Villa on Main

This 1863 Italianate villa sits above Main Street in Amherst Center, with mountain views and southern light in nearly every room. Architect William Fenno Pratt of Northampton designed it for Henry Hills, whose family ran a palm-leaf hat business that helped build the town in the 1800s. You can still see Pratt's style everywhere: the boxy, balanced shape of the house, the deep eaves, the tall narrow windows, and the bracket details along the roofline.

It took a full day on site to photograph, and there was a lot to take in. The stair hall has a soaring ceiling, and the parlor, library, and dining rooms all still have their original marble fireplaces, chandeliers, and crown molding. The current owners updated it carefully, so it works as a real home now, not just a period piece to look at.

Over 160 years later, the house still makes the impression it was built to make.