426 Marlborough is located on the south side of Marlborough, between Massachusetts Avenue and Charlesgate East, with 424 Marlborough to the east and 428 Marlborough to the west.

426 Marlborough was designed by architect Obed F. Smith and built in 1887 by Charles A. Dodge, mason, for building contractor George Wheatland, Jr., for speculative sale. George Wheatland is shown as the owner on the original building permit, dated February 26, 1887.

George Wheatland, Jr., purchased the land for 426 Marlborough on June 7, 1886, from Henry Lee, H. Hollis Hunnewell, and Augustus Lowell. It was part of a larger parcel that Henry Lee and his partners purchased on February 20, 1883, from a real estate investment trust formed by Grenville Temple Winthrop Braman, Henry Dwight Hyde, and Frank William Andrews. The parcel was one several tracts of land the trust had purchased from the Boston Water Power Company on March 1, 1872.

Click here for an index to the deeds for 426 Marlborough, and click here for further information on the land west of Massachusetts Avenue between the south side of Beacon and the north side of Commonwealth.

On December 12, 1887, 426 Marlborough was purchased from George Wheatland, Jr., by Lucy (Pearson) Irwin, the wife of John Allen Irwin. They previously had lived at the Hotel Palmerston at 177 West Chester Park (later 406 Massachusetts Avenue).

John Irwin had been a tea, coffee, and spice merchant in the mid-1880s.  By 1890, he was president of a lumber company.

The Irwins continued to live at 426 Marlborough during the 1889-1890 winter season, but moved to Duxbury thereafter.

On August 29, 1890, 426 Marlborough was purchased from Lucy Irwin by Philip Guy Morrison, a banker. He and his wife, Helen C. (Dinsmore) Morrison, made it their home. They previously had lived at 6 Garrison.

They continued to live at 426 Marlborough during the 1891-1892 winter season, after which they traveled to Europe.

On May 3, 1892, 426 Marlborough was acquired from Philip Morrison by his brother, Barnabas Thacher Morrison, and on June 1, 1892, it was acquired from him by Edward Dehon Blake, a marine and fire insurance agent. He and his wife, Annie Augusta (Chase) Blake, made it their home. They previously had lived at 29 West Cedar and before that at 342 Marlborough. They also maintained a home in Hingham.

The Blakes’ two sons, Dehon Blake and Francis Minot Blake, lived with them.

On September 14, 1894, Edward Blake transferred the property into his wife’s name.

Francis Minot Blake, a draftsman and then an insurance inspector, married in April of 1905 to Adele Standish Knapp. After their marriage, they lived in Cincinnati and then in Hartford, Connecticut.

Dehon Blake joined his father’s insurance office. The firm was dissolved in 1912 and he continued in business in his own agency. He lived at 426 Marlborough with his parents until his death in February of 1922.

Edward Blake died in March of 1928 and Annie Blake died in April of 1928. 426 Marlborough was inherited by  Francis Minot Blake.

On May 14, 1929, 426 Marlborough was acquired from Francis Blake by Dr. Marcellus Reeves, a physician and surgeon. He and his wife, Irma (Fischer/Fisher) Reeves, made it their home and he maintained his office there. They previously had lived in Cambridge.

On July 11, 1929, he transferred the property into his wife’s name.

On January 29, 1937, Francis Blake foreclosed on a mortgage given by Marcellus Reeves when he purchased 426 Marlborough and took possession of the property. On March 11, 1937, Marcellus and Irma Reeves re-acquired it from Francis Blake.

Marcellus and Irma Reeves continued to live at 426 Marlborough until 1943, when they moved to 1200 Commonwealth in Allston, where they were living at the time of his death in October of 1944.

On March 1, 1943, 426 Marlborough was acquired from the Reeveses by Irving James Kennedy and his wife, Louise (McNeil) Kennedy. They previously had lived at 24 Haviland. He was an advertising company salesman and later a real estate agent.

In April of 1948, Irving Kennedy filed for (and subsequently received) permission to convert the house into six apartments.

The Kennedys continued to live in one of the apartments at 426 Marlborough until the early 1960s.

On November 16, 1962, 426 Marlborough was purchased from the Kennedys by Russell Amaral, trustee of the Russell Realty Trust. In February of 1964, he applied for (and subsequent received) permission to remodel the interior. It remained a six unit apartment building.

On March 6, 1964, he transferred the property to himself as trustee of the Sudan Realty Trust.

On December 13, 1965, 426 Marlborough was acquired from Russell Amaral by Miss Mary Angela Cocuzzo and Miss Nancy A. Casey.

Mary Cocuzzo lived in Brighton and was employed by the Mazzola Market in Brighton. Nancy Casey lived in Belmont and was an employee of the National Shawmut Bank. From the mid-1960s, they owned several apartment buildings and lodging houses in the Back Bay.

On February 20, 1968, 426 Marlborough was acquired from Mary Cocuzzo and Nancy Casey by Francis Gerardo Mazzola, trustee of the Gerardo A. Trust. Mary Cocuzzo and Francis Mazzola were first cousins, sharing the same maternal grandparents, Pasquale and Maria (Antonelli) DeLuca (Mary Cocuzzo was the daughter of Domenic Cocuzzo and Angelina (Deluca) Cocuzzo, and Francis Mazzola was the son of Gerardo Antonio Mazzola and Maria Nicola (DeLuca) Mazzola).

On April 8, 1969, 426 Marlborough was acquired from Francis Mazzola by Daniel R. Schurz.

On November 6, 1970, Edward J. Hall and Robert G. Pettit each acquired a one-third undivided interest in 426 Marlborough from Daniel Schurz. On October 12, 1972, they acquired Daniel Schurz’s interest, and on January 25, 1990, Robert Pettit acquired Edward Hall’s interest.

On December 1, 2016, 426 Marlborough was purchased from Robert Pettit by Rafla Properties LLC (Mark Rosen, manager) and S&D Boston Properties LLC (Akram Rafla and Marta Rafla, managers). On December 31, 2020, S&D Boston Properties LLC transferred its interest to Rafla Properties LLC.

426 Marlborough was assessed as a four-to-six family dwelling in 2022.