No. 3738 71 Alban Street, photograph circa 1889. Given to the Dorchester Historical Society in 1923 by architect Edwin J. Lewis, Jr. On verso: House of Mr. C. F. Dillaway. Photograph taken by Wm F. Clark, 338 Washington St., Boston.
Date of construction: 1889
Architect: Edwin J. Lewis, Jr.
The following is from Ashmont by Douglass Shand-Tucci, p. 93-94
A house undoubtedly by Lewis is at hand, however (and of his earliest, designed in 1889), across the street and two houses up: the Dillaway-Blinn House, 71 Alban, which takes its name from Charles F. W. Dillaway, the banker who ultimately settled near his brother on Fairfax Street, and from Charles Blinn, assistant treasurer of the City Trust Company of Boston. Although this is not completely documented, it is hardly much of a risk to attribute 71 Alban to Lewis. It is vintage Lewis, not only in its overall simplicity and clarity of form but also in such minimal but telling details as the off-axis street-facade bay window and the tall, attenuated balusters of the porch balustrade. The south front is particularly good. There are only two “features”: Lewis has persuaded the topmost part of the gable into angled planes that push forward to shape a great triangular hood over the third-floor windows; he also endows the first floor with a bay window. And the way the two features work together with the delicate sawtooth ornament between the two lower stories to create this south front is masterful.
The following is from: Codman Square House Tour Booklet 1999
No. 71 Alban Street is an informal, asymmetrical Shingle-style house by prolific Dorchester architect Edwin J. Lewis.
The following is from: Codman Square House Tour Booklet 2002
Year Built: 1889
Architect: Edwin J. Lewis
Style: Shingle Style
Built for Charles Dilloway, a banker, 71 Alban Street is a characteristic Shingle-style design by Edwin J. Lewis, architect for many houses in the Ashmont area. Lewis’s designs are distinguished by their crisp geometry. Horizontal lines are emphasized; small-paned windows contribute to the cottage-y look. Note the sculptural treatment of the windows in the gable ends and the shingled soffits at the eaves. The porch railing appears on many Lewis houses.
In the tiny vestibule, original decorative motifs are incised into the plaster walls; on the floor is an intricate, multi-hued mosaic; surprisingly, not ceramic tile but lineoleum. The staircase in the hall is, by Victorian standards, downright austere, with plain square balusters. The dark-stained floor continues into the parlors, where an impressive collection of Mission-style furniture is set off by walls painted a subtle khaki shade. The period ambience is enhanced by simple striped curtains, authentic “early electric” light fixtures, and pottery of the Arts and Crafts era. Lewis’s penchant for elegant simplicity can be seen in n the dining room fireplace; the wood mantel is supported by slender Doric colonnettes; the fireplace surround is made of smooth red bricks, the hearth of simple square tiles.
An intact china pantry leads to the kitchen, which has been completely redone by the present owner. All evidence of the 1970s version, with dark wood cabinets and an arched opening into the dining room, has happily disappeared. The “new” painted-wood cabinets are actually old, rescued during the demolition of a grand house in Milton.
Further variations of the palette of subtle, earthy colors appear on the second floor. Note the built-in loft bed in the small room at the head of the stairs, which is painted an unusual citron color. Sunny yellow appears in the redone bathroom, where white, brick-patterned wall tile and tiny white-glass mosaic floor tile seem both nostalgic and contemporary.
71 Alban Street clearly demonstrates how the use of a consistent, subtle color scheme can create an astonishing sense of spaciousness, with an easy flow from room to room, even in a house as small as this one.
Dorchester Atlases show owners:
1889 Chas F. Dillaway
1894 C. T. Davis
1898 Fannie C. York
1904 Fannie C. York
1910 Etta G. Blinn
1918 F.J. & C.N. McBarron
1933 Albert V. Colman
Deed
February 4, 1889 from George D. Wells to Charles F. W. Dillaway 1860.564 pt lots 234 & 236
Parcel of land
March 29, 1892 Charles F. W. Dillaway to Kate L. Brown, wife of Frederick W. Brown, 2049.530
parcel of land with the buildings thereon
April 21, 1894 from Frederick W. Brown to Charles T. Davis 2192.412
July 14, 1897 from Frederick W. Brown and Kate L. Brown to Fannie C. York, wife of Nelson P. York 2456.322
Boston Directory
1889 Charles F. W. Dillaway, paying teller, Mechanics’ National Bank, h. 532 Adams, Dor
1890 Charles F. W. Dillaway, paying teller, Mechanics’ National Bank, h. 71 Alban
1892 Frederick W. Brown, 53 State, rm 542, bds. 71 Alban
1898 Nelson P. York, real estate, h. 71 Alban
Dorchester Blue Books
1894 Residents of 71 Alban Street were Mr. & Mrs. Frederick W. Brown
1896 Residents of 71 Alban Street were Mr. & Mrs. Frederick W. Brown
1900 none listed
1902 Residents of 71 Alban Street were Mr. & Mrs. Nelson York
1904 Residents of 71 Alban Street were Mr. & Mrs. Nelson York
1906 Residents of 71 Alban Street were Mr. & Mrs. Charles P. Blinn, Jr.
1908 Residnets of 71 Alban Street were Mr. & Mrs. Charles P. Blinn, Jr.
1910 Residents of 71 Alban Street were Mr. & Mrs. Charles P. Blinn, Jr.
1913 no entry
1915 Residents of 71 Alban Street were Mr. & Mrs. F J McBarron
Census 1900
Nelson P. York, 46, real estate broker
Fannie C. York, 47
Julia Buckley, 22, servant