lenox Hotel, where she died in February of 1935.

128 Commonwealth was shown as vacant in the 1935-1937 City Directories and was not listed in the 1935-1937 Blue Books.

In 1937, the house was leased by the newly established Stratford School, a secretarial and vocational school founded by Matthew Joseph Malloy and his wife, Ione Wilkinson (Lohr) Malloy. They lived in West Roxbury.

On May 1, 1945, Matthew and Ione Malloy purchased 128 Commonwealth from the Bond family. After they acquired the house, they moved there from West Roxbury, making their home on the top floor.

Following World War II, Stratford School expanded its scope to include a wide range of business administration, advertising, and marketing courses.  It also continued to offer secretarial and accounting courses, and, in 1946, advertised in the Boston Herald a “course in the components of glamour,” including “wardrobing, poise, ballroom dancing, photographic make-up and posing, posture, make-up, diction, and dramatics.”

In 1947, the Malloys moved to 227 Marlborough.

In December of 1947, Matthew and Ione Malloy purchased 130 Commonwealth. At about the same time, they acquired Chamberlayne School and Chamberlayne Junior College, which formerly had been located at 112 Beacon and had suspended operations in the early 1940s. The Malloys operated Chamberlayne Junior College at 130 Commonwealth, offering a two year junior college program, and continued to operate Stratford School at 128 Commonwealth.

Matthew and Ione Malloy continued to own 128 and 130 Commonwealth in their own names until December 31, 1951, when they transferred the properties to the Chamberlayne School and Chamberlayne Junior College corporation. Stratford School and Chamberlayne Junior College continued to operate as separate entities until the mid-1950s, when Stratford School ceased operations.

From the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s, the Chamberlayne corporation acquired 34 more buildings in the Back Bay, most of which they operated as dormitories for their own school or others located in the neighborhood. These included 177 Beacon, 211 Beacon, 317 Beacon, 274 and 278 Clarendon, 16 Commonwealth, 21 Commonwealth, 28 Commonwealth, 59 Commonwealth, 63 Commonwealth, 116 Commonwealth, 135 Commonwealth, 148 Commonwealth, 211 Commonwealth, 232 Commonwealth, 260–262–264–266–270–274–276–278–280–282 Commonwealth, 298 Commonwealth, 325 Commonwealth, 373 Commonwealth, 5 Fairfield, 29 Gloucester, 34 Gloucester, 18 Hereford, 199 Marlborough, and 238 Marlborough.

Chamberlayne filed for bankruptcy in September of 1974 and many of its properties were sold or were transferred to Bernard P. Rome, trustee in bankruptcy. 128 and 130 Commonwealth, however, were retained by the Chamberlayne corporation and the school continued to be located there until December of 1986, when the faculty and student body were merged with Mount Ida College at their Newton Campus.  Matthew J. Malloy remained president of the corporation.  He died in December of 1987.

128 and 130 Commonwealth were retained by the Chamberlayne School and Chamberlayne Junior College, Inc., a non-profit corporation which the Malloy family renamed the Stratford Foundation, Inc., in 1987.

On June 1, 1989, 128 Commonwealth and 130 Commonwealth were purchased from the Stratford Foundation by real estate broker and investor George P. Demeter, as trustee of the 128 and 130 Commonwealth Avenue Trust. In March of 1993 he sold 130 Commonwealth.

In April of 1993, George Demeter filed for (and subsequently received) permission to convert 128 Commonwealth into a three family dwelling.  On March 30, 1995, he converted the property into three condominium units, The 128 Commonwealth Avenue Condominium.

In 1995-1996, the three units were acquired by Peter A. Roy. executive vice-president of the International Energy Corporation, and his wife, Leah (Taylor) Roy. They and their family occupied all three units. They also maintained a home, The Oaks, in Cohasset.

On June 21, 2004, all three units were purchased by automobile dealer Herbert G. Chambers. In October of 2004, he applied for (and subsequently received) permission to build an indoor garage on the ground level of the property, reconfiguring a window in the rear bay into a garage door. On November 17, 2010, he removed the condominium provisions.

On January 25, 2011, 128 Commonwealth was purchased by investment manager Philip J. Dubuque.  He and his wife, Patricia R. Dubuque, made it their home as a single-family dwelling.  On March 9, 2016, he transferred the property to himself and his wife as trustees of the 128 Commonwealth Realty Trust.

128 Commonwealth was assessed as a single-family dwelling in 2023.