Beacon Hill Painters — Historic Beacon Hill District

Residential building on the Hill followed the State House, completed in 1798. Charles Bulfinch, Asher Benjamin, Solomon Willard and Alexander Parris designed houses there in the Federal and Greek Revival styles. In 1955 the legislature created the Historic Beacon Hill District, which the commission's guidelines call the oldest historic district in Massachusetts; extensions in 1958, 1963, 1975 and 2024 brought in virtually the whole Hill.

Review reaches beyond the street front. Any exterior work visible from a public way is covered, and the City lists the Common, the Public Garden, Storrow Drive, the Esplanade and the Longfellow Bridge among the vantage points that count, so a rear elevation facing the river can fall under review too.

In the census tract containing Pinckney Street and Louisburg Square, 85.6% of the 3,076 units were built in 1939 or earlier and only 57 date from 2000 or later. Just 16 units are detached houses; 551 are single-family attached, and 1,056 sit in buildings of five to nine units, so about a third of homes there are in small multi-unit buildings.

Color approval before work starts

The guidelines require original or historically appropriate colors and ask for paint samples to be submitted to the commission. Caulk colors on windows also need approval. Build the application into your schedule so the painting season isn't spent waiting on a hearing.

Surfaces that stay unpainted

Copper, granite, brick, sandstone, lintels, sills, stoops and the masonry reveals at windows and doors may not be painted. Masonry facades stay bare unless there's evidence the building was painted originally. On a brick front, masking those edges adds real time to the job.

Windows, storms and shutters

Wood windows need a paint finish rather than a factory coating that can't be repainted, and vinyl-clad sash is not permitted. Storm window frames are painted to match the trim. Shutters are allowed only where there's evidence of earlier ones, and they must be wood. The guidelines also say identical features, including paint colors, should match exactly at all stories.

Old paint on masonry

Where masonry was painted long ago, the guidelines say letting existing paint weather is usually preferable to repainting, and removal should start with a test patch. Wire brushing and sandblasting are prohibited; the guidelines say they cause irreversible damage to masonry.