The Gibson House Museum

A college student gave a fairly good tour of the The Gibson House Museum today. It is a Victorian row house in the Back Bay of Boston on Beacon Street near the Public Garden. The inside looks a little shabby and run down. It could definitely use some more attention. Still it does a good job of documenting the living conditions of the middle class in Victorian Boston. It was my third visit and I enjoy the tour every time I go.

Until just a few months ago there were guides living in the house. That must have been quite an experience to live in a historic house with period furnishings. Many of the paintings in the house are imitations of famous paintings and the wallpaper is made to look like much more expensive wall covering. To me that makes the house more interesting. The corners cut to impress visitors are all part of the story of the middle class of that period.