The following is an index to property transfer deeds and party wall, use, and building restriction agreements recorded at the Suffolk County Deed Registry from the original land purchase through December 15, 2021. Mortgages, trust agreements, and other similar recorded documents are not included. This index is intended as a guide only; actual deeds should be reviewed for details.
Note: The frontage on Commonwealth of 397 Commonwealth is shown as being 46.03 feet in the deeds through Book 4529, p. 200 (25Jul1923) and as 46 feet thereafter. The change in the description first appears in a mortgage given by the Moorland Company to the People’s Savings Bank, Book 4667, p. 366 (7Apr1925).
| Transfers of Land and Buildings | ||||
| Date of Deed | Grantor | Grantee | Book | Page |
| 06Dec2021 | The Trimount Foundation, Inc. (formerly Association for Cultural Interchange, Inc.) (395-397 Commonwealth) | 395-399 Commonwealth Avenue LLC | 66798 | 111 |
| 28Dec1964 | Hearthstone Insurance Company of Massachusetts (395-397 Commonwealth) | Association for Cultural Interchange, Inc. | 7916 | 285 |
| 31Jan1958 | Boston Evening Clinic and Hospital (397 Commonwealth) | Hearthstone Insurance Company of Massachusetts | 7291 | 372 |
| 29May1953 | Irving Zieman | Boston Evening Clinic and Hospital | 6871 | 267 |
| 28Dec1951 (recorded 29May1953) | Minerva B. Dobro | Irving Zieman | 6871 | 266 |
| 15May1942 | Irving Zieman | Minerva B. Dobro | 5985 | 157 |
| 01May1942 | Samuel H. Gurvitz (one-half undivided interest) | Irving Zieman | 5982 | 156 |
| 28Nov1941 | People’s Savings Bank | Irving Zieman and Samuel H. Gurvitz | 5960 | 389 |
| 12Aug1938 | Oliver Investment Corporation (foreclosure of mortgage) | People’s Savings Bank | 5737 | 534 |
| 01May1934 | People’s Savings Bank | Oliver Investment Corporation | 5451 | 265 |
| 08Mar1928 | Moorland Company (foreclosure of mortgage assumed by subsequent owners) | People’s Savings Bank | 4985 | 61 |
| 15Aug1926 | Landon Incorporated (foreclosure of mortgage) | Moorland Company | 4825 | 407 |
| 09Oct1925 | Moorland Company | Landon Incorporated | 4733 | 521 |
| Transfers of Unimproved Land | ||||
| Date of Deed | Grantor | Grantee | Book | Page |
| 25Jul1923 | William H. Ross (lot with 46.03 foot frontage) | Moorland Company | 4529 | 200 |
| 26Dec1922 | Charles H. Tyler, Charles E. Cotting, and Arthur N. Maddison, trustees under the will of Charles E. Cotting; and Charles E. Cotting, individually; and Ruth S. T. Cotting, widow of Charles E. Cotting (lot with 46.03 foot frontage) | William H. Ross | 4426 | 21 |
| 01Mar1904 | Alexander Agassiz (lot with 46.03 foot frontage) | Charles E. Cotting | 2951 | 596 |
| 17Jan1901 | Frederick Ayer (lot with 46.03 foot frontage) | Alexander Agassiz | 2731 | 183 |
| 15Apr1899 | Frederick O. Woodruff (two lots, one with a frontage of 52 feet and the other, to the west, with a frontage of 26 feet) | Frederick Ayer | 2599 | 199 |
| 15Apr1899 | S. Endicott Peabody (lot with 52 foot frontage) | Frederick O. Woodruff | 2599 | 197 |
| 15Apr1899 | Leverett S. Tuckerman and Francis Peabody, Jr., trustees under the will of William G. Saltonstall (lot with 26 foot frontage) | Frederick O. Woodruff | 2599 | 196 |
| 13Jan1886 | Francis A. Osborn and Grenville T. W. Braman, a majority of the trustees of Commonwealth Avenue Lands (Francis W. Palfrey, the remaining trustee, being absent from Massachusetts) (lot with 52 foot frontage) | William G. Saltonstall | 1709 | 582 |
| 11Jan1886 | Francis A. Osborn and Grenville T. W. Braman, a majority of the trustees of Commonwealth Avenue Lands (Francis W. Palfrey, the remaining trustee, being absent from Massachusetts) (lot with 52 foot frontage) | S. Endicott Peabody | 1709 | 545 |
| 01Jun1880 | Dwight Foster, Gilman Collamore, and George F. Richardson, trustees under a bond indenture with the Boston Water Power Company dated 1Jun1874 (release) | Francis W. Palfrey, Francis A. Osborn, and Grenville T. W. Braman, trustees of Commonwealth Avenue Lands | 1495 | 6 |
| 01Jun1880 | Boston Water Power Company | Francis W. Palfrey, Francis A. Osborn, and Grenville T. W. Braman, trustees of Commonwealth Avenue Lands | 1495 | 9 |
| Party Wall Agreement | ||||
| Date of Deed | Party One | Party Two | Book | Page |
| 23Jul1901 | Atherton T. Brown (owner of lot at 401 Commonwealth) | Alexander Agassiz (owner of lot at 397 Commonwealth) | 2771 | 332 |
| Party wall stipulations in land transfer deed | ||||
| Date of Deed | Grantor | Grantee | Book | Page |
| 17Jan1901 | Frederick Ayer (seller of lot at 397 Commonwealth and owner of 395 Commonwealth) | Alexander Agassiz (purchaser of lot at 397 Commonwealth) | 2731 | 183 |
| Building and use restrictions included in land transfer deed, specifying that the owner of 395 Commonwealth may not extend the party wall between 395 Commonwealth and 397 Commonwealth to be any closer to Marlborough than 39.5 feet, and that no building in the rear of 395 Commonwealth may be more than one story (defined as 26 feet above the mean low water mark) nor may it be located within eight feet of the boundary between 395 Commonwealth and 397 Commonwealth. | ||||
| Date of Deed | Grantor | Grantee | Book | Page |
| 17Jan1901 | Frederick Ayer (seller of lot at 397 Commonwealth and owner of 395 Commonwealth) | Alexander Agassiz (purchaser of lot at 397 Commonwealth) | 2731 | 183 |
| Building and use restrictions included in land transfer deed, specifying that no building on the premises may be used as a stable, and that no building of more than one story in height may be erected within thirty feet of Marlborough | ||||
| Date of Deed | Grantor | Grantee | Book | Page |
| 13Jan1886 | Francis A. Osborn and Grenville T. W. Braman, a majority of the trustees of Commonwealth Avenue Lands (Francis W. Palfrey, the remaining trustee, being absent from Massachusetts) (sellers of lot with 52 foot frontage) | William G. Saltonstall (purchaser of lot with 52 foot frontage) | 1709 | 582 |
| Agreement by owners of land on the north and south sides of Marlborough between West Chester Park (Massachusetts Avenue) and the Beacon entrance to Back Bay Park (Charlesgate East) requiring that buildings must be set back 5 feet from Marlborough except for projections as specified in Book 1588, p. 434 (20Feb1883) [which provided that steps, porticos, and other usual projections appurtenant to the front wall of a building would be permitted in the reserved space, and bays and bows would be permitted in the reserved space subject to dimensional limitations as set forth in the deed]. This 5 foot setback requirement was modified with respect to the north side of Marlborough by a subsequent agreement dated 10Jun1885 (Book 1685, p. 433) | ||||
| Date of Deed | Party One | Party Two | Book | Page |
| 20Feb1883 | Francis A. Osborn and Grenville T. W. Braman, a majority of the trustees of the Commonwealth Avenue Lands, Francis W. Palfrey, the remaining trustee, being absent from Massachusetts | Grenville T. W. Braman, Henry D, Hyde, and Henry M. Whitney, trustees | 1588 | 437 |
Back Bay Houses 