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Coming Piece by Piece From Mar quette, Mich, to Brookline, Half Million Dollar Structure Will be Completely Transplanted— Task of Reconstruction Will Probably Require Two Years’ Time. The famous John M. Longyear man sion has begun to come to Brookline. When, some two years ago, it was first reported that the Marquette, Mich, mil lionaire intended to move his big half million dollar mansion from that place to Brookline the report met with small belief. Today sees the task well under way. Away up on the very summit of Fish er hill, one of the highest and most beautiful in Brookline, the mansion will be reconstructed. Last December Mr Longyear pur chased 177,435 square feet of land bound ed by Hyslop road, Leicester and Sea ver sts, but quite recently the plans have been changed, and only last Thurs day he made another purchase on the opposite site of Hyslop road of some five acres directly in front of the new covered reservoir, and it is here that the house will be built. A more beautiful spot would be hard to find, s0 for not a shovelful of earth has been turned and probably will not be for several weeks, but the house itself has begun to come, piece by piece, and inside of a few months it will all be here. At the present time there is little to attract the atention of the few who pass by on the road and still less to suggest the costly mansion which is to be erected within the next two years. Only a few pieces of curiously shapened stone mark the site. All day yesterday big two-horse wag ons toiled up the hillside bearing each a few pieces of this stone. Each stone was wrapt in straw and when the carts were backed up two men carefully lifted each piece of stone on to a well-padded truck and with great care wheeled it to the center of the lot, and with still greater care placed it upon the grass. There was no haste, the work was done slowly and with the utmost care. In all, some 16 loads were brought up yesterday. Lying scattered about on the grass the sections of stone were of odd ap pearance. Upon each piece there are figures in black paint to show where that particular piece belongs in the fin ished house. The stone is in all shapes and sizes. The trimmings are of Marquette brownstone, an unusually close-grained sandstone of a rich brown tint. The balance of the walls are of a harder sandstone, which is known as Marquette raindrop. This is a lighter brown, and has the appearance of being splashed with drops of water. The trimmings are beautifully carved, and it is a peculiar fact that there is no more of this stone in existence, the quarry from which It was taken in Marquette having been exhausted with the completion of the Longyear man sion. There is no stone just lke it any where else in the country. For the best part of yesterday after noon the work of unloading the stone was superintended by Charles C. Van Iderstine, the Marquette contractor, who 13 years ago built the house in that city, and under whose direction it was recently taken down. . Mr Van Iderstine employed but 35 men to take the house down, and yet so skilled were the men that inside of one month every bit of woodwork and stone had been razed, cleaned and marked ready for shipment. The work of taking down began last April. One of the most surprising facts in regard to Mr Longyear's plans is his intention of altering the house in its reconstruction. The Brookline mansion will be considerably larger than the one in Marquette, and there will be a num ber of changes in the architecture, one being the elimination of the tower which was conspicuous in the Marquette house. The plans will not, however, prove the building being constructed of the old material. The plans for the new house have not as yet been finished. It will require between 75 and 80 cars to transport the material of which the house was built and it will probably require two years to complete the re construction. Meantime Mr Longyear is living with his family in this city. Not only are the walls of the building being brought from Michigan to Massachusetts, but all the Interior finishings as well.
Newspaper Details
Boston Sunday Globe
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Sun, Jun 07, 1903
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Daniel L.
USA 26 May 2026
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