Home of the Week

Home of the Week: Charm abounds in this 1800s 6-bedroom in Roxbury for $1.45m

The Greek Revival house is located in the Tommy’s Rock section of Roxbury

The house at 17 Saint James St. in Roxbury is listed for $1,450,000. Briggs Johnson Photography

By John R. Ellement

3 minutes to read

27 Saint James St., Roxbury

$1.45 million

Style Greek Revival

Year built 1842; updated 2000

Square feet 3,201

Bedrooms 6

Baths 5 full

Sewer/Water Public

Taxes $9,320 with residential exemption; $13,594 without

The house was built in the Greek Revival style in 1842. – Briggs Johnson Photography

The front entrance facing the street. – Briggs Johnson Photography

Responding to an inquiry from a reader, the Boston Evening Transcript reported in its July 2, 1877. editions that the Roxbury neighborhood known as Tommy’s Rock honored Tommy Hommagen. He was a formerly enslaved Black man who ran a stagecoach stop in the late 18th and 19th centuries.

Tommy’s Rock is still the favored nickname for the section of Roxbury that includes St. James Street, which was developed in the mid-1840s with the construction of still-architecturally significant homes, including this yellow-sided Greek Revival atop a stone wall and behind black metal fencing.

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The front porch sits under both the triangular gabled roofline and its own roof, supported by columns like an ancient Greek temple. Stepping through the front door, though, makes it clear this is a historic New England home. The flooring in the foyer is wide-planked pumpkin pine wood, and a stairwell on the left has gracefully curved wooden railings that are original to the home.

A curved staircase greets people at the entrance. – Briggs Johnson Photography

The hallway transits underneath an arch to include a 50-square–foot closet on the left and the first full bath at its terminus. The 61-square-foot bath has a single vanity, a shower/bath combination, and a window on the left wall.

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One of five bathrooms. – Briggs Johnson Photography

At the start of the foyer and to the right is a door entering the 219-square-foot living room that flows unhindered into the 225-square-foot dining room. Both have decorative fireplaces with white and black marble, wide planked flooring, and floor-to-ceiling windows. Both have black candelabras hanging from plaster. The living room hosts a china cabinet with clear glass shelving on top. An elaborate archway with columns both ties the spaces together while providing separation.

Floor-to-ceiling windows brighten the dining room. – Briggs Johnson Photography

The living room has a decorative fireplace and a built-in cabinet. – Briggs Johnson Photography

The dining and living areas flow into one another. – Briggs Johnson Photography

Beyond is the 183-square-foot kitchen. It’s galley style with marble countertops, white subway tile backsplash, white cabinets, a ceiling fan, and stainless steel appliances. Behind the gas stove is an exposed brick wall.

On the right side of the kitchen is a short hallway that hosts a 20-square-foot pantry, and behind a French door is the 194-square-foot family room with wide-planked flooring, a central fan, and a pair of windows on the right. A key adjunct is reached through a clear glass slider: a 224-square-foot deck overlooking the landscaped rear yard of the 5,570-square-foot lot.

The kitchen has stainless steel appliances. – Briggs Johnson Photography

The galley kitchen is tucked behind the dining area. – Briggs Johnson Photography

That graceful stairway in the foyer leads to the second floor, where an expansive primary suite awaits. There is also a secondary bedroom (219 square feet) with its own fireplace, a testament to the age of the house. Off the shared hallway is a full 61-square-foot bathroom with a tub, single vanity, and a window on the left side.

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And now to the primary suite. It’s more than generous in size at about 900 square feet, and it encompasses four separate spaces. The bedroom, accessed from the shared hallway, is 225 square feet and has its own original-to-the-home fireplace on the left side. Three tall double-hung windows are on the left, as is a small closet. But the real closet is the 245-square-foot walk-in version with built-in shelving located off the rear of the bedroom and down two stairs. A hallway on the right hosts another closet before ending in a 203-square-foot office that can also serve as a den. The suite ends with a perfect spot to take in views of the city three seasons a year: a 155-square-foot deck.

The primary bedroom is large and tranquil. – Briggs Johnson Photography

The primary suite’s walk-in closet. – Briggs Johnson Photography

An office space off the primary suite. – Briggs Johnson Photography

The deck off the primary suite offers views of the Boston skyline. – Briggs Johnson Photography.

A home office with built-in shelving. – Briggs Johnson Photography

The top floor has two bedrooms (243 and 163 square feet) with natural light supplied by rectangular skylights. There is also a 51-square-foot shower-only bathroom, a shared 46-square-foot closet, and a 67-square-foot bonus room.

The 675-square-foot basement serves as the laundry area with full-size appliances perched well above the floor, along with a built-in workshop and a sink. There is an attached one-bedroom, one-bath suite with a private entrance for guests, as well as a driveway for two cars. The home has gas heat.

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Douglas Miller of Miller & Co. Compass has the listing. As of press time, the sale of the home was under contract.

The house at 27 Saint James St. in Roxbury is located in the Tommy’s Rock section. – Briggs Johnson Photography

John R. Ellement can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @JREbosglobe. Send listings to [email protected]. Please note: We may not respond to submissions we won’t pursue. Subscribe to our newsletter at Boston.com/address-newsletter.

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