ABOUT

A Quaker center in downtown Boston — residential community, place of worship, and hub for learning and action.

Who We Are

Beacon Hill Friends House is a residential intentional community, a home for Beacon Hill Friends Meeting, and a center for Quaker learning and public engagement.


Our mission is to embody the Quaker principles of faith, simplicity, integrity, community, and social responsibility in order to nurture and call forth the Light in all of us.


We live that mission daily — through shared meals, worship, conversation across difference, cooperative living, and public programming rooted in reflection and action.


Beacon Hill Friends House exists to cultivate depth, community across difference, and public faithfulness in a time that urgently needs all three.

Where We Are

Beacon Hill Friends House is located at 6 & 8 Chestnut Street, Boston, Massachusetts, in the historic Beacon Hill neighborhood.


We sit just steps from the Massachusetts State House and within walking distance of the Boston Common, downtown Boston, and public transit.


Our location matters. We are rooted in a residential neighborhood and positioned near the center of civic life — a place where contemplation and public engagement meet.

Land Acknowledgement

Beacon Hill Friends House acknowledges that the land our building occupies has been a site of human life and stewardship for more than 13,000 years. We honor the Massachusett and Pawtucket peoples whose ancestral lands we live and work on, along with the Wampanoag and Nipmuc peoples of this region.



We recognize that acknowledgment alone is insufficient. We seek to continue to learn and act in solidarity with the indigenous peoples of our region who live here today, and to recognize the harm done to the original inhabitants of this land over the last 400 years. 

Our History

A 200-year-old building.

Nearly Seventy Years of Intentional Community.

Designed by architect Charles Bulfinch and completed in 1805, our building at 6 & 8 Chestnut Street began as two private homes as one of the early houses on Chestnut Street, right off the Boston Common. The buildings were combined in 1921 to become a grand estate, complete with a ballroom with 18-foot ceilings. In 1957, the property was gifted to a newly formed Quaker nonprofit and became Beacon Hill Friends House.


For nearly seventy years, BHFH has maintained a Quaker presence in the heart of Boston — offering hospitality to travelers, nurturing a residential community, hosting worship, and serving as a launching pad for social justice work.


The building carries two centuries of history. The community inside it is always becoming.

What We Do

A group of people pose for a joyful photo in a brightly lit indoor space, with one person holding a small black dog.

Residential Community

A multigenerational intentional community grounded in Quaker practice. Residents share responsibility for cooking, governance, and care while discerning their next steps.

A group sits in a room with a patterned rug, tables, and windows for a discussion.

Worship & Spiritual Life

Home to Beacon Hill Friends Meeting and regular Quaker worship, spiritual formation, and dialogue.

Two people sit in chairs at the front of a room, leading a presentation for a seated audience in a wood-paneled space.

Public Programs & Learning

Lectures, workshops, retreats, and conversations exploring faith, justice, leadership, and nonviolence.

Audience sits in rows of wooden chairs facing performers in a large room with a high ceiling and a tall glass window.

Hospitality & Gathering Space

Guest rooms and meeting space for individuals and organizations aligned with our mission.

Our Staff

Meet the team that runs BHFH
A smiling person with long brown hair stands with arms crossed, wearing a black jacket, in front of a yellow welcome sign.
A person with rainbow teardrop-shaped earrings drinks from a glass with a straw while sitting in a restaurant booth.
A person in a cap and blue button-down shirt sits in a rocky desert landscape under a blue, cloudy sky.
Smiling woman with curly gray hair and glasses, wearing a teal top, standing in front of a colorful map background.

How We Are Organized

Beacon Hill Friends House is an independent Quaker nonprofit organization.


Our Corporation and Board of Managers guide the long-term vision and strategic direction of the House. The Board includes at-large members, representatives connected to Quaker meetings, and resident representatives, and works through committees focused on building stewardship, finance, development, governance, personnel, and program strategy.


Day-to-day operations are led by the Executive Director and staff in partnership with residents, reflecting our commitment to shared responsibility and discernment.

Meet Our Board

A person with short grey hair smiles in front of a white metal gate covered with green climbing ivy and a blue wall.
A person with short dark hair and glasses wears a blue shirt and a brown blazer, posing against a blurred background.
A smiling person with curly gray hair, wearing a light green top, outdoors with a car and water in the background.
A person wearing glasses and a tan jacket smiles while standing in front of a river and a building.
A smiling person with long brown hair, wearing a black blazer, stands with arms crossed before a yellow welcome sign.
A man with dark hair and a beard wearing clear-framed glasses and a black suit jacket, looking at the camera.
A person with a shaved head and hoop earring smiling warmly against a blurred, golden-green outdoor background.
A smiling person with layered, shoulder-length brown hair featuring prominent blonde highlights.
A person with glasses and a beard smiling while wearing a dark blue, patterned kimono-style garment against a white wall.
A man wearing a grey shirt, blue tie, and textured tan blazer, standing outdoors with a blurred green background.
A smiling person with glasses and long, wavy hair wears a black patterned shirt with a pin, posed in an office setting.
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A man with a short beard wearing a blazer and striped tie, smiling gently against a blurred, light-colored water background.
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