Year built 1862/converted 2018
Square feet 2,353
Bedrooms 3
Baths 3 full
Fee $281 a month
Pets Allowed with restrictions
Taxes $6,945 (2024, without the residential exemption)
The United States had been torn asunder by the Civil War when successful shipwright Emory D. Leighton built this house in East Boston’s Eagle Hill neighborhood in 1862. More than 160 years later, a developer converted where Leighton once lived into condo units.
One entry to our Home of the Week is the front door, found on the left side of the building — now painted in America’s red, white, and blue. Four stone steps rise to a beautiful, arched wooden door with glass windows. The door opens to reveal a foyer, the entrance to Unit 1 straight ahead, and a staircase to the other two units. The door to Unit 1 opens into a small entryway with a coat closet and a hallway that runs through the center of this level. The flooring on most of this level is oak, although it’s not known whether it is original to the home.
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This level is front-loaded with bedrooms, including one the current owner has outfitted as a family room. That 233-square-foot room, found to the right off the hallway, boasts the 11-foot ceilings found in high-end homes from the 19th century. A bump-out with three arched windows overlooks Monmouth Street. Pretty crown and picture frame molding on the ceiling draw the eye upward to an Edison-bulb light fixture hanging from a medallion. The closet is behind a pair of doors with black pulls, and two peaco*ck blue walls add a nice touch of color.
A second bedroom sits on the left off the hallway. It’s 151 square feet and offers two windows and a single-door closet with black pulls that present a nice contrast to the white walls.
The first full bath sits nearly opposite this bedroom. It comes with ceramic tile flooring, a single vanity topped with quartz, and a shower/tub combination with a curtain and a ceramic tile backsplash.
The dining room and kitchen are up next. The former pays homage to the past. The space features the original Chelsea tile fireplace (decorative only), a stunning architectural frieze that frames an oval window, a built-in buffet that’s original to the house, crown molding, a chair rail, and a light fixture comprising a dozen-plus glass cylinder shades that form a circle around exposed bulbs inside a golden hoop.
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The kitchen is contemporary to meet today’s lifestyle. It comes with an island with seating for two, recessed lighting, coffee-colored Shaker-style cabinets, open shelving, high-end stainless steel appliances (the stove is gas), and counters and a backsplash that are granite. A door in the far corner opens to a 174-square-foot composite deck with a gas line — the home’s second entrance. No need to carry your dirty dish towels across the house for cleaning; a laundry room with cabinetry also is off the kitchen.
The primary suite is the last space on this level. The bedroom is 179 square feet with a pair of windows overlooking the backyard and a glass door to the deck. The closet is a single door with black pulls, and light comes from a drum shade fixture. The adjoining bath, which was overhauled in 2023, has wide-format porcelain tile flooring, a dark double vanity topped with marble, recessed lighting, three long glass sconces, and a shower with a glass door and a porcelain tile surround.
The unit always had a basem*nt, but like so many other places in New England, you couldn’t get there from here: There was no stairwell from the first to the lower level until recently.
On this level, a 147-square-foot office sits at the front of the home. It features picture frame wainscoting, illuminated built-in shelving, recessed lighting, walls painted Sherwin-Williams’ “Mount Etna” — an ashy dark blue with gray and green tones — and two windows. As you move toward the rear of the home, you’ll find a full bathroom with a shower, porcelain tile flooring, gold-toned fixtures, marble floating shelving, recessed lighting, a single vanity topped with quartz, and additional cabinetry with marble counters.
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The walk-out lower level saves what may be the best for last: a fabulous den with picture frame and board-and-batten wainscoting, a gas fireplace with a marble surround, recessed lighting, doors to a patio with a grill gas line, and a custom wet bar with maple cabinetry painted in “Mount Etna” that runs floor to ceiling and boasts open shelving and beverage and wine refrigerators from Thermador. There’s a workout space opposite the bar to work off those chocolatini calories. The office, the gym (which could also serve as a second office), and the den are wired for high-speed internet and cable.
This level also offers a storage room with plumbing and venting for a second laundry room, if desired.
The home has central air and forced-air heat (gas) with two zones. Parking is on-street.
The monthly condo fee covers water, sewer, master insurance, and the reserve funds.
Donna Charpentier of William Raveis Real Estate in Milton is the listing agent for this East Boston home.
See more photos of the home:
Follow John R. Ellement on X @JREbosglobe. Send listings to homeoftheweek@globe.com. Please note: We do not feature unfurnished homes unless they are new-builds or gut renovations and will not respond to submissions we won’t pursue. Subscribe to our newsletter at Boston.com/address-newsletter and follow us on X @globehomes.
John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him @JREbosglobe.
