House of Seven Gables

Imagine sitting on the porch and enjoying the view when this classic and impressive late Queen Anne style home rested in its original location! Situated on the bluff in downtown Clearwater, you could feel the breeze from Clearwater Bay and maybe even glimpse a dolphin or two.

Notice the many exterior features including an asymmetrical shape with wings and gables facing in multiple directions, an impressive wrap-around porch and gingerbread details. Walk through the porch around the home to find the front door where as a guest you would enter the formal living room. This elegant residence, built in 1907, contains 13 rooms, all with amazing detail and beauty. Interior paneling throughout the home features heart pine that hardens as it ages and is very termite resistant.

For 6 decades many families and people made this place home! It all began as the vision of David and Mary Starr from Rockford, Illinois. The couple visited the settlement of Clear Water Harbor in early 1886 and purchased land on the Pinellas Peninsula. In 1896 the couple bought the land on which this home was built, waiting a decade to build their grand seasonal residence, completed in 1907.

The Starr family owned the home until 1917. The House of Seven Gables served as a private residence, rooming house, and social club during the rest of its functional years.

Compare the Plant Sumner House and House of Seven Gables, built in roughly the same time period (1907). Which house is larger? Looks more decorative?

These two houses contrast with one another. While Plant Sumner was the “workingman’s house,” the House of Seven Gables was a second home for a wintering family of great means.