Chapman and Frazer used the late-fifteenth-century English Perpendicular Gothic style for the exterior of this 1905 fantasy for William Lindsay, a prominent Boston businessman and litterateur who strove for a Gothic effect in his writings, such as The Severed Mantle (1909). Within the L-shaped mass on this corner lot, each room has a distinct style, from the Tudor morning room to the Georgian Revival dark oak dining room. This theatrical setting provided a background for the romantic tastes of the Lindsays and a stage for their lavish entertaining. Boston University purchased the property in 1939 for the president's house and now uses it for social functions.