After visiting Cheers (!), which was a life long ambition of my husband’s we booked a tour of Gibson House which is 200 yards further down the road. If you are into your architecture and history it is well worth a visit. Tickets are less than $15 each and our guide was personable and very knowledgeable (Candice). The house itself is a treasure trove of insights into how the middle class of the late 18th century (1860’s) used to live, and the tour brings this to life. The house itself is original and has been maintained extremely well keeping its character and original furniture and decor from the early 1900’s. You learn much about the Gibson family and also Boston. The tour takes about 45 minutes and as it is limited to 8 people you get plenty of opportunities to take photos and quiz the guide. If you do go to Cheers while close by, the bar downstairs leads up to the filming set and is free to visit, well worth a visit also.

This was a wonderful story of the Boston family who built the first house on the block, lived in it for two generations but ultimately couldn’t afford to stay. Their story encompasses Boston’s geographic growth, the slave trade, the Depression and gay rights in the early twentieth century. We only wish we could have done the museum’s other tour which includes an emphasis on the domestic workers.

I really enjoyed my guided tour of the house, sadly I don’t recall the guide’s name but he was very friendly and knowledgeable. There was a lot to see here, three floors plus the basement where the servants worked. There was also a lot of information given about the individual family members who lived here which was very engaging

home was built in 1859 (row house). The home is filled with the family’s original furnishings, tapestries, art, and heirlooms. Members of the Gibson family lived here from 1860-1954. Definitely worth seeing.

I’ve lived in Boston since 1989 and I’m embarrassed to say I had never been to the Gibson House before. I was impressed with the excellent condition of the furnishings and decor - a real view into the lives of a wealthy Bostonian family from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s. Our tour guide Catherine was very knowledgeable and friendly. She relayed information in a conversational natural way - without rote regurgitation of facts. I took the Charlie Gibson’s Queer Boston tour as part of Pride weekend celebrations. It was refreshing to experience frank discussions about historical gay Boston. I enjoyed my visit immensely!

Visited here today and really enjoyed the experience. Our guide, Alex, was very well informed and engaged well with those of us on the tour. It lasted about 45 minutes and gave us a flavour of what life was like for an upper class family in Backbay up until the 1950s.