132 Commonwealth is located on the south side of Commonwealth, between Clarendon and Dartmouth, with 130 Commonwealth to the east and 144 Commonwealth to the west.

132 Commonwealth was designed by Cummings and Sears, architects, and built in 1885-1886 by Thomas J. Lyon and Whitney Brothers, builders, as the home of Joseph Beale Glover and Albert Glover. They are shown as the owners on the original building permit application dated October 22, 1885, and on the final building inspection report, dated December 1, 1886.

Joseph and Albert Glover purchased the land for 132 Commonwealth on July 25, 1885, from Edward Waldo Cutler, a druggist. He and his wife, Caroline M. (Henderson) Cutler, lived at 19 West Cedar. Edward Cutler had been the successful bidder for the lot at the Commonwealth’s October 26, 1865, auction and had taken title to the land on July 28, 1881.

Click here for an index to the deeds for 132 Commonwealth, and click here for further information about the land between the south side of Commonwealth and Alley 435, from Clarendon to Dartmouth.

Joseph and Albert Glover were wholesale commission merchants. They were unmarried brothers, and their unmarried sisters, Augusta Glover and Caroline Lewis Glover, lived with them. They all previously had lived at 66 Boylston.

Augusta Glover died in October of 1891 and Albert Glover died in August of 1895, leaving his half interest in 132 Commonwealth to his brother, Joseph, with the stipulation that their sister, Caroline, be permitted to live there free of rent “as a family residence” for the rest of her life.

Caroline Glover died in April of 1896 and Joseph Glover died in August of 1902.

On April 29, 1904, 132 Commonwealth was acquired by Mary Josephine (Dore) Martin, the wife of John Joseph Martin. They previously had lived at 176 West Brookline.

John Martin was a real estate dealer. In 1907, he formed the Exchange Trust Company, a real estate and banking company, and served as its president.

The Martins raised their four children at 132 Commonwealth: John Joseph Martin, Jr., Robert C. Martin, Ruth A. Martin, and William A. Martin. The three sons all became officers of the Exchange Trust Company.

By 1925, the Martins had been joined by Mary Martin’s sister, Emily Frances Dore. From about the same time, Mary Martin’s brother, Clement Joseph Dore, also maintained a Boston residence at 132 Commonwealth. He and his wife, Frances (Weiler) Dore, lived in Auburndale. He was treasurer of the Boston Billiard and Bowling Company.

John Martin resigned as president of the Exchange Trust Company in January of 1932. The bank failed in April of 1932 and the bank commissioner took possession of its assets.  In September of 1935, the bank commissioner filed suit to recover $1.5 million from the banks’ stockholders — including the Martins — to repay depositors.

By the mid-1930s, the Martins owned the John S. Doane Company, a wholesale and retail liquor business located in Dewey Square. They sold the business in 1945.

John Martin, Jr., married in August of 1931 to Martha Clifford Eastman. After their marriage, they lived at 34 Fayette. He was vice-president of the Exchange Trust Company and then president of the John S. Doane Company. Robert Martin married in 1932 to Dorothy Robinson. After their marriage, they lived in Brookline. He was a lawyer with the Exchange Trust Company and then in private practice. William Martin continued to live at 132 Commonwealth until about 1936, when he moved to Dedham. He was assistant treasurer of the Exchange Trust Company and then vice-president of the John S. Doane Company.

Emily Dore died in March of 1934, and by 1935 her sister, Genevieve R. Dore, a teacher, had made her home at 132 Commonwealth. She previously had lived in Chestnut Hill. Clement Dore also continued to maintain a Boston residence with the Martins.

In the 1930s, John and Mary Martin also accepted lodgers at 132 Commonwealth.

In December of 1936, Ruth Martin married William Hayes Soule, an investment broker. After their marriage, they lived in an apartment at 303 Beacon.

William and Ruth Soule separated in the mid-1940s, and in about 1946 Ruth Soule moved to 132 Commonwealth to live with her parents and her aunt, Genevieve Dore.

John Martin died in August of 1947

Mary Martin, Genevieve Dore, and Ruth Soule continued to live at 132 Commonwealth, and on February 28, 1969, Mary Martin transferred the property into her and Ruth Soule’s name.

Mary Martin died in October of 1949. Genevieve Dore and Ruth Soule continued to live at 132 Commonwealth in 1950, but had moved together to 541 Boylston by 1951.

On May 31, 1950, 132 Commonwealth was purchased from Ruth Soule by real estate broker and developer Charles Talanian.

In August of 1950, he filed for (and subsequently received) permission to covert the property from a single-family dwelling into ten apartments.  As a part of the remodeling, the front entrance was lowered to street level.  The remodeling was designed by architect Leon L. Furr.  Plans for the remodeling are included in the City of Boston Blueprints Collection in the Boston City Archives (reference BIN R-116).

On August 24, 1953, Charles Talanian transferred 132 Commonwealth to the National Realty Company, Inc., of which he was the president and Thomas J. Diab was the treasurer.

The property subsequently changed hands, and on March 31, 1983, it was acquired by Fletcher H. Wiley, trustee of The 132 Commonwealth Avenue Realty Trust.

On July 19, 1983, he converted the property into ten condominium units, the 132 Commonwealth Avenue Condominium.

On June 8, 2015, the condominium owners amended the master deed to reflect the combination of the two top floor units, reducing the total number of units from ten to nine.