The Donald McKay House was built in 1844 in the Greek Revival style. McKay moved into the house in 1845 with his first wife, Albenia Boole. Albenia died in 1848. The McKay house is located at 78-80 White Street in East Boston’s Eagle Hill Historic District. The house is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. A unique feature of the McKay home is the thirteen columns on the flat-roofed porch which McKay added to the west side of his house. The columns are said to honor the thirteen colonies. It is said that inside the McKay home that the dining room was oval in shape to look like a ship.
Much of the first floor’s interior is authentic to the 19th century, and while the exterior of the house has experienced some changes in form and detail, it retains much of its original character. Over the years, a wrap-around porch has been removed and the building’s wood clapboards covered with asphalt shingles. The site also includes a barn structure.
The house also reflects East Boston’s strong associations with immigration. Owned by the Vertuccio family for nearly 80 years, it is a place from which to interpret the story of the 20th century Italian immigration through to today’s fast-growing Central and South American communities. McKay, also an immigrant, was born and brought up in Nova Scotia.
To learn more about the McKay House, read the Boston Landmarks Commission’s 1977 study report for the site’s designation as one of Boston’s first Landmarks in 1977. Stay tuned for more on the future of the historic East Boston house.
The home was not far from McKay’s shipyard on Border Street where he built some of his most famous clipper ships. Images are from the Boston Landmark Commission image collection, City of Boston Archives, copyright: City of Boston
78-80 White Street
East Boston, MA
Eagle Hill Historic District
