325 Beacon is located on the south side of Beacon, between Exeter and Fairfield, with 323 Beacon to the east and 327 Beacon to the west.

325 Beacon was designed by Frederick B. Pope and built in 1871-1872 by James P. Neal, mason, one of three identical houses (321-323-325 Beacon) built for speculative sale, and one of fourteen contiguous houses (303-305-307-309-311-313-315-317-319-321-323-325-327-329 Beacon) Frederick Pope designed and built in the early 1870s. Frederick Pope filed a Notice of Intention to Build for 321-323-325 Beacon in late November of 1871 (reported in the Boston Herald on November 28, 1871) and is shown as the architect and owner on the final building inspection report for all three houses, dated June 28, 1872.

321-323-325 Beacon – each 16 feet 8 inches wide – were built on two 25 foot wide lots. The eastern lot was owned by Frederick Pope and the western lot was owned by Augustus Napoleon Loring. They had been the successful bidders for the lots at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts auction on December 27, 1870, but did not take title to the property until June 28, 1872, the same day as the completed houses received their final inspection report. Frederick Pope then sold 321 Beacon and he and Augustus Loring sold 323 Beacon together. Augustus Loring retained 325 Beacon as rental property and then as his home.

Click here for an index to the deeds for 325 Beacon, and click here for further information about the land between the south side of Beacon and Alley 417, from Exeter to Fairfield.

By 1874, 325 Beacon had been leased from Augustus Loring by Rufus Hayden Whitney and his wife, Emily Burton (Stevens) Whitney.  They previously had lived at the Hotel Vendome.  He was a wholesale dry goods merchant and later a banker and broker.  By 1876, they had moved to the Longwood district of Brookline, and by the 1877-1878 winter season, they were living at 329 Beacon.

325 Beacon was not listed in the 1877 Blue Book.

By the 1877-1878 winter season, 325 Beacon was the home of Susan Barnes (Cushing) Lincoln, the widow of merchant William Shattuck Lincoln, and her sister, Helen Elizabeth (Cushing) Baylies Tracy, the widow of Nicholas Baylies and of former Boston City Treasurer Frederic Uriah Tracy. They previously had lived at 96 Boylston. They also maintained a residence, the Cushing homestead, at Rocky Nook in Hingham.

They continued to live at 325 Beacon during the 1879-1880 winter season, but moved soon thereafter to 360 Marlborough.

325 Beacon was not listed in the 1881 Blue Book.

On September 5, 1881, Augustus Loring transferred 325 Beacon to himself as trustee for the benefit of his twelve year old son, Augustus, Jr., who had been accidentally blinded by a toy gun while playing with William Amory (son of Charles Walter Amory).

By the 1881-1882 winter season, 325 Beacon was the home of sugar manufacturer Joshua Bailey Richmond and his wife, Josefa (Rubira) Richmond.  They had married in December of 1880 and 325 Beacon probably was their first home together.  They also maintained a home in Little Compton, Rhode Island.

The Richmonds continued to live at 325 Beacon during the 1884-1885 season, but moved thereafter to 310 Beacon.

By the 1885-1886 winter season, Augustus N. Loring and his wife, Celia (Whipple) Loring had made 325 Beacon their home. They previously had lived at 74 Marlborough. They also maintained a home in Swampscott.

Formerly a dry goods merchant, by 1885 he was president of the Columbia Rubber Company.

The Lorings continued to live at 325 Beacon until his death in August of 1893. Celia Loring moved soon thereafter; she died in December of 1895. 325 Beacon continued to be owned by the trust established for the benefit of Augustus N. Loring, Jr.

By the 1893-1894 winter season, 325 Beacon was the home of Olivia A. (Dodd) Bigelow, the widow of jeweler and bank president Abraham Orlando Bigelow, and their daughter, Helen Olivia Bigelow.  In 1893, Olivia Bigelow (and probably Helen Bigelow) had lived at 231 Marlborough and in Jamaica Plain.

They continued to live at 325 Beacon in 1900, but moved thereafter to Jamaica Plain.  By the 1903-1904 winter season, they were living at 217 Beacon.

By 1900-1901 winter season, 325 Beacon was the home of attorney Clifford Brigham and his wife, Amy Howe (Johnson) Brigham.  They had married in October of 1900 and 325 Beacon probably was their first home together.  He previously had lived in Salem, and she had lived in an apartment at 330 Dartmouth with her mother, Frances Seymour (Benjamin) Johnson, the widow of Amos Howe Johnson.

The Brighams continued to live at 325 Beacon until about 1904, when they moved to Milton.

By the 1904-1905 winter season, 325 Beacon was the home of Walter Rogers, a court stenographic reporter, and his wife, Sarah A. (Love) Rogers.  They previously had lived at the Hotel Buckminster at 645 Beacon.  They continued to live at 325 Beacon during the 1906-1907 season, but moved thereafter.

During the 1907-1908 winter season, 325 Beacon was the home of Dr. Percy Musgrave, a physician, and his wife Edith Elise (Porter) Musgrave.  They previously had lived at 6 Gloucester. They moved by the next season and by1909 were living in Washington DC.

325 Beacon was not listed in the 1909 Blue Book.

By the 1909-1910 winter season, it was the home of Josiah French Hill and his wife, Blanche Theodora (Ford) Hill.  They previously had lived at 194 Marlborough.

Josiah Hill formerly was Secretary of the Southern Railroad in New York City.  In 1900, he and his wife moved to Boston and he joined the investment banking firm of Lee, Higginson and Company, first as a statistician and later as manager.

325 Beacon continued to be owned by the trust established for the benefit of Augustus N. Loring, Jr. He died in 1912 in France, and on February 10, 1917, R. Elmer Townsend, successor trustee of his trust, transferred the property to his three sisters: Eugenie (Loring) White, the widow of Charles G. White; Maude (Loring) Lutkins, the wife of Clifford L. Lutkins; and Blanche Celia (Loring) Banchor Cancel, the former wife of John Banchor and the wife of A. Cancel.

On February 12, 1917, Blanche Hill acquired Maude Lutkins one-third interest in 325 Beacon. Eugenie White died in Nice, France, in January of 1920, and Blanche Cancel died shortly thereafter, and her interest in the property was inherited by Maude Lutkins. On July 30, 1921, Blanche Hill acquired Eugenie White’s one-third interest from her estate, and acquired Blanche Cancel’s one-third interest from Maude Lutkins (who also confirmed the earlier transfer of her one-third interest to Blanche Hill),

The Hills continued to live at 325 Beacon and also maintained a home in Wianno, Massachusetts.

Blanche Hill died in September of 1933 and Josiah Hill moved soon thereafter, probably to New Hampshire where he died in April of 1937.

During the 1934-1935 winter season, 325 Beacon was the home of the Hills’ son-in-law and daughter, Barrett Williams and Theodora (Hill) Williams.  They also maintained a home in Wianno.  Barrett Williams was a salesman and later would become an advertising copy writer and journalist.

On January 20, 1936, the Institution for Savings in Roxbury and its Vicinity foreclosed on its mortgage to Joshua and Blanche Hill and took possession of 325 Beacon.

The house was not listed in the 1936 Blue Book.

During the 1936-1937 winter season, 324 Beacon was the home of Charles Woodward Sutherland and his wife, Mary Elizabeth (Frost) Sutherland.  They previously had lived in Auburndale.  He was an aviator and from 1937 to 1940 was president of Puritan Aircraft, manufacturers of a pioneering monoplane.  The Sutherlands moved by 1938 and were living in Weston by 1940.

The house was shown as vacant in the 1938 City Directory.

In May of 1938, the Institution for Savings applied for (and subsequently received) permission to convert the property from a single-family dwelling into a lodging house.

On July 1, 1940, 325 Beacon was acquired from the Institution for Savings by Lindsey McGill. He was a draftsman with the Bethlehem Steel Ship Yard in Quincy; he and his wife, Marion, lived in Braintree.  His sister, Christina McGill, a nurse, lived at 325 Beacon and operated it as a lodging house.

On June 30, 1943, 325 Beacon was purchased from Lindsey McGill by Homes, Inc. of Watertown (Peter Turchon, treasurer), and on July 21, 1943, it was purchased from Homes, Inc., by Grace S. (Baxter) Frederick Dawes, the wife of William Mills Dawes, an accountant. They operated it as a lodging house. They previously had lived in an apartment at 504 Beacon. By 1945, they had moved to 211 Beacon.

The property again changed hands and on December 6, 1944, was acquired by Anna (Anne/Anastasia) C. French, widow of Arthur Sheldon French, who operated it as a lodging house.  She previously had lived at 270 Newbury. She continued to live there in 1947, but moved thereafter to 395 Marlborough.

325 Beacon changed hands, and on August 27, 1956, was acquired by real estate dealer Earl Carnes Munn. In March of 1956, he had acquired 327 Beacon. He lived at 325 Beacon, which continued to be a lodging house, and also managed the apartment building at 327 Beacon. He continued to live there until about 1963, when he moved to an apartment at 57 Commonwealth.

On September 17, 1963, 325 Beacon and 327 Beacon were purchased from Earl C. Munn by real estate dealer Robert Banker of Cambridge. On August 20, 1964, he transferred both properties to his wife, Judith (Galner) Banker, and on July 27, 1972, she transferred both properties back to him.

On October 22, 1985, Robert Banker, then of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, transferred 325 Beacon to himself as trustee of the Banker Family Trust. On December 24, 2009, he transferred the property to The R. B. Limited Partnership.

The legal occupancy of 325 Beacon remained a lodging house in 2021.