History of 341 Commonwealth Avenue
A HOME FOR GENERATIONS
1880- 341 Commonwealth was designed by architects Kirby and Lewis, as one of three contiguous houses (337-339-341 Commonwealth) built ca. 1880 for wall paper merchant Charles Henry Hayden.
1881- 1883 Nehemiah Webster Rice and his wife, Josephine (Emery) Rice, purchased 341 Commonwealth from Charles Hayden. Nehemiah Rice was a dealer in leather, hides, and wool.
1883 ~1930 Nehemiah Rice is shown as the owner of 341 Commonwealth on the 1883, 1888, 1898, 1908, and 1912 Bromley maps, and was the assessed owner through 1914. Nehemiah Rice died in December of 1911. Josephine Rice continued to live at 341 Commonwealth with their daughter, Annie. Nehemiah Rice’s Heirs are shown as the owners on the 1917 and 1928 Bromley maps, and were the assessed owners through 1931.Josephine Rice died in 1925 and Annie Rice moved soon thereafter. 341 Commonwealth was not listed in the 1927-1935 Blue Books, and was shown as vacant in the 1930-1933 City Directories.
1931- In June of 1931, Garland School of Homemaking (later to become Garland Junior College) acquired 341 Commonwealth from the Rice family.
1960’s- By the late 1960s, Garland Junior College had assembled a portfolio of 22 properties in the western portion of the Back Bay.
1976- In April of 1976, Garland Junior College announced that it was merging with Simmons College. It subsequently sold twelve of its properties and transferred the remainder to Simmons College. Glen G. Grant, trustee of the Commonwealth College Trust, purchased eleven of the twelve properties from Garland Junior College .
1980- In May of 1980, Glen Grant transferred 341 Commonwealth to Judith S. Schwartz, trustee of Seofon Trust.
1981- The Commonwealth College Trust filed for permission to convert 341 Commonwealth into six apartments.
2021- The vision for a comprehensive renovation down to the brick is completed, seamlessly preserving the historical beauty of the brownstone with modern elements of luxury living creating The Garland Residences.
Photos and Text Courtesy of BackBayHouses.org
