Beauport
Why it's listed
Beauport is a sprawling, multi-gabled seaside house of nearly fifty rooms, built on a granite ledge above Gloucester Harbor. Henry Davis Sleeper, an architect and interior decorator, started it in 1907 as a three-room summer cottage and kept adding to it for about twenty-five years. Its exterior mixes fieldstone, brick, half-timbering and brown shingles, with towers, turrets, and spiral brick chimneys. Inside, many small rooms hold paneling, doorways and beams salvaged from early New England houses, along with Sleeper's collections of ceramics, furniture, textiles, pewter and other antiques. The house was arranged like a series of stage sets, with color and lighting setting each room's mood. It matters as an early example of reusing architectural fragments and as a showcase of American interior design that influenced Winterthur and the Metropolitan Museum's American Wing. After Sleeper died in 1934, the house and contents stayed together under later owners, and in 1942 they passed to a preservation society.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents Beauport as an important early collection of American and European antiques in a unique architectural setting. It was one of the earliest American efforts to rescue architectural fragments and reinstall them in new surroundings. It also influenced the founding of Winterthur and the Metropolitan Museum's American Wing, and Sleeper is recognized as a genius of American interior design.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 76000246, listed April 26, 1976. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Eastern Point Blvd., Gloucester |
|---|---|
| County | Essex County |
| Listed | April 26, 1976 |
| Reference number | 76000246 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1907 - c.1929 |
| Architect / builder | Henry Davis Sleeper |
| Architectural style | Eclectic: Shingle style massing with Tudor and French Norman elements |
| Areas of significance | Art, Architecture |
| Level of significance | National |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied and open as a museum, owned by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities since 1942; appearance largely unchanged since Sleeper's death in 1934. |
| Acreage | 1.5 |
| Coordinates | 42.59125, -70.66011 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 76000246.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.