The original house at 334 Beacon was brick with carved freestone trimmings, designed and built in 1871-1872 by architect and builder Frederick Pope for speculative sale. It was four stories Including the basement), with a mansard roof.
In March of 1905, 334 Beacon was purchased by Clarence Walker Barron, who had it extensively remodeled by the firm of Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson, with the exterior resurfaced in cement plaster (stucco).
In October of 1907, the Architectural Review included an article on “Exterior Plaster Construction” by Frank Chouteau Brown (the third in a series on the subject) which featured the recently-completed remodeling of 334 Beacon as an example of the use of cement plaster. The article included several photographs of the building, plus the architect’s renderings of the Beacon and Fairfield façades and the floor plans.
The photographs in the article were part of a larger set which included a number of images of the interior. These photographs were acquired by BackBayHouses.org in March of 2025 from a dealer, part of a collection of material originally owned by Clarence Barron and purchased at auction.
Below are the architectural drawings which appeared in the Architectural Review, followed by the exterior images from the article and from the larger collection, and then the photographs of the interior from the collection, identified to the extent possible based upon the floor plans included in the Review.
Click the individual images to enlarge them.
Architectural Drawings
334 Beacon: Architectural renderings of the Beacon and Fairfield façades; Architectural Review (Oct1907)
334 Beacon: Floor plans; Architectural Review (Oct1907)
Photographs of the Exterior
334 Beacon: Beacon and Fairfield façades (1907); C. W. Barron Collection (also appears in the Architectural Review, Oct1907).
334 Beacon: Fairfield and Back Street façades (1907); C. W. Barron Collection
334 Beacon: Front entrance (1907); C. W. Barron Collection (also appears in the Architectural Review, Oct1907)
334 Beacon: Front entrance, second view (1907); C. W. Barron Collection
334 Beacon: Front door (1907); C. W. Barron Collection
334 Beacon: Bay on Fairfield Street (1907); Architectural Review, Oct1907 (mis-identified as Gloucester Street)
334 Beacon: Upper portion of bay on Beacon Street (1907); Architectural Review, Oct1907
334 Beacon: Lower portion of bay on Beacon Street (1907); Architectural Review, Oct1907
Photographs of the Interior
Photographs of the interior of 334 Beacon (not labeled; identified based on the floor plan in the Architectural Review).
334 Beacon: First floor – Hall and stairs; C. W. Barron Collection
334 Beacon: First floor – Detail of stair banister; C. W. Barron Collection
334 Beacon: First floor – Drawing room looking north to reception room (library) ; C. W. Barron Collection
334 Beacon: First floor – Reception room (labeled library on floor plan) looking north to dining room; C. W. Barron Collection
334 Beacon: First floor – Dining room looking south to reception room and drawing room; C. W. Barron Collection
334 Beacon: First floor – Conservatory looking north; C. W. Barron Collection
334 Beacon: Second floor – Sitting room, outfitted as library, looking southwest; C. W. Barron Collection
334 Beacon: Second floor – Sitting room, outfitted as library, eastern wall; C. W. Barron Collection
334 Beacon: Third floor – Study, labeled bedroom 7 on floor plan, looking northeast; C. W. Barron Collection
334 Beacon: Basement – Billiard room; C. W. Barron Collection
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