Historic New England's Lyman Estate

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Waltham, MA
Historic New England's Lyman Estate

The Lyman Estate is open with guided tours available on the first and third Saturdays of the month year-round. Last tour is at noon.

Visit HistoricNewEngland.org for more information. Lyman Estate, owned and operated by Historic New England, is a venue for private functions and weddings, a site for public programs, including our popular summer movie nights, and a museum open for tours on selected days. Our historic greenhouses are open most of the year for visits and plant sales. Public tours of the mansion run hourly year-roun

d, on the 3rd Saturday of the month, from 10AM-1pm. Groups of 10 or more are welcome to book a special group tour at times when the mansion is not normally open to the public. Our grounds are always open, and we encourage you to visit and enjoy them. History of the site:
Lyman Estate, also known as "The Vale," is one of the finest examples in the United States of a country estate following the principles of eighteenth-century English naturalistic design. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, large expanses of land and proximity to Boston made Waltham a popular location for country estates. Lyman Estate was the warm-weather retreat for four generations of the Lyman family. In 1793 shipping merchant Theodore Lyman commissioned famed architect Samuel McIntire to design and build a Federal-style house. The family enlarged the house in 1882 in the Victorian style and then remodeled it in the Colonial Revival style in 1917. The thirty-seven-acre property includes beautifully preserved gardens and historic greenhouses. Visitors hear the story of the Lyman family as they explore the elegant mansion. The mansion’s architectural features include an elegant ballroom and graceful oval parlor, both pristine examples of Federal design.

06/06/2026

Join us for our free open house today until 1:00! Plus, a plant sale at the greenhouses. Find Sam in the garden to hear about the history of the landscape.

05/30/2026

Next week!
Historic New England's sites across the region are open and FREE to the public on Saturday, June 6.

At the Lyman Estate, stroll through the landscape, 1793 mansion, and historic greenhouses. The mansion is open 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and greenhouses are open 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with a Hosta and Perennial Sale.

Other nearby Open House locations and hours:

Browne House, in Watertown (10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
Codman Estate in Lincoln (10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.)
Cooper-Frost-Austin House in Cambridge (10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.)
Eustis Estate in Milton (10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
Gropius House in Lincoln (11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
Otis House in Boston (11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) with Book Sale
Pierce House in Dorchester (11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.)
Quincy House in Quincy (9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.)

05/20/2026

Join us for the Annual Hosta and Perennial Sale on May 30, May 31, and June 6!

Shop hundreds of beautiful plants for sun and shade in our lawn sales area behind the historic greenhouses, and browse a wonderful selection of herbs if you missed our earlier herb sale. Whether you’re refreshing garden beds, filling containers, or adding something new to your landscape, there’s plenty to discover.

The historic greenhouses will also be open during the sale. Rain or shine — we look forward to seeing you there! → https://my.historicnewengland.org/27553/hosta-perennial

05/18/2026

Current bloom report! The large rhododendron and azalea grove at the back of the mansion was planted around the 1850s. It still includes historic torch azalea and pink shell azalea species.

05/10/2026

We’re hiring! Love camellias, orchids, houseplants, and historic greenhouses? Come grow with us at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses as our new Assistant Greenhouse Manager. Help care for one of the oldest surviving greenhouse complexes in the country while cultivating plants, history, and community year-round.

Learn more and apply → https://historicnewengland.bamboohr.com/careers/130

04/29/2026

It’s the perfect season for a landscape tour!
Catch our recent blooms this Saturday, May 2 at 9:30 a.m.

Stay for the working class history tour right after (11:30 a.m.) to learn more about the folks who historically cared for the farm, garden, and greenhouses.

04/28/2026

We can’t wait to see you for our annual open house on Saturday, June 6, when all 38 Historic New England sites are free to visit.

Between now and June, Historic New England is sharing the Meet Your Site Managers series so you can get to know the people who care for these places every day.

You may already know Barbara Callahan, who helps oversee this site.

Take a moment to get to know Barbara → https://www.historicnewengland.org/meet-your-site-manager-barbara-callahan/

As we prepare to welcome visitors to for the open season, we invite you to get to know the people who make our tours and events so special.

04/17/2026

We’re looking forward to welcoming you this spring and summer for tours and programs. Join us for Historic New England’s region-wide Open House on Saturday, June 6.

On Saturday, June 6, 2026, our historic sites across the region are open and FREE to the public. Join us for a fun day of fantastic storytelling! Love architecture, history, fantastic stories, great landscapes, fine art, folk art, or interior design? Then join Historic New England on June 6, 2026, f...

Address

185 Lyman Street
Waltham, MA
02452

Website

https://www.historicnewengland.org/property/lyman-estate/

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