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Abandoned manor overlooking the ocean gets new life in Nahant — thanks to Instagram
Presiding over the coast, this historic and stately Queen Anne had fallen victim to vandals. Now its revived and listed for $5.5 million.
A manor house was once the much-loved centerpiece of the community. Over 140 years, it deteriorated, becoming neglected and decrepit, then abandoned, gutted by vandals, and threatened with demolition.
Today, after a timely salvation, reimagining, and rebuilding, it stands proud again — and is listed for $5.5 million.
The manor — a handsome Queen Anne house whose tower can be seen from Revere Beach — stands on a hilltop in Nahant at 9 Little Nahant Road.
Built by Boston merchant Thomas Howe in 1880, it was designed by the Boston architectural firm Wait & Cutter, part of the burgeoning trend of wealthy Bostonians building coastal retreats. The Howe Estate (or Mansion as it’s now called) was an early sign that Nahant was transforming from a windswept seaside outpost into one of New England’s first fashionable summer colonies, according to the Nahant Historical Society, which has been following the renovation.
The eclectic, picturesque Queen Anne style suited these vacation homes: its asymmetrical composition includes towers, turrets, tall chimneys, projecting pavilions, porches, bays, and encircling verandahs. The exuberant display is what we often visualize when a house is called “Victorian.” Although its name refers to an English monarch, it is a very American example of domestic architecture.
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But by 2023 things had changed at the Howe Mansion. After passing through a series of owners, it stood empty and abandoned, gutted by vandals, heavily indebted by back taxes, and repossessed by local and national governmental agencies.
“It was an eyesore,” said Ricky Beliveau, owner of Volnay Capital. The Boston real estate development company has created a variety of rental and for-sale housing; its most recent projects include the Cove, a Worcester development featuring 171 residential units and 16,000 square feet of commercial space.
“I was tagged on my Instagram site,” Beliveau said. “One of my followers said, ‘This house needs you.’ The people in Nahant were worried that the Howe Mansion would be torn down. I had done a few historic house renovations over the years, including my own home in Winchester, so I took it on.”
Beliveau executed a to-the-studs rebuild of the 10,820-square-foot house that included steel beams, a new roof, new flooring, and an HVAC system. In the process, he made adjustments to the layout, installing a wine lounge and a home theater. The kitchen is now a large, chef-friendly room with 16-foot ceilings and skylights, and he combined four rooms to create a spacious primary suite that includes a porthole window above the bathtub.
“One of the great things about this property,” he said, “Is that you look out at the ocean from every room, and, on one side of the house, there are wonderful views of the Boston skyline.”
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For interior design expertise, he turned to Shayna Bernshtein and Kelly Penny of Salt and Stone.
“We do a lot of design work on the North Shore, so we tend towards a modern, coastal, organic vibe,” said Bernshtein. “But we were happy that some of the historic elements had survived, including the staircase and some of the molding and paneling. They guided us in our design decisions.
“For us, one of the exciting original parts of the house was the two-story library, with the big opening in the ceiling. While much of the interior is white, we chose a Sherwin Williams green called “Jasper” for the way it looks against the natural wood. It is also a color that emphasizes the historic architecture.”
The two also chose a saturated red for the wine cellar that evokes merlot, — Behr “Rumors,” Color of the Year 2025. The house has eight bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, and a three-car garage.
While the interior is suited to today’s living, the exterior has many of the elements that made it a showplace in 1880. The Howe Mansion is ready for the next chapter of its long life.
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Karina Mejia of The Legacy Group | EVO Real Estate Group holds the listing for the Howe Mansion for $5.5 million.
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