Burlington Doors – #ThursdayDoors

History, New England Life, Thursday Doors 56 comments
Pretty details discovered in Burlington, MA

Perhaps that should include “Part-II” since I think I’ve posted doors from Burlington, MA before, but who’s counting? The meetings I attended the week I captured the Lexington doors were held in the Burlington Marriott. The rationale for that, in case you’re interested, is that they give us the easiest option to handle price. We meet in the lounge, at a large table (seats 18) but, instead of charging for the meeting, we are simply required to consume $275 worth of food and or beverage. We don’t often have 18 people, but we have always managed to meet the obligation.

Despite the availability of that chowder and those fish tacos, I do like to get out for lunch. When eating in Lexington didn’t pan out, I took the long way back to the hotel – I actually wanted to miss the lunch crowd. Unlike Lexington, Burlington doesn’t seem to have specific historic areas. However, I was on the lookout for interesting doors, and I found quite a few. Most of these are described by their captions – you can click on any photo to start a slideshow that reveals the captions – but there is one building that piqued my interest enough to do a little research.

This house is known as the Kent Cottage or the Helene Kent House. There isn’t as much official information available this house, but I was able to find several articles, including one from a photographer who apparently was struck by the image of this house (and who actually was able to visit inside), sitting across from a gigantic high-tech office park and “had to know more about it.” The house was built in 1851 “for John Kent. He lived there with his daughter, Helen. John Kent died in 1870. Helene continued to live in the house until 1897. There were other occupants of the house after that, but it has remained unoccupied for over 40 years.

The structure at the rear was added in the 20th century, and its style is not in keeping with the main house. That structure may not survive. Several years ago, a company, EvoText, expressed interest in relocating into the Kent Cottage. According to the company website, their plans call for the removal of the rear portion and the addition of a 12,000-square-foot building and a parking lot for about 50 cars. The most recent articles I found were from 2016, indicating that the special permits required had been approved by the town. These things move slowly, so perhaps planning is still underway.

One thing that doesn’t move slowly, is the call for doors. Each week, Norm Frampton invites door aficionados from around the world to contribute to a celebration of doors. If you want to join us, gather a door, a few doors, a couple dozen doors and head on up to Norm’s place. Check out his doors, it’s only right, and then click on the little blue frog. The cerulean tadpole will lead you into the gallery.

I like the roof lines on this house, as well as the porch.
It’s hard to see the doors on this house, but the details are impressive.
Pretty glass doors and a nice lamp.
Pretty details discovered in Burlington, MA
I like this pretty little garage.
These are modern doors, but I like the effort to make them appear correct for the period of the building.
The First Baptist Church of Burlington. I will be back to share close-ups of these doors in the future.
St Malachy Catholic Church. It almost looks like you could squeeze it and fold it up.
The doors are nice, but I was trying to focus on the gates to Chestnut Hill Cemetery.
This is the entrance to the Kent Cottage. I hope this is able to be restored.
Helene Kent House, Burlington Massachusetts – Attrib: Wikimedia Commons – John Phelan – Own work – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Faolin42
Kent Cottage, as it faces the highway. The windows are painted plywood.
This is the best view of the building and the easiest to see without going on the property, but this is the back of the building.
Kent Cottage sits in a wetland area substantially below the grade of the highway.
Across from Kent Cottage is Oracle’s Burlington office.

56 comments

    1. Thanks for the comment. I tend to agree with you on the church. I think that must have been built in the 70s when they thought they should “get with the times.” I tend to appreciate classic building styles. But I did think it was an interesting building.

      I would love to see Kent Cottage restored. I hope those plans come to fruition.

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    1. That’s funny, Cheryl. You’re the only one, so far that likes that. I thought it was interesting enough to include, but I don’t really like it. Maybe it grows on you :-)

      Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment – always appreciated.

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  3. Wow, lovely mixture of houses and doors here! I hate to see Kent Cottage change and adding a large parking lot would not be my cup of tea either. Yes, the Catholic Church went through it’s 70’s changes and they are quite something aren’t they? I guess in years to come these will be show stoppers!

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    1. Thanks! We have one of the “modern” Catholic churches in our town. Not as interesting as this one, but not at all a traditional church. It has survived the recent wave of closings and consolidations, so it might be here well in to the future. I guess, as long as people attend services, it’s a church.

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    1. Thanks Judy. I, too, am drawn to the traditional lines of those two early homes. I’m not a big fan of that church design – but it is interesting. I hope Kent Cottage can be saved. I think it’s an interesting building. It’s not in a great location, but it might do well for an office.

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  6. Not a fan of the “Quonset Hut” church. Everything about the first home is eye catching. That sure is a roomy garage and the stonework is beautiful, as is the stonework on the Kent house. It would be a shame if it isn’t restored. Plywood painted windows!! I never would’ve known …. in the photos they look like real windows!

    Happy Valentine’s Day Dan, and to all your girls, two-legged and four-legged! 💕💕
    🐾Ginger 🐾

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    1. Thanks Ginger. I love stone buildings, so that garage really spoke to me. The Cottage needs to be preserved or renovated. It’s so hard to believe that it’s been empty for over 40 years.

      I didn’t know the windows were painted plywood. I learned that from one of the other reports, and I was walking pretty close to the building.

      Happy Valentine’s Day! I gave MuMu her treat (brush me) this morning.

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  7. I love all those older homes with their wonderful high ceilings…. I don’t know that I would be a fan of living across the street from a cemetery. That Catholic church is….something else. I remember, when I was growing up, they had about 4-5 Masses on Sunday morning. Then they added Saturday evening….

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    1. Thanks Lois. I do like those older houses. I didn’t grow up Catholic, but I remember when they started building the “modern” fleet of churches. This one reminds me of the planet-killer from Star Trek. My mother grew up living next to a cemetery. She always said her and her younger brother played there.

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  8. The church reminds me of a few funky shaped ones we have around here. I’m not a fan of that modern style for churches but I do applaud the effort to go with a more contemporary look. Fun post Dan :-)

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  9. Dan – it is hard to imagine a building sitting empty for 40 years. Even with the slate roof and brick exterior sitting empty can’t be a good thing. With those painted plywood windows it could be a mushroom farm. The Oracle building looks a bit unusual. It appears to have a pitched roof over part of the building and the rest a flat roof. It could be a data base anomaly. Nice collection of doors.

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    1. My thoughts, exactly, John. The other site has a few pictures from inside the cottage, and it’s not a pretty site. I would imagine everything having to come down and the rebuilding to begin with an empty shell. Some of the office buildings around here have what appear to be pitched roofs but mainly to hide the A/C equipment from view.

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  10. That modern church….Ooooph! You have to wonder what kind of minds sat on the architectural committee.

    “Hey, we need something modern to keep up with Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility.”
    “Ooooo, this proposal is modern.”
    “Yeah, but this one is more modern than that one.”
    “But I don’t get it.”
    “Exactly.”

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    1. “Picture one of those expandable cups…”
      “Yeah…”
      “OK, now cut it in half and stretch it out on the ground.”
      “Oooh, I like that.”

      Yeah, I don’t get it, but where two or more are gathered…

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  14. Some great buildings here, Dan. I’m still marveling at the $275 worth of food and beverage. I hope that’s for the group and not each. :-) We’re enjoying a day in the 40’s, melting all the beautiful ice, though, before dropping back into winter tomorrow. But just think, next month we can start talking about spring!!!

    janet

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  16. It does sound like a good venue! I think my family, that’s 11 of us could definitely hit the $275 — there are cocktails, yes?
    I love the brown house, first featured, with the nifty roof and the tale-tell stairway windows. I bet it’s a foursquare, which I love.
    Holy space church, no thank you.
    You ever notice with the bright color trim on a stone place, it’s either perfect or terrible? They got that turquoise perfect!
    Good job, Burlington :) I mean, Dan :)

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    1. Thanks! I like all of these, except maybe the space church (good word for it). Yes, the $275 includes adult beverages. Actually, they don’t need to be all that adult-ish, since I think a glass of ginger ale is $5. But we have a great time there, and we have a budget that covers the cost, so…

      Good job noticing the details!

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  17. So, is that red building in the beginning of your post the Mariott? Am asking, because here the Mariott is a high rise glass and metal building…
    I can imagine that the designers of the church wanted something “different” but I do not like the shape of the roof, it makes me think of a metal storage barn or something like that.

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    1. No pictures of the Marriott are in this group. It is 10 stories, glass and brick. I’m sure the church was going for a different look, they achieved that, but I’m not impressed with the results, either.

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  18. This is a cool (and diverse) collection of doors, Dan. I’m always intrigued by old stone buildings like those. I like the whimsy of the turquoise surrounding the garage doors. But I’m in love with that house you spotlighted with the first small photo. Thanks for showing more of it. TGIF hugs!

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    1. Thanks Teagan. Sometimes, I just have to include a house/building that I really like, even though that’s all I know about it. I think people can understand why I included that house. I do like the garage (and anything made of stone) and I hope the Kent Cottage gets a new lease on life.

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  20. VERY interesting collection this week. The Kent Cottage is wonderful! I absolutely agree about the “pretty details” on that one house. And the First Baptist church–I’ve never seen a Storybook Style church before! I may have to move up there and convert to Baptist!

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    1. Ha! I would be able to visit, that would be a good thing. I love the details, but I confess to thinking about how hard/expensive it must be to paint. I do hope the cottage is able to gain a new lease on life.

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  22. I love the house in Burlington. I think Lowell is similar, a working class town with many beautiful old homes. The Kent Cottage reminds me of Pennsylvania. I do hope it is restored. Thank you, Dan.

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      1. I hope you get a chance to get back there, Dan. Much has changed since ‘85, but the good old ones are still there. Did you ever tour the mills? After all these 35 years up here, I do miss PA. Best to you, Dan.

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  23. I love the stonework on the Kent cottage. It’s a shame to have such a beautiful structure sitting empty for 40 years. That’s not going to be good for any building.
    … but the first house in red is the winner! Love!!

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  24. I love that church structure, St Malachy Catholic Church. Very unconventional for a church. Thank you for whatever bit of history you could gather.

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