Private house in Chestnut Hill, MA

Coolidge Corner in 1898 This is an entrance hall which connects all the rooms of the house: the kitchen, dining room, stairwell to the second floor, living room, and library. We decided to expand on this theme of interconnections by telling the narratives of the house's American history and the family's heritage through murals. The first trolley in America opened in 1898-the year this house was built- and ran from Brookline to Boston, with a stop at Coolidge Corner, where the S. S. Pierce Building, a contemporary of the early trolley system was erected in the same year. In order to make the Coolidge Corner mural truly unique, the family and the muralist decided to incorporate the occupants of the home in the mural. The family that you see waiting for the trolley is made up of the tenants and their dog dressed in late 19th century attire. The most challenging aspect of this portion was finding historical material about how Coolidge Corner and the S.S. Pierce Building on Beacon Street looked in 1898. The muralist did a tremendous amount of research with the help of the Brookline Historical Society, to find out details such as the colors of the roof tiles and what parts of the station were completed in 1898.