Unique Homes MA

Colonial Revival Homes in Massachusetts

The Colonial Revival (1880-1955) is the most-built American house style of the 20th century. Massachusetts has them in every shape: Georgian Revival, Dutch Colonial, Garrison, Cape Cod, and Royal Barry Wills cottages.

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The Colonial Revival (1880-1955) is the most-built American house style of the 20th century. Massachusetts has them in every shape: Georgian Revival, Dutch Colonial, Garrison, Cape Cod, and Royal Barry Wills cottages.
Photo: WindingRoad · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
A 1920s Georgian Revival mansion in Wellesley
A 1920s Georgian Revival mansion in Wellesley Photo: WindingRoad · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a Colonial Revival?

This is the house most people picture when they think “traditional American home.” A symmetrical front, a centered door dressed up with columns or a small porch, windows divided into neat little panes, and shutters painted to pop against the siding. The style began around 1880, when Americans looked back fondly at the early colonial houses of the 1600s and 1700s. Builders borrowed the best parts: the symmetry of a Georgian, the graceful door of a Federal, the cozy shape of a Cape. It became the most-built house style in the country, and the plain “colonial” still going up in subdivisions today is its grandchild.

Why it’s special

The Colonial Revival is the house America chose when it wanted to feel rooted, nodding to the founding-era past without the drafts and dark rooms of the real thing. That is why these homes wear so well. They were built solid, with plaster walls, hardwood floors, and good woodwork, but laid out for modern life with proper closets, real bathrooms, and rooms that flow.

What it’s like to live in one

Inside, a Colonial Revival feels orderly and warm. The street-front symmetry carries through the floor plan, and a fireplace often anchors the living room. In Massachusetts they are everywhere the trolley and the early car reached. The grandest cluster in the western suburbs (Wellesley, Newton’s Chestnut Hill, Belmont, Lexington, Weston) and in seaside towns like Marblehead and Cohasset. The earliest are over a hundred years old, so expect the usual upkeep: original windows and porches that need restoration, and earlier vinyl replacements worth correcting.

Classical pediment-and-fanlight entries are a Colonial Revival staple
Classical pediment-and-fanlight entries are a Colonial Revival staple Photo: Andre Carrotflower · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Is it the real thing?

The word “colonial” gets used loosely, and the gap between a 1925 architect-designed home and a 1995 spec house can be large money on the same street. A genuine period Colonial Revival usually dates from about 1880 to 1955, shows real materials like plaster and slate or wood-shingle roofing, and carries thoughtful proportions. A newer “colonial” tends to have thinner detail and modern materials throughout. One subtype is worth knowing: Royal Barry Wills (1895 to 1962) designed snug Cape Cod cottages that became their own collectible category, and a documented Wills home carries a real premium. When we classify a home here, we look for evidence: a named architect, a build date in the right window, and records from the state’s historic inventory (MACRIS).

The symmetrical five-bay facade with center entry, the Colonial Revival ideal
The symmetrical five-bay facade with center entry, the Colonial Revival ideal Photo: Belmont Historical Commission · Town of Belmont · Municipal historic survey

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Common questions about Colonial Revival homes

How do you identify a Colonial Revival home?
  • A symmetrical front, usually with the door centered between matching windows
  • A formal entrance: columns, a small porch, or a fan-shaped window over the door
  • Multi-pane windows divided into small squares
  • A side-gabled or gambrel (barn-shaped) roof
  • Painted shutters and wood clapboard or brick siding
When were Colonial Revival homes built?

Colonial Revival homes were built during 1880–1955.

Where in Massachusetts are Colonial Revival homes found?
  • Western suburbs — Wellesley, Newton (Chestnut Hill, Newton Centre, Waban), Belmont, Lexington, Weston, Wayland
  • North Shore — Marblehead, Beverly, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Hamilton, Topsfield
  • Streetcar suburbs — Brookline, Arlington, Watertown, Winchester, Melrose, Reading
Who designed notable Colonial Revival homes in Massachusetts?
  • Royal Barry Wills (1895–1962) — the dean of the Cape Cod cottage revival; see [Royal Barry Wills](/builders/royal-barry-wills/)
  • Aymar Embury II (1880–1966) — large-scale Georgian Revival mansions in New York and New England suburbs
  • Joseph Everett Chandler (1864–1945) — Boston Colonial Revival specialist; restored Paul Revere House (1908)
  • Frank Chouteau Brown (1876–1947) — Boston Colonial Revival architect and architectural writer
  • Andrew Hepburn — Wellesley and Weston Colonial Revival estates
  • Carl Koch (1912–1998) — Techbuilt prefab Capes; transitional bridge from Colonial Revival to Modern
  • McKim, Mead & White — major Colonial Revival commissions (Wadsworth Atheneum addition, residences)

Current listings (215)

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Related styles

National Historic Landmark

Federally designated as nationally significant — the highest U.S. historic recognition. Section 106 review applies to federal undertakings affecting the property.

National Register

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Owners may qualify for the 20% federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit on certified rehabilitation work.

State Register

Listed on the Massachusetts State Register of Historic Places.

Local Historic District

Inside a Local Historic District. Exterior changes visible from a public way require approval from the local historic district commission.

Local Landmark

Individually designated by the town as a local landmark. Exterior alterations require commission approval.

MACRIS Inventory

Documented in MACRIS, the state historic inventory. Informational only — no regulatory constraints.

Article 85 (Boston)

Subject to Boston Article 85 demolition-delay review, which can pause demolition of buildings 50+ years old for up to 90 days.

Ch. 91 Waterways License

An active MassDEP permit for a dock, pier, seawall, or other structure on or over a Massachusetts waterway. Many older licenses are not digitized; this record is provided for reference only.

Massachusetts Great Pond

A Great Pond under M.G.L. Ch. 91 — the Commonwealth retains public rights to fish and navigate these state-designated waters. Private docks and other waterfront structures require a Waterways License from MassDEP.

Likely Great Pond

The MLS listing describes this property as being on a Great Pond, which would be a state-designated water body under M.G.L. Ch. 91. GIS data did not independently confirm the pond name — verification needed.