Listed: Brighton town house with 3 suites and ties to women’s history
The property is one of four in this mansion on the historic Selkirk Estate.
A home that traces its history to a boot and shoe dealer at the turn of the last century could go toe to toe with any modern town home on the market for stunning design.
And its place in women’s history should not be overlooked.
Former owner Jennie Loitman Barron (1891-1969) was the first woman to serve as a full-time judge in a Massachusetts municipal court, the first woman associate justice to the state’s Superior Court, the first woman appointed assistant attorney general in the state, the first woman to try a case in front of the Massachusetts Grand Jury, the first woman to prosecute major criminal cases, and the first mother elected to serve on the Boston School Committee, according to the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail website. Loitman Barron purchased the home with her husband, Samuel Barron, soon after their marriage in 1918, according to the website.
The judge and suffragist wrote the pamphlet “Jury Service for Women,” which quipped:
“How would a man like to be judged by a jury of all women? Is it fair to the woman victim who has suffered at the hands of some man to have her case tried by a jury composed only of men? Shall we say that a woman shall have … a right to do business, a right to speak in public, a right to go to college, a right to hold office, a right to vote, a right to practice law in the courts, a right to testify in court, a right to sue and be sued, and yet not have a right to sit on the jury box?”
Women were granted the right to sit on juries in the state in 1950.
A petition to the Boston Landmarks Commission to make Brighton’s Aberdeen neighborhood an Architectural Conservation District, hailed her former home at 24 Selkirk Road as a stellar example of the Shingle-style design, “the style of the American summer.” The document also notes that the property incorporates some Queen Anne details as well.
The home was built for boot and shoe dealer Robert C. Mayo, but it has undergone quite a transformation into four stunning town homes recently. The one featured here, Unit 4, has three bedrooms with adjoining baths, as well as a half bathroom. It’s on the market for $1,498,000, listed by Anabela Gomes at Urban Reality, and sits a half mile from Chestnut Hill Reservation and a short distance from the B and C branches on the Green Line.
The home’s foyer has a coat closet and provides access to the half bathroom. The town house has four levels of living space for a total of 2,760 square feet. The main entrance places guests on the second floor.
This level offers the main living spaces in an open layout: the kitchen and living and dining areas. The kitchen and living spaces are bathed in light from recessed lighting and several muntin-less windows. The kitchen has stainless steel appliances, an island with seating, and quartz countertops.
The hardwood floors in the kitchen sweep into the dining and living areas. A door opens to a deck and patio with mature plantings and paver walkways, making for a great escape from the city.
The third floor contains two bedrooms, both with en-suite bathrooms, hardwood flooring, and recessed lighting.
The laundry room is also on this level.
The top floor is home to the owner suite, which features a walk-in closet, a sitting area, and a bathroom with a double vanity and a frameless glass shower.
The lowest level is a finished multi-purpose space ready for customization.
Unit 2, which has three bedrooms and 3.5 baths, is on the market for $1,398,000.
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