Exterior rear view of Bellmont, the Cushing-Col. Benton Estate, Belmont, Mass.

Description

An exterior view of the rear elevation of the John Perkins Cushing-Colonel Everett Chamberlin Benton House at 75 Oakley Road in Belmont, Massachusetts. J. P. Cushing named his estate Bellmont after a "gentle eminence at its center that provided views toward Fresh Pond and the Mystic River valley." The property was originally in a part of Watertown that later became Belmont, which was named after the estate. Asher Benjamin designed the Greek Revival house and five greenhouses with participation from Cushing. Construction began in 1840 and was completed some fifteen years later. Colonel Benton, a businessman who founded the Massachusetts Fire and Maritime Insurance Company and was a Republican politician, purchased the estate in 1903 and lived there until he died on February 5, 1924. The view is from a path along the great lawn. In the lower left corner of the image, a man sits against the trunk of a tree on the edge of the great lawn.