ARCHITECTURE | DESIGN | COMMUNITY
Between 1930 and 1970, modern architectural ideas spread from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to new residents filling the growing western suburbs of Boston and Cambridge. Many new homes in Concord and the surrounding towns in Middlesex County reflected modern ideas that changed the physical and social makeup of these colonial towns with agricultural roots. These modern homes expressed the new social and aesthetic aspirations of members of Boston and Cambridge academic and research communities by offering simple, affordable, gracious living in proximity to nature, with an easy commute along the newly-built Route 2.
Long Chair from the Gropius House, Lincoln, Massachusetts, Marcel Breuer for Isokon Furniture Co., London, 1936-7, birch plywood, canvas, sheepskin. Courtesy of Historic New England. Bequest of Ise Gropius, 1984.25AB and 2000.683AB.
Middlesex County Modern was on view from October 9, 2015 through March 20, 2016 in the Wallace Kane Gallery at the Concord Museum. This innovative exhibition, organized by Guest Curator Rebecca Migdal, explored modern architecture in this region and its impact on design and the community. The exhibition focused on local purpose-built modern neighborhoods such as Conantum in Concord and iconic buildings such as Gropius House in Lincoln, as well as key agents in the spread of modern architecture, including the Harvard Graduate School of Design, The Architects’ Collaborative (TAC), and Design Research, architect Ben Thompson’s “lifestyle store.”
This on-line exhibition brings together a selection of the material from the exhibition and expands on the resources available to learn more about the Conantum neighborhood of Concord.
To view larger images, please click on the images below.
Read an interview with Guest Curator, Rebecca Migdal in Antiques and the Arts Weekly.
Explore Historic New England’s Gropius House in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
Browse Docomomo US to find all the latest in modern architecture preservation.
Photographs of the Eames Rocking Chair, “Lotus” Enamelware, and Pepper Mills by David Bohl.
Modern in Concord
ARCHITECTURE | DESIGN | COMMUNITY
Many architects recognized modern houses as tools for designing strong communities. Clustering modern houses on small lots left room for shared amenities like pools and tennis courts that, along with regular community events, reinforced neighborly bonds.
The earliest of these neighborhoods was Snake Hill in Belmont. Communities such as Kendal Common in Weston attracted residents with slogans like “building towards a better life.” Peacock Farm and Six Moon Hill, both in Lexington, remain tight-knit communities today.
Conantum was the largest modern neighborhood in Massachusetts and the first major residential development in Concord. Begun in 1951 and built in part by residents themselves, Conantum prized a cooperative spirit and still does. A unique clause in the original charter prevented the exclusion of buyers based on anything other than a willingness to commit to the community. Today Conantum includes over 100 homes on about 190 acres of land.
To view larger images, please click on the images below.
![“Conantum in Concord….not just another housing project.” Newspaper Advertisement, undated [about 1950-51].](https://concordmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/conantum_newspaper_advert-Handwritingremoved-4.jpg)
Explore Conantum’s history and neighborhood.
See the original homes of Conantum in photographs by the preeminent mid-century architectural photographer Ezra Stoller.
Experience the community of Conantum through oral histories of the people who live there.
Top image: Techbuilt on Derby land, February, 1955; courtesy Hanson Family, Alan Whitney Background image: Carl Koch’s “Barn,” May 1954; courtesy Tillotson Family, Alan Whitney.
Support
ARCHITECTURE | DESIGN | COMMUNITY
For making the Middlesex County Modern exhibition possible we are grateful for the support of
PRESENTING SPONSORS
CORPORATE SPONSORS
Phillips Fine Paint & Design
Sue Revis, Realtor
MAJOR SUPPORT
Susan and Greg Zacharias
WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO
Historic New England and the many individuals who graciously loaned their mid-century collections
AND TO
Circle Furniture; First Rugs; Machine Age; Matteson & Associates; Wentworth Institute of Technology Graduate Students; Gary Wolf; and program partners Docomomo US; FoMA/Lincoln; Learning By Design in Massachusetts; and the Massachusetts Historical Society
ADVISORY GROUP
Sara Chase, Dina Deitsch, Penny DeNormandie, John Ellis, David Fixler, Lucretia Hoover Giese, Peter Gittleman, Anne Grady, Gavin Kleespies, Michael Kubo, Martha McNamara, Dana Robbat, Kristina Wilson,
Gary Wolf, Sally Zimmerman
GUEST CURATOR
Rebecca Migdal
Background photograph by Jeffrey Williamson
Installation Photographs
Middlesex County Modern was on view in the Wallace Kane Gallery at the Concord Museum from October 9, 2015 through March 20, 2016.
Walk through the galleries of Middlesex County Modern; installation photographs by Mary Orr
