The
Second Harrison Gray Otis House is located at 85 Mount Vernon Street. It is a large, square, Federal-style mansion in densely developed
Beacon Hill, built in 1800–1802. It is three stories in height, with brick walls laid in Flemish bond, and is set on a parcel with a relatively ample lawn, and a semicircular cobblestone drive, the latter a rare surviving remnant of the original vision for the development of Beacon Hill by the Mount Vernon Proprietors. The house was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1973. In this house Bulfinch has made the first floor with his characteristic recessed brick
arches, here ornamented with Chinese fretwork balconies in iron. The facade has four bays, with somewhat odd use of
Corinthian pilasters on the 2nd and 3rd floors. There is a roof
balustrade and a largish, octagonal
cupola. Otis lived here until 1806. The house was portrayed as the home of Thomas Crown (
Steve McQueen) in the original
Thomas Crown Affair film. It also served as Thomas Banacek's home (
George Peppard) in the TV show
Banacek (1972-74). ==Third Harrison Gray Otis House==