Point Radio Cottage

Perched right on Gloucester Harbor, this large, two-level studio sleeps like a one bedroom, with the entire upper floor occupied by the main suite. Downstairs, you'll find an inviting, spacious living quarters dominated by the floor-to-ceiling windows and French doors that lead onto a waterfront deck lined with stone walls and a bar-top table – making for the perfect place to overlook the breathtaking scenery with a cup of coffee or glass of wine. In the kitchen, you'll find a full suite of stainless steel appliances, ample counter space, and all the gadgets you need to make everything from a masterpiece to a muffin. At mealtime, the adjacent dining room comfortably seats the whole family. When it's time to head out to explore, you're surrounded by water and beaches, as well as opportunities for hiking, biking, birdwatching, and sailing. When you return, get comfortable upstairs in your suite where you will be greeted with another, more spacious, deck that serves as a phenomenal place to sun bathe. Unwind in bed with a little TV on the flatscreen. No matter how you spent the day, it'll come to a relaxing end if you're staying at this snug waterfront getaway.

Property History:

Point Radio Cottage sits atop an imposing stone foundation laid in 1924 by the American inventor John Hays Hammond, Jr. (1888–1965). “Jack”, as he was known to his family and friends, was the son of a wealthy mining engineer and diplomat, John Hays Hammond, Sr. In his youth, Jack was mentored by Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, who inspired him to pursue a career in scientific research. He attended the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale University, graduating in 1910. Two years later at the age of 24, he started the Hammond Radio Research Laboratory on a corner of his parents' sprawling Gloucester estate. With his father's money, he built a spacious lab and erected two steel broadcasting towers. Jack named his corner of the property “Point Radio.” From Point Radio, he quickly made important contributions to the fields of radio control, electronics, and naval weaponry. By the time of his death, Jack had been awarded over 400 patents.

Jack was interested not only in science and invention, but in architecture and art history. He was fascinated by European castles, having lived briefly in England as a boy. In 1920, he began transforming a modest bungalow that was part of the Hammond estate into a Tudor mansion, complete with vaulted ceilings, leaded glass windows, and half-timbered façades. On summer vacations to Europe, he purchased antique furniture and statuary which he shipped back to Gloucester to decorate his residence. His most ambitious plan called for the construction of a four-story stone castle rising directly from the sea. The blueprints, which survive today, show soaring towers, Gothic tracery, and high walls connecting the castle with the adjacent bungalow-turned-mansion.

No sooner had work begun, however, when Jack had a falling out with his parents. Secretly, Jack had married a local Gloucester woman, Irene Fenton Reynolds. Not only was Irene eight years his senior, but she had divorced her first husband to marry Jack. Jack's parents, anxious to avoid a scandal when news of the marriage hit the newspapers, ordered him off their estate. By now, however, Jack was independently wealthy thanks to the sale of his patents to RCA. He bought a parcel of land a few miles up the road from Point Radio and almost immediately broke ground on a second, larger castle. Work on the first castle at Point Radio was abandoned, the windows and doors sealed tightly. The laboratory was dismantled and its contents moved to Jack's new property.

After the death of John Hays Hammond, Sr., in 1936, the Hammond estate was donated to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Shortly thereafter, the unfinished castle and the bungalow-turned-mansion at Point Radio passed into private hands. By the end of the 1990s a two-story cottage had been built on the castle foundation. Today, under new ownership, Point Radio is undergoing significant historic restoration. Architectural details lost over time are being reintroduced. Archaeological studies have confirmed the location of the research laboratory.

Jack left Point Radio in 1928, never to return. He called his new, grander home Abbadia Mare—Abbey by the Sea. Today it is known as Hammond Castle. A museum open to the public, Hammond Castle receives thousands of visitors every year. But to visit Point Radio you must book a stay at Point Radio Cottage!

Things to Know

Streaming with guest accounts

House Rules

Check-in time: 4:00 p.m.

Check-out time: 10:00 a.m

All guests shall abide by the good neighbor policy and shall not engage in illegal activity. Quiet hours are from 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.

No smoking is permitted anywhere on the premises.

Permit number: RENT-751