By Dan Murphy
The Nichols House Museum is offering two upcoming walking tours, with its popular ‘Brahmins & Bohemians Beacon Hill Walking Tour’ returning on Wednesday, Sept. 17, as well as another ‘Brahmins & Bohemians Beacon Hill Walking Tour: Arts & Crafts Edition’ on Saturday, Oct. 18.
The next ‘Brahmins & Bohemians Beacon Hill Walking Tour’ kicks off on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m. at the museum, located at 55 Mt. Vernon St.
These recurring tours, which began last summer, and are offered monthly from June through October, focus on the artists, writers, architects, and bohemians who were the Nichols family’s neighbors on Beacon Hill in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including painter Maurice Prendergast; architect Ralph Adams Cram; and Sarah Wyman Whitman, a painter, stained glass artist, and book designer.
“It’s a nice, relaxed stroll around the neighborhood,” said Camille Arbogast, the museum’s public engagement manager who serves as the tour guide. “Guests can expect a relaxed stroll around the neighborhood, chatting about some of the artistic residents of the Hill, living here about 1885 to 1925. We also visit some studios and gathering places. I try to give a sense of the connections between the people we meet – their friendships, projects they work on together. And, of course, we see the beautiful Beacon Hill architecture, which makes it clear what drew all these history-loving artists, writers, architects and designers to the neighborhood.”
Arbogast also makes it a priority to learn the interests of each group of tour-goers, allowing her to adjust the program accordingly.
“I try to tailor the tour to the interests of the guests,” she said. “The focus is always the artistic community on the Hill at the turn of the 20th century, but the interests and questions of the guests help to shape each tour.”
And since the Nichols House Museum’s tours aren’t the only tour option available in the neighborhood, Arbogast added: “The goal is to complement the other tours on Beacon Hill and present a different time period.”
Regarding the tours, Rosalie Wilbur, the museum’s development and administration coordinator, said: “Beacon Hill has so much great history, is exciting to get the chance to explore the neighborhood and hear about this lesser discussed era.’
The museum will also offer its second ‘Brahmins & Bohemians Beacon Hill Walking Tour: Arts & Crafts Edition’ on Saturday, Oct. 18, at 10:30 a.m., with Arbogast again serving as tour guide. This tour debuted last October, and it’s being offered again as part of a month-long celebration of the Arts & Crafts movement on Beacon Hill.
This tour, which takes a slightly different route from the other tour and also includes the Flat of the Hill, focuses on the Arts and Crafts movement and artisans who were living and working on Beacon Hill in the early 1900s. Besides the artisans themselves, utopian art communities, artist cooperatives, and craftsman architecture on the Hill will also be discussed.
Visit nicholshousemuseum.org for more information on the Nichols House Museum and its upcoming programming.