Cornelius Coolidge was a real estate developer in early 19th-century Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, who constructed buildings in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood, and elsewhere. Described variously as an architect, housewright, builder, designer, and real estate broker, Harvard

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

-educated Coolidge brought many buildings into being. Clients of Coolidge & Co. included some of Boston's more prominent residents, such as David Sears and Charles Francis Adams

Charles Francis Adams, Sr.

Charles Francis Adams, Sr. was an American lawyer, politician, diplomat and writer. He was the grandson of President John Adams and Abigail Adams and the son of President John Quincy Adams and Louisa Adams....

. He conducted business with John Hubbard, Joseph Morton (brother of Perez Morton

Perez Morton

Perez Morton was a lawyer and revolutionary patriot in Boston, Massachusetts.-Biography:Morton was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1751, and raised in Boston. His father, Joseph Morton, worked as a tavern-keeper at the White Horse Tavern. Perez attended the Boston Latin School starting around...

) and others. He was also a proprietor of the Boston Mill Corporation.
Around 1825, Coolidge and Nathaniel Amory began developing property in Nahant, Massachusetts, for construction of summer homes. The first homes sold in 1827. Clients included David Sears and others. On Beacon Hill, Coolidge built houses on Chestnut, Mount Vernon, Acorn, Joy and Beacon

Beacon Street

Beacon Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts and several of its western suburbs. Beacon Street in Boston, Brookline, Brighton, and Newton is not to be confused with the Beacon Street in nearby Somerville, or others elsewhere.-Description:...

 Streets, including Louisburg Square

Louisburg Square

Louisburg Square is a private square located in the Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Boston. It was named for the 1745 Battle of Louisbourg, in which Massachusetts militiamen led by William Pepperrell, who was made the first American baronet for his role, sacked the French...

. Several remain in existence, including:

• 33 Beacon Street (George Parkman
  George Parkman
  George Parkman , a Boston Brahmin , belonged to one of Boston's richest families...
  
   house), 1825.
• 50 Chestnut Street (Francis Parkman
  Francis Parkman
  Francis Parkman was an American historian, best known as author of The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life and his monumental seven-volume France and England in North America. These works are still valued as history and especially as literature, although the biases of his...
  
   house), 1830s.

Coolidge led an active social life. He was one of the first subscribers the Boston Athenaeum. He attended the gala opening dinner party for the newly built Tremont House hotel on October 16, 1829, along with mayor Josiah Quincy

Josiah Quincy III

Josiah Quincy III was a U.S. educator and political figure. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives , Mayor of Boston , and President of Harvard University...

, Daniel Webster

Daniel Webster

Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...

, Edward Everett

Edward Everett

Edward Everett was an American politician and educator from Massachusetts. Everett, a Whig, served as U.S. Representative, and U.S. Senator, the 15th Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to Great Britain, and United States Secretary of State...

, Harrison Gray Otis

Harrison Gray Otis (lawyer)

Harrison Gray Otis , was a businessman, lawyer, and politician, becoming one of the most important leaders of the United States' first political party, the Federalists...

, and others.

Further reading

• Original Bank Circular, 1809. In: Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Vol. 11, 1870; p. 306-308.
• Andrew Preston Peabody. A sermon preached in commemoration of the founders of the Nahant Church: at the dedication of a tablet erected to their memory, July 22, 1877. Press of John Wilson and Son, 1877.
• Bernstein, Allen. Cornelius Coolidge, architect of Beacon Hill row houses, 1810-1840. Old-Time New England. October 1948. Vol.39; p. 45-6.