Gore Place

I came to Gore Place due to Soul Pose yoga being held on the lawn behind the mansion.
They let all attendees of Soul Pose tour the first floor of the mansion for $ 5.
I enjoyed the tour and hope to come back to take the full tour in the future.
The house reminded me very much of the Adams house in Quincy, MA — which makes sense since they’re from the same time period.

Pleasant and incredibly informative visit July 3. Thank you.

We just had our wedding at Gore Place and I had to leave a review.
I am still overwhelmed at how helpful Gore Place was in helping us organize our wedding. Marjorie helped recommend caterers and activities for our guests. She set up the favors/​guest book table for us on the day of and made sure there were special tours of the mansion.
The estate itself is gorgeous. There are 2 venues — the carriage house for parties under 90 (which we used — it was FANTASTIC!) and a huge tent that can accommodate many more (250 or more?). They will only rent out one venue at any time so you know you are the top priority for your event.
As an added bonus, since we are Waltham residents we got a huge discount.
It was a fantastic day and my guests all raved about the venue. I highly recommend!

We were only able to tour part of the ground and the exterior of the house because a special event was scheduled for the night. 3 star due to not able to see the inside. The outside was beautiful.

As most people do, I have amazingly wonderful memories of our wedding, and in my case, some of that is due to the venue. It is simply beautiful. Natural and graceful, with a gorgeous enclosed rose garden and sweeping fields. The guests didn’t use the house because it was a hot summer day, but 8 of us got ready in the bridal room and it was perfect. Lots of space, light, and power outlets for the hair and makeup people. Catie, the site manager, was helpful and accommodating, and worked very well with our caterer (Cuisine Chez Vous — amazing). The venue was surprisingly affordable, too. A couple of small issues: The grounds are dark and we had some older guests who had a hard time getting to the parking lot after the reception ended. We were also inundated with bugs and stupidly had not thought to stock up on bug spray. I did wish the venue had mentioned the bug infestation and/​or had some bug spray handy, but we had our planner race to the store to get some. Just a word to the wise if you’re planning a summer wedding there. Anyway. We were really happy we ended up choosing this spot for our big day, and we love going back to visit.

I was there on a Friday evening for the «life before electricity» tour. Fascinating! I’m definitely coming back during the day so I can have a good look at the house. Great spot!

You must have your wedding at Gore Place. Call them right now and go visit. First and foremost, the event coordinator, Michelle Caruso is fantastic. She is so accommodating, young, fun, and gets it! She wants to do everything she possibly can to help out and was a big help on the day of. We even asked her to help organize our ceremony for us so we all knew when to walk. Aside from Michelle, the venue is beautiful and affordable. We did our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception here and they have so much space for all 3 to feel like they are in separate areas. You get all of the grounds to yourself for the whole afternoon/​evening and a massive tent (with a floor) comes with the cost. The grounds are also so stunning, full of green and flowers. We loved everything about this venue and working with the people at Gore Place — you should definitely hold your wedding here!

We went on a warmish winter day in January and were able to appreciate the grounds before the tour. Our tour guide, Prentice, gave us an extraordinarily detailed tour which we very much appreciated. A must see!

Having spent my career working in the heritage industry, I’m always searching out new places to explore. I’m drawn to historic houses, in all of their stupefying glory. Although I tend to be rather critical of these places, since I’m in the biz, I’m drawn to exploring how others lived. I am fascintaed how homes represent their era, their owner’s status in society, and their place in history. Fortunately, New England is saturated with these institutions and have been exploring them since moving to MA in 2007.
I came to Gore Place to check out the organization’s plant sale and decided to stay for a tour of the home. The grounds and house remind me of properties I’ve seen and studied in England. Turns out that the Gores spent time in jolly old England prior to building this, their country home. The interiors also reminded me of similar sized English country homes. The ground floor spaces are grand and very Continental; very fitting for a family of their stature. I was also struck by the American touches: local materials and the design elements tied into running an efficient household, tres American!
I wish the tour spent more time of connecting the house and the Gores to the era they lived in; knowing the context creates understanding concerning why you see what you see. Still, the house is magnificent and a beautiful example of architecture from the early 19^th century. Look forward to returning with fellow historic house geeks.

I visited Gore Place for the 23^rd Annual Sheepshearing festival. It’s hard to believe this place is right in Waltham. The grounds are beautiful and immaculately maintained.
The festival itself was fantastic. I can’t believe they put such a huge event together for only one day a year. It’s so professional– it looks like it should be up for weeks.
There was a herding demonstration by a shepherd, which may be one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. I want one of those dogs. I tried to make my cats herd things, but so far, no luck.
The food was delish. Burgers cooked by boy scouts, homemade ice cream.. . perfect fair food.
The one downside was the sheepshearing itself. While ridiculously cool to see it done, it was pretty hard to see. Everyone was crowded around a tiny space and there was a lot of pushing and shoving. If everyone was asked to move back, it would have been easier to see and more pleasant for all involved.

We went here today for the 23^rd Annual Sheep Shearing festival, and I felt sheepish since I’ve never been before. Ewe should make the trip to Waltham, and enjoy Gore Place and it’s relaxing grounds. You can’t even hear car horns bleating when you curl up under a shady tree and have a picnic.

I wanted to review the house itself, not just the grounds or its use as a rental facility. As a historic house of a fairly important person in history (Christopher Gore, one-​time governor of Massachusetts and major donor to Harvard), the building is deceptively large — it just doesn’t look that big from the outside. And I mean it’s show-​offy large. The first floor ceilings must have been at least 15 feet high. The artifacts are all authentic to the period, but not necessarily Gore originals. Still, they have enough from the Gore family to intrigue a casual visitor like me. The guides wear simple period outfits that are not distracting or cheesy and they don’t draw attention to it.
Because the house went through an interesting history (it was the seat of a country club at one point), a lot of information disappeared as ownership passed along. Some of the «we don’t know the answer» details (i.e. how each room was originally used) add a certain charm, rather than a frustration.
I was able to take one of their «full moon» tours — an evening tour scheduled on the night of a full moon. Part of the tour is showing true evening life in the early 19^th century — which means no electricity. They lit using real or electric candles and it was an amazing experience. Here and there, they still turned the lights on so we could get a good look at the room and the furnishings but, to be honest, I’d have been perfectly happy if they hadn’t.

I was hoping there was a little more to the place after reading on their website the grounds are 45 acres and they highlight snowshoeing. I have a new pair of snowshoes so I thought I could try them and get an outdoor workout instead of going to the gym.
Maybe I just don’ t know what 45 acres is, but I had to loop the perimeter twice and also do some laps back and forth some of the fields to get in an hour of exercise. Also, my desire to be out in nature was squashed by the view of the big Walgreen’s and Shell signs over the wall, houses that abut one side of the property, and the zoom of vehicles that were still a bit audible over my iPod.
Either way, it fit the bill for my intentions today, but I’ll have to look for somewhere more woodsy for next time. On the plus side, I only saw one other person on the grounds the entire time I was there. They rent snowshoes for $ 5, but I think it is only Monday-​Friday.
Who this is good for:
–People who want to try snowshoeing or cross country skiing without having to go far and want a flat area to practice
–Families, since they have some kids programs
–People who live close by and just want a little outdoor space for some fresh air.
–Small kids who want to sled-​there is a little slope behind the mansion
Not good for:
–Outdoor enthusiasts who are looking to spend significant time outdoors or a nature experience
–Dog walkers since there is a no dog sign

Open daily to the public, the Gore Estate is an inviting place for a walk, picnic or even sledding in the winter. It hosts public and private events throughout the year including weddings, sheep shearing festival, sleigh rides and plant & flower sales. Kids can also do a scavenger hunt on the grounds in the summer time, a butterfly garden and a small farm with animals to visit. If you do take a tour of the home on the property, it’s by appointment only and I wouldn’t suggest bringing the kids. The carriage house is also open during certain events too.

This location was our second choice for a wedding venue. I was extremely pleased with the way Catie went out of her way to answer questions we had and the time she spend with us showing us the site. She even gave us suggestions and told us what others have done and how they used the space.
Gore Place is a historic home and the home is only open for the bridal party to help the bride get ready, etc. There is a neat carriage house, which can hold up to 100 people. For larger groups they have a permanent tent with a carpeted floor and full sides. They also have tables and chairs for 100, if you’re looking at a bigger number you’d need to rent but most caterers can help with that. There are also large open areas and an English style garden as well, which could be nice for cocktail hour.
Really the only reason we decided not to go with this location was because we’re having the wedding in the Fall and were somewhat concerned with the weather. The other location we were deciding between also included catering and some other things which we didn’t have to seek out. After the location/​venue search on my own I was a bit frazzled and the idea of someone taking care of almost all the rest of the planning was too much of a temptation.
Still, this is a beautiful location. The fee for renting was for 8 hours! Which is rather unusual. If you become a member of the Historical Society they will also give you a discount on the price. The tent can accommodate 200 buffet style and 350 for a sit down dinner.
Honestly, I would recommend this place, based on my meeting with their event planner and seeing the location.
This place is also open dusk to dawn for the public to enjoy. Wonderful lawns for picnicking, large old trees and paved paths for walking or biking or strolling (or ambulating). ;) There is also a farm on the property.
A very pretty swath of land on the edge of Waltham and Watertown.