Beauport, Sleeper-McCann House

I had a great time. It was a great experience for fun day Sunday! The kids loved it, and our tour guide was very informative and interesting. Definitely interested in returning. It was a wonderful day! There is also a gorgeous view of the Boston skyline and a lovely courtyard.

i am looking forward to their opening in the spring so i may visit again. this place is spectacular. the docents are most knowledgeable and the history of it all is wonderful.

This place was really neat and I basically ended up there randomly when I was poking around in the area. I managed to show up just as a tour was starting, but I did get to see the pretty garden on my way to the meeting point.
The tour guide was very fun and I liked that she seemed to really care about the house and it’s history. I thought it was really interesting to hear about the house since I didn’t know who Sleeper was — but really really interesting. The stories about him and his parties were funny and I can imagine it would have been a house to have an amazing time in
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I won’t give away all of the tour ‘secrets’, only will say that this is definitely work a visit if you’re in the area. Also, do not forget to walk around the front of the house to see the lovely view and landscaping. I personally thought the fall colors were beautiful — but remember that it does close seasonally!

This place is a hidden gem and should be visited at least 3 times so you can get the full experience. The museum/​historic mansion is jam packed with hidden rooms, treasures from Sleepers trips and is an excellent example of early design used to the fullest.
I’d suggest going on a cooler day because it gets a little stuffy inside the house and calling ahead if you have more than 5 – 6 people with you. Tours are on the hour and space is limited.
The gift shop is great, sourcing local vendors and objects hand picked from the Historic New England team so you can bring home a little bit of Sleeper with you and remember it forever.
I can’t wait to go back and visit again!

This place is to gay interior decorators what Lourdes is to the handicapped. I made the pilgrimage yesterday on one of those extraordinary mid-​September days, and it was a bit out of the way, but well worth the effort. I have to say — I am not an interior decorator, and I don’t know the difference between majolica and toll ware. Even so — a visit to Beauport is really wonderful — it’s a sprawling, peculiar, rambling old 1900 summer house with a hundred nooks and crannies in 40+ rooms that will leave you pleased that you came. The staff at the gate were warm and friendly. The guide was first rate. Nice amenities. And a recommendation for you: look to the south-​west just beyond the entrance to Gloucester Harbor, and you will see the skyscrapers of Boston twenty five miles away. Just magic.

Went here for an event of sorts– Salem Wine Women, who made the trek to Gloucester for a night of networking, wine and mansion! It is a great house (from what I can tell of the abbreviated tour we got) with a great view and just interesting architecture. They have a nooks and cranny tour that takes 3 hours that I so want to go back for. The two dates left this year don’t work for me so alas I will have to wait until 2011.

One of coolest houses in New England! Henry Sleeper’s Beauport is a one of a kind place. Quirky and quintessentially New England, it is chock a block with themed rooms filled with displays of dime store glass mixed with high end antiques. Mount Vernon, it is not but it is an interesting slice of Americana!
As a historic house fiend (I’ve worked in several and visited many), this is one of my favorites. Built in the Gilded Age enclave of Eastern Point, it offers beautiful views of Gloucester Harbor. The house is presented as the artful expression of a gay man (and his community) in the early 20^th Century. Rather than a presenting a staid furniture tour, the docents share the uniqueness of Sleeper, his life, his friends, and his aesthetic in each space. Any man that hung out with Isabelle Stewart Gardner must cool!
Beware, though, it is closed on Sundays.