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HISTORY
The Longyear Mansion, with a distinct history dating back to the 1890s, was originally built in Marquette, Michigan for John and Mary Longyear. John Longyear, who made his fortune in mining, logging and heavy industry, used native red and brown stone as the primary material for the exterior of the building. It was built on a hill that overlooked Lake Superior. The house was landscaped by the famous architect Frederick Law Olmsted and was completed in 1892. Around the turn-of-the-century, tragedy struck the Longyears when one of their sons drowned in Lake Superior. Mary Longyear was very fond of the house but couldn't bear to stay in it because every time she looked out the windows she could see Lake Superior where her son had drowned. The Longyears moved to Boston to get away from the tragic memories and to live closer to Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the First Church of Christ Scientist in Boston, but were so fond of the house, they had it dismantled, numbered each stone and moved the entire house 1,300 miles by train in 172 freight and flat cars to Boston. While re-constructing the house atop Fisher Hill in Brookline, they added another 20 rooms to the original house.
In time their home became an educational center for the Church, and upon Mary Longyear's death in 1931, the mansion and grounds became the Longyear Foundation, housing a museum and archive of early Christian Science documents and artifacts.
Today, the Longyear estate has been transformed into a luxury condominium development, "Longyear at Fisher Hill." Fisher Hill remains a beautiful neighborhood, recalling the grandeur of another era with stone walls, large old trees, wrought iron fences, brick sidewalks, and significant turn-of-the-century architecture. The neighborhood's cohesiveness is due to the integrity of Olmstead's sensitive layout, and the fact that the homes were built within a fairly short timeframe, under strict deed restrictions.
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