8-9 Arlington (00 Marlborough) is located on the SW corner of Arlington and Marlborough, with 6 Arlington (0 Marlborough) to the north, across Marlborough. 10-11 Arlington to the south, and 2 Marlborough to the west.

8-9 Arlington were designed by architect Gridley J. F. Bryant, two of four houses (8-9-10-11 Arlington) designed at the same time.  9-10-11 Arlington were built in 1860-1861; 8 Arlington, although designed at the same time, was not built until 1869.

The four houses form a single symmetrical composition, with the two middle houses (9-10 Arlington) set slightly further back from the street than the two end houses (8 Arlington and 11 Arlington). The design complements similar pavilion-style French Academic designs at 1-2-3 Arlington and 4-5-6-7 Arlington.

The land on which 8-9-10-11 Arlington were built was purchased from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on December 9, 1858, by Deming Jarves, Oliver Brewster, William Storer Eaton, and Dr. John Homans. Deming Jarves purchased the corner lot, with a frontage of 44.5 feet on Arlington and 85 feet on Marlborough; Oliver Brewster, William Eaton, and John Homans purchased the next three lots to the south, each with a 22.5 foot frontage and a depth of 85 feet. The four purchasers also each acquired a lot on Marlborough with a frontage of 25 feet on Marlborough running south 112 feet to the alley. Oliver Brewster acquired the lot furthest east, Deming Jarves the one next to it (where 2 Marlborough would be built), and William Eaton and John Homans the two lots west of that.

Click here for indices to the deeds for 8 Arlington and 9 Arlington, and click here for further information about the land between the south side of Marlborough and Alley 422, from Arlington to Berkeley.

Deming Jarves was the founder and agent for the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company. He and his wife, Anna Smith (Stutson) Jarves, lived at 64 Boylston. Oliver Brewster, an insurance actuary and agent, was Deming Jarves’s son-in-law. He and Anna M. (Jarves) Brewster lived at 61 Charles, and would built their home at 9 Arlington. William Storer Eaton had been a shipping merchant in the Calcutta trade and later was a founder of the National Tube Works. He and his wife, Frederica Warren (Goddard) Eaton, lived at 17 Hancock and later 17 Louisburg Square, and in about 1882 would move to 62 Commonwealth. Dr. John Homans was a physician; he and his wife, Caroline (Walker) Homans lived at 129 Tremont and would build their home at 11 Arlington.

On May 4, 1859, William Eaton sold his lot on Arlington to John Homans, creating a lot with a 45 foot frontage on Arlington and a 85 foot frontage on the alley. On June 28, 1860, John Homans sold the northern 20 feet of his lot to Sarah (Greenleaf) Cazenove, the widow of Charles I. Cazenove, where she would build her home at 10 Arlington. John Homans retained the 25 foot lot and built his home at 11 Arlington.

On September 24, 1860, the Boston Post reported that “the foundation has just been laid for three dwelling-houses, to be owned and occupied by Dr John Homans, Mrs Cosgreve [sic], and Oliver Brewster.” The article also noted that Gridley J. F. Bryant was the architect and that Horace Jenkins was general superintendent.

On October 30, 1860, and November 10, 1860, Oliver Brewster sold Sarah Cazenove and John Homans the portions of his lot fronting on Marlborough that were located behind their lots, thereby increasing the depth of their lots from 85 feet to 110 feet. And on December 10, 1860, Oliver Brewster acquired Deming Jarvis’s corner lot, consolidated it with his land to the south and his remaining land to the west, and created two lots: a 47 foot by 110 foot lot on the corner of Arlington and Marlborough (where 8 Arlington would be built), and a 20 foot by 110 foot lot to the south (where 9 Arlington would be built). Deming Jarves continued to own the lot to the west, where 2 Marlborough would be built.

The houses at 9-10-11 Arlington were completed in 1861. An August 7, 1861, Boston Traveller article indicated that the “contractors for these houses are Mr. Horace Jenkins, who is doing the mason work, and Mr. William Carpenter, the carpentering.” Horace Jenkins and William Carpenter also were the builders of 4-5-6-7 Arlington.

The corner lot at 8 Arlington remained vacant (although the original plans included it). On January 6, 1862, Oliver Brewster entered into an agreement with Sarah Cazenove and Deming Jarves to create a four foot wide easement at the rear of 10 Arlington and along the southeast boundary of 2 Marlborough behind 11 Arlington for drainage and a passageway to the alley. It appears that this “dog-leg” easement was required because Dr. Homans declined to grant an easement over his land.

On March 11, 1863, Oliver Brewster sold the lot at 8 Arlington to John Foster. As part of the sale, it was agreed that any house built on the lot would conform with Gridley J. F. Bryant’s design, and a copy of the elevation drawn by Bryant was recorded with the deed. Also as part of the deed, the four foot easement was extended across the rear of 9 Arlington to provide access to the alley for 8 Arlington.

Deming Jarves sold the lot at 2 Marlborough on May 8, 1862, to William B. Richards.

John Homans died in April of 1868 and 11 Arlington was purchased from his estate on June 24, 1868, by Charles J. Morrill. On September 23, 1871, he sold William Richards a four foot wide strip of land across the rear of 11 Arlington, with the stipulation that no building would be constructed on it and that the owners of 11 Arlington would have the right of passage over it. William Richards subsequently entered into agreements with the owners of 8, 9, and 10 Arlington eliminating the former easement for passage over the southeast portion of his land at 2 Marlborough and granting, instead, an easement for passage the over the four foot strip at the rear of 11 Arlington (thereby creating a straight, four foot passageway behind 9-10-11 Arlington for use by all four buildings on Arlington).

8 Arlington

8 Arlington was built in 1869 by Robert Marsh, mason and builder, for Barney Cory and his wife, Eliza Ann Bell (Glynn) Cory.

Barney Cory purchased the land for 8 Arlington on March 21, 1868, from John Foster. In accordance with the restrictions in Oliver Brewster’s deed to John Foster, 8 Arlington was designed by the firm of Bryant and Rogers in a manner consistent with Gridley J. F. Bryant’s original design. A March 25, 1869, article in the Boston Evening Transcript commented “Messrs. Bryant & Rogers, architects … are engaged upon plans for an elegant three-story and French roof freestone residence for Mr. Barney Cory, on the corner of Arlington and Marlborough streets, that is to be completed the coming summer.”

By 1871, Barney and Eliza Ann (Glynn) Cory had made 8 Arlington their home. They previously had lived at 1225 Washington. He was a wine importer and merchant.

The Corys’ daughter, Jennie Louise Cory, and son, Charles Barney Cory (later a noted ornithologist and Olympic golfer), lived with them.  Jennie Cory married in January of 1881 to tea importer Edward Royall Tyler and moved to 369 Marlborough, owned by her father.

Barney Cory died in August of 1882. 8 Arlington, 369 Marlborough, and a number of other properties were inherited by Jennie Louise (Cory) Tyler and Charles Cory, each with a 50 percent undivided interest.  On January 13, 1883, Jennie Louise Tyler established a trust to hold her properties, with Otis Everett Weld and Francis Clarke Welch as trustees.  On May 8, 1889, the trust transferred the property to Edward and Jennie Tyler, and they transferred it to a new trust for their benefit and the benefit of their children, with the same trustees. Jennie Tyler died in April of 1890.

Eliza Cory and Charles Cory continued to live at 8 Arlington.  Charles Cory married in May of 1883 to Harriet W. Peterson, after their marriage, they lived at 8 Arlington with his mother.

Eliza Cory died in 1892.  Charles and Harriet Cory moved soon thereafter to Yarmouth.

On October 1, 1892, Charles Cory transferred his half interest in 8 Arlington, 369 Marlborough, and several other properties to the Tylers’ trust (at the same time, the trust transferred its half interest in several other properties to him).  The Tylers’ trust continued to own 8 Arlington until 1919.

8 Arlington was not listed in the 1894 and 1895 Blue Books.

By 1894, 8 Arlington had become a sanitarium operated by the German Remedy Company of Massachusetts, offering “first-class hotel accommodations” to those under treatment for their addiction to liquor or drugs.  The firm also maintained offices at the Hotel Pelham (southwest corner of Tremont and Boylston).

By the 1896-1897 winter season, 8 Arlington was the home of Miss Irene Stearns, who operated it as a lodging house. She previously had lived in the South End, where she and her mother, Mrs. Myra E. (Allen) Stanley Stearns, the former wife of John H. Stearns, Jr., had operated lodging houses at 35 and 39 West Newton. In 1890-1891, Mrs. Stearns had leased and operated the Hotel Flower at 417 Columbus Avenue.

By the 1899-1900 winter season, Irene Stearns’s mother had moved to 4 Marlborough.  Myra Stearns and Irene Stearns subsequently operated lodging houses at both 8 Arlington and 4 Marlborough until about 1902. By the 1902-1903 winter season, Mrs. Stearns and probably her daughter had moved to 23 Marlborough.

8 Arlington continued to be a lodging house.

In September of 1905, Francis C. Welch, trustee of the trust established by Jennie Louise Tyler, filed for permission to construct a ten-story commercial building, 25 feet wide and 105 feet long, apparently at the corner of Arlington and Marlborough Streets on the portion of the lot for 8 Arlington not occupied by the existing building.  The application was denied.

By the 1907-1908 winter season, 8 Arlington was the home of Mary A. (Fraser) Wright, the former wife of Denison A. Wright, who operated it as a lodging house.  Her son-in-law and daughter, Seward B. Livermore, an electrical engineer, and Margaret Eva (Wright) Livermore, and their children, lived with her.

Seward Livermore died in November of 1909.  Mary Wright and her daughter and grandchildren continued to live at 8 Arlington in January of 1920, but moved thereafter to an apartment at 405 Marlborough (where Mary Wright was living at the time of her death in July of 1920).

On July 8, 1919, The Atlantic Monthly Company purchased 8 Arlington from E. Sohier Welch, successor trustee of the trust established by Edward and Jennie Tyler.  Later that month, it acquired 9 Arlington.

9 Arlington

9 Arlington was built in 1861 as the home of insurance actuary and agent Oliver Brewster and his wife, Anna M. (Jarves) Brewster.  They previously had lived at 61 Charles.

On January 3, 1866, Oliver Brewster transferred 9 Arlington to a trust he established with his brother-in-law, Rev. Christopher Toppan Thayer, as trustee.  Christopher Thayer and his wife, Augusta (Brewster) Thayer, lived at 131 Beacon.

Oliver Brewster died in October of 1868. Anna Brewster continued to live at 9 Arlington in 1869, but had moved by 1870.

On October 20, 1869, Christopher Thayer, as trustee, sold 9 Arlington at auction. In its October 21, 1869, report on the auction, the Boston Journal indicated that the successful bidder was J. Cleves Dodge of Dodge Brothers & Co., commission merchants, who bid $48,300 for the house and assumed an existing $10,000 mortgage. He transferred his right to purchase the property to James Walker Austin, who purchased it from Christopher Thayer on October 26, 1869, at the same price as J. Cleves Dodge’s bid.

James Austin was an attorney.  In the early 1850s, he had gone to Hawaii, where he practiced law.  After his marriage in July of 1857 to Ariana Elizabeth Smith Sleeper, they lived to Honolulu, where he served as a member of Parliament and, from 1868, as Judge of the Supreme Court. He probably purchased 8 Arlington in anticipation of returning to Boston.

By 1870, 9 Arlington was the home of Martin Brimmer and his wife, Marianne (Timmins) Brimmer.  They previously had lived at 48 Beacon.

A lawyer by training, Martin Brimmer had never entered active practice.  He had served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1859-1861 and of the State Senate in 1864.  He also served as president of the Museum of Fine Arts.  The Brimmers continued to live at 9 Arlington in 1872, but by 1873 had moved to 47 Beacon.

The Austins returned from Hawaii to Massachusetts in 1872 and made 9 Arlington their home.  Their children lived with them: Herbert Austin, who would become an iron and steel dealer; Walter Austin, who would become an attorney and author; William Francis Austin; and Edith Austin.

William Francis Austin died in July of 1886.  Herbert Austin married in April of 1890 to Virginia Pegram, and they moved to 227 Marlborough.  Virginia Austin died in May of 1892, and Herbert Austin moved back to 9 Arlington to live with his parents.

James Austin died in October of 1895.  Ariana Austin continued to live at 9 Arlington with Herbert, Walter, and Edith Austin.

Walter Austin married in June of 1897 to Mabel Lindsley Frazer and they moved to an apartment at 199 Marlborough.

Ariana Austin died in July of 1911. Herbert and Edith Austin continued to live at 9 Arlington in 1913 but moved thereafter, probably to Marion, where they were living at the time of the 1920 US Census.

During the 1913-1914 winter season, 9 Arlington was the home of Mrs. J. L. Hurley.

By the 1914-1915 winter season, 9 Arlington was the home of Clarence G. Tompkins, an electrical engineer, and his wife, Nina (Ward) Tompkins. They previously had lived at 81 Mt. Vernon.   They may have operated 9 Arlington as a lodging house.  They continued to live there during the 1916-1917 winter season, but moved thereafter 10 Newbury.

9 Arlington was not listed in the 1918 or later Blue Books.

On July 23, 1919, The Atlantic Monthly Company purchased 9 Arlington from Herbert, Walter, and Edith Austin.  It had purchased 8 Arlington earlier that month.

8-9 Arlington and 00 Marlborough

After acquiring 8 and 9 Arlington, The Atlantic Monthly Company converted the two buildings into their general offices, which they remained for the next 79 years.

In March of 1923, The Atlantic Monthly Company applied for (and subsequently received) permission to build a six-story rear addition, designed by the architectural firm of Kilham, Hopkins, and Greeley, in the open space at the rear of the building, on Marlborough (later known as 00 Marlborough).

Architectural plans of the building — including elevations, floor plans, and foundation and framing plans — are included in the City of Boston Blueprints Collection in the Boston City Archives (reference BIN G-58).

In September of 1927, The Atlantic Monthly Company had acquired 2 Marlborough.

In November of 1939, The Atlantic Monthly Company was sold by its owner, Ellery Sedgwick, to Richard Ely Danielson of Boston, president and editor of The Sportsman.  On November 23, 1939, as part of the transaction, Ellery Sedgwick acquired 8-9 Arlington and 2 Marlborough from the company.  It continued to lease the properties as its offices.

On July 11, 1944, 8-9 Arlington were acquired from Ellery Sedgwick by Ruth Cimerblatt (he had sold 2 Marlborough separately, in April of 1944, to S. Clifford Speed).  On August 8, 1946, the HCB Realty Company acquired 8-9 Arlington from Ruth Cimerblatt, and on August 8, 1966, The Atlantic Monthly Company re-acquired the property from HCB Realty.

In 1980, The Atlantic Monthly Company was purchased by Mortimer Zuckerman of Boston Properties.   The magazine retained its offices at 8-9 Arlington.  Boston Properties also moved its offices to the building and rented space to other business tenants.

On November 27, 1980, 8-9 Arlington was damaged by a fire which originated at 10-11 Arlington, the offices of Harbridge House, an international management consulting firm.

On May 1, 1981, The Atlantic Monthly Company sold 8-9 Arlington to The Atlantic Monthly Trust (Mortimer Zuckerman and Robert DeGaeta, trustees).

In 1986, Mortimer Zuckerman sold The Atlantic Monthly publishing company, but remained trustee of The Atlantic Monthly Trust, which owned 8-9 Arlington.

The magazine continued to be headquartered at 8-9 Arlington until December of 1988, when it moved to Boylston Street.  Boston Properties continued to maintain its offices at 8-9 Arlington and to lease space to others.

On December 14, 1999, The Atlantic Monthly Trust sold 8-9 Arlington to the Eight Arlington Street LLC.

In 2000, the new owners remodeled the building into six apartments and a garage.

On June 21,  2001,  the Eight Arlington Street LLC converted the apartments into six condominium units, the 9 Arlington Street at the Public Garden Condominium.