Mount Vernon Proprietors was a real estate development syndicate operating in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Founded at the end of the 18th century, it developed land on the south slope of Beacon Hill into a desirable residential neighborhood.

History

In 1795 a syndicate formed by Harrison Gray Otis sought to speculate on land development around the newly formed government buildings on Boston's Beacon Hill. The Mount Vernon Proprietors, as the group was named, included founders Otis, Jonathan Mason, Joseph Woodward and Charles Ward Apthorp. Membership in the Proprietors changed frequently but partners included

Charles Bulfinch Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Tra ...

, Hepzibah Swan, Henry Jackson, Dr. Benjamin Joy,

William Scollay Colonel William Scollay (1756–1809) was an American developer and militia officer from Boston during the American Revolution who gave his name to the infamous Scollay Square. He was the only surviving son of John Scollay, a strong supporter ...

.Allan Chamberlain. ''Beacon Hill: Its Ancient Pastures and Early Mansions''. 1925. As probably the first organized real estate syndicate in early Federal period America, the Proprietors' contribution to real estate development formulated the model by which much of America was built. The Proprietors purchased an cow pasture for the total sum of $18,450 from the esteemed painter

John Singleton Copley John Singleton Copley (July 3, 1738 – September 9, 1815) was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. He was believed to be born in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley ...

who was living in England at the time. The Copley tract comprised an area of Beacon Hill now bound by

Beacon Street Beacon Street is a major east–west street in Boston, Massachusetts, and its western suburbs of Brookline, Massachusetts, Brookline and Newton, Massachusetts, Newton. It passes through many of Boston's central and western neighborhoods, includ ...

, Walnut Street and Mount Vernon Street and the area called

Louisburg Square Louisburg Square is a street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bisected by a small private park. The park, which is bounded by Pinckney Street to the north and Mount Vernon Street to the south, is maintained by the Louis ...

. After agreeing to the sale, Copley reconsidered the offer and tried unsuccessfully for ten years to break the sale contract. Once the sale was upheld, architect

set out to pattern streets, design mansions, and create an elegant urban setting. Houses associated with the Proprietors that survive to the present day include: * 29A Chestnut Street. Built "on spec" by the Proprietors in 1799. * 13, 15, 17 Chestnut Street. Built by Hepzibah Swan, 1804–1805. The houses from 70 through 75 Beacon Street, Boston, opposite the Boston Public Garden, were built by the Mount Vernon Proprietors in 1828, on a speculative basis. They have a continuous granite facade. The architect was

Asher Benjamin Asher Benjamin (June 15, 1773July 26, 1845) was an American architect and author whose work transitioned between Federal architecture and the later Greek Revival architecture. His seven handbooks on design deeply influenced the look of cities and ...

(1773–1845). According to a Harvard text on Beacon Hill architecture, #72's facade is unchanged and #73 retains its original brass-work on the front door. These houses are in addition to those listed above.

References

{{reflist Companies based in Boston Beacon Hill, Boston