Nichols House Museum

The Nichols House Museum is located at 55 Mount Vernon Street in the Beacon Hill area of Boston, Massachusetts. Constructed in 1804, it is one of Beacon Hill’s earliest structures. Rose Standish Nichols and her family resided in the home from 1885 to 1960, after which the home became an historic house museum. Rose was a landscape architect, writer, and suffragist, who dedicated herself to her work. When she died, in her will she left her home and all of its furnishings so that it could become a historic house museum.

Rose’s goal, and the house’s mission, is as follows:

“To preserve and interpret the 1804 townhouse that was from 1885 until 1960 the home of Rose Standish Nichols, landscape gardener, suffragist and pacifist. The house was built by Jonathan Mason and is attributed to Charles Bulfinch. The museum educates visitors by providing a unique glimpse into the domestic life in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries on Boston's historic Beacon Hill.”

It is safe to say that the Nichols House upholds Rose’s wishes. In terms of its collection, the Nichols museum is small but mighty. The governance structure of the museum consists of a 19-member board of governors. The collection is available to see easily on their website. As stated in their strategic plan, the institution prioritizes visitor experience through educational programs and specialized tours; becoming an accredited museum in 2016; maintaining the building and its contents; and maintaining financial strength. They achieve visitor experience through active outreach and programs such as special events and lectures. For example, a new exhibit is opening that is free to the public about “the Nichols Women and Progressive Era Reform”. Additionally, they include themselves in events that bring in guests that might not normally visit the museum. The Beacon Hill Garden Club will stop by for guided tours- the perfect people to appreciate Rose Nichols' love of landscapes! Tours last a little less than an hour and are conducted by a guide. Special themed tours and group tours are available too.

The museum includes a wide array of historical furnishings in its collections, as well as Rose’s book collection, and more. Public tours show five different rooms in the house that are filled with antiques belonging to the family. The museum makes an effort to keep the rooms exactly as they would have been kept when the family lived there. The antiques tell a story of both the family’s economic standing at the time as well as some of Boston’s own economic history. While much of the furnishings were acquired by the family’s trips to Europe, there are other pieces, such as porcelains and lacquer boxes, that show Boston’s history with the China Trade. The entire collection is available on the Nichols House website. There are a few different ways to browse the collection. In order to view the collection from the main page, the user is asked to click on one of three thumbnails (a table, a statue, and a painting, respectively). Doing so brings the user to a list of generated random images. Each time the page is loaded the images are different. This is an easy way to browse the collection as a whole. In order to find more specific items, the “Click & Search” tab allows alphabetic search for different categories of metadata (Title; Object name / Other name; Artist or Maker; Place of Origin; Description; Accession number; and date). There is also a Keyword Search and Advanced Search option available. Holdings range from a variety of different objects, including furniture, art, dishes and utensils, right down to keys. When a thumbnail is chosen, a larger image and the metadata are presented. The metadata for these objects are much better than I had expected. Object name, title, date, and description are present and include the source and collection. One criticism is that you cannot navigate back to the home page after entering the collection pages. Some significant collections besides the furnishings include their archival collections consisting of paperwork, photographs, and postcards belonging to the family.

The condition of the collection appears to be excellent, considering their age. According to Ashley Jahrling Bannon, the Head of Stewardship and Interpretation at the museum, there are many environmental controls that are in place for the safety of the museum and its collections. Each room has its temperature and relative humidity regulated and the data is analyzed every 2 months. The house is HVAC controlled and the window panels provide filters against UV rays, and they have a dehumidifier. There is also storage for archives and textile collections that are not kept on display kept inside acid free storage materials. The most pressing environmental concern according to Bannon, is light damage. The most important projects right now are the reproduction of the curtains on the third floor and the restoration of the front portico. Additionally, the work pillows in Rose’s bedroom have been exposed to light damage. The materials are easily accessible either by viewing the digitized collection online or viewing the materials in person. Unfortunately, the old house is not very accessible for some people with disabilities. There are limits on the accessibility of certain archival objects, as some are in archival storage and not meant for display.

There is a preservation and disaster plan in place. According to Bannon, all prints and the bed hangings in the Parent’s room are reproductions, with the originals in storage. All wooden furniture, tapestries, and Rose’s bed hangings are cleaned and stabilized. The original rugs are stored and replaced with replicas except for the parlor rug. The roof and windows have been restored recently. The website under the “Preservation” tab has details and photos of recent construction done on the house, and the Annual reports (also available on the website) provide further details on past preservation efforts. The collection policy, Board of Governors’ Collection Committee, and contract professionals are the major components in addressing preservation issues. The museum staff and volunteers attend conferences and webinars frequently and refer to NEMA, AAM, and AASLH best practices when considering preservation of the collection.

As far as social media, the Nichols Museum could improve. On their website, there is a link to a Wordpress blog about their "Object of the Month". This could easily translate to a more popular social media platform such as Instagram or Tumblr (though the frequency of posts would have to be more than once a month for this to be successful). Their Facebook has very few likes, though they seem to update semi-regularly. Though it is a small museum, social media can go a long way.

In conclusion, while the museum is small, its historic significance is great. The collections are well taken care of, especially considering the many factors working against them. It provides a look into one of the many beautiful homes in the Beacon Hill area that generations can enjoy for years.