Historic buildings

Dana Place Sold

The Lester H. Dana place, with its beautiful contemporary house on the summit of Manter’s Hill, off Tea Lane, and fifty-five acres of land, has been sold by Mrs. Dana to Mrs. Julia Green Sturges of New York.

New Dwelling to Top Manter’s Hill, One of the Historic Properties of the Vineyard

Manter’s Hill, a Chilmark landmark since the beginning of the Manor, will be crowned with a year-round dwelling of imposing size at some time in the near future. The house is to be built for Lester Dana of Boston, who is in the process of purchasing fifty-five acres of the old Manter Place from Philip Siff, and the building will be done by the William G. Manter Co. of Vineyard Haven. William F. Swift, Vineyard Haven engineer and surveyor, will be in charge of the whole operation.
 

Traffic-Stopper

A traffic-stopper in Edgartown this week has been the corner of Davis Lane and School street where the stately house which was once Davis Academy and is now the summer home of the G. Holmes Perkins family, of Cambridge and Philadelphia, has been emerging in a pale blue manifestation, with white trim.

House Bears Name of Desire Osborn

The old house on Main street, Edgartown, which has been referred to as the Edson house, has received an official and appropriate christening. It is now the Desire Osborn House, called after James Coffin’s youngest child, Desire Allen Coffin, who married John Osborn in 1813, and for whom the house was moved to its present site from the neighborhood of Mill Hill.
 

Hospital Presented with a Georgian Mansion

One of the most beautiful and perhaps the most imposing of the Vineyard’s old houses is to be presented by its present owners, Mr. and Mrs. Martin B. Faris of East Chop and New York, to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, whose trustees voted last week to accept this handsome gift.
 

To Buy Knowlton House

An agreement for the sale of the Knowlton house on Davis Lane at School street, Edgartown, to Mr. and Mrs. G. Holmes Perkins of Cambridge by William Roberts of Edgartown, has been made. Mr. Roberts acquired the house, built by David Davis in 1838, in the summer of 1943, from the estate of the late Miss Cora B. Knowlton. Avery & Company are in charge of the transaction.
 

Resembles House of Whaling Master

The new telephone building at Vineyard Haven, which is now nearing completion so far as the exterior is concerned, marks the passing of an epoch in the Island history of the telephone and the beginning of a new one.

With the completion of this building and the transfer of the offices and plant of the company to its new quarters, the common battery system will be put into operation in the towns of Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs, and all connections between the Vineyard Haven office and Boston will be by cable.

The New Bank Building at Vineyard Haven

A national bank building, which, so far as its architectural design goes, is unique among banks, is that just opened in Vineyard Haven as the home of the Martha’s Vineyard National Bank. This institution, started in Edgartown 50 years ago, has enjoyed a prosperous existence up to the present time.
 

Old Landmarks

Among the old landmarks of Vineyard Haven, the most interesting one is the old mill; first built “up island,” then moved to Edgartown, and finally to Vineyard Haven to the spot where Association Hall now stands. Later, it was purchased by Dea. Tristram Luce and moved to the land where Capt. Owen Tilton’s house now stands. In 1883 it was purchased by Col. Carey and retained its individuality till 1886, when Major Carey had it moved to its present position; and it’s now a component part of the Major’s cottage, - and the old mill has lost its identity.

Mattakeset Lodge

I have returned, myself and one or two more of us, as well as a number of others who are not “of us.” The first thing of course, on arriving, was to secure a good room, and I rather plume myself on having gotten one of the best in the hotel, of which, by the way, I will attempt a brief description. The building is situated on the bluff at the head of the landing, and is about 125 feet front in the whole.

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