Captain's Quarters
Josiah Crane's own chamber, second floor front. King bed, original 1748 paneling, a fireplace and a glimpse of the harbor between the rooftops.
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Nine rooms, nine stories
Every room in the house was something else first: a captain's chamber, an apothecary, a nursery, a boarder's garret. We kept as much of that as we could, and added good mattresses.
About the house
The Crane & Lantern House was built in 1748 by Captain Josiah Crane, a merchant in the West Indies trade, and enlarged in 1794 by his son Nathaniel, who added the Federal rear wing and the widow's walk. Since then it has been an apothecary, a sailors' boarding house, a funeral parlor and, for a while, a building nobody wanted. Restored in the 1990s and run by Maren and Theo Alcott since 2014, it has nine rooms, a breakfast room, a restaurant, a bar in the old viewing parlor and a few residents who never check out. Mostly quiet.
The rooms are spread over four floors of the main house and one separate building. The 1748 front of the house has low ceilings, wide pine floors and paneling; the 1794 wing is taller and lighter, with the delicate plasterwork the Federal period loved. The top floor is the old garret, where boarders slept under the slope of the roof. Out back, across the garden, the Carriage House Suite is the one place on the property where dogs and younger children are welcome.
Every room is different, and so is every photograph of it. Furniture moves, quilts rotate with the seasons, and the illustrations on this site are a little more symmetrical than the house. If a particular detail matters to you (a tub rather than a shower, a bed you can walk around on both sides), tell us when you book and Samuel will tell you the truth.
The rooms
Widow's Walk Suite
Our largest room: a king bedroom, a separate sitting room and a private stair to the widow's walk itself. The Lady in Gray's favorite spot.
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The Lady's Chamber
Abigail Crane's bedroom, where she lived for eleven years after her husband was lost at sea. Queen canopy bed, a clawfoot tub, and lavender.
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The Apothecary
Dr. Ezra Pell's shop from 1834 to 1871, with his original wall of drawers. Ground floor, queen bed, and our one fully accessible room with a roll-in shower.
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The Nursery
The room everyone asks about. Queen bed plus a daybed, third floor, and a leather-bound log where guests write down what they heard in the night.
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The Ledger Room
Our smallest room and a favorite of solo travelers and writers. A double bed and the built-in desk where the old house ledgers were found.
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Garret East
Fourth floor, under the eaves. Full bed, slanted ceilings and the little gable window where Abigail kept her lantern lit. Shares a renovated hall bath with Garret West.
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Garret West
Garret East's twin across the hall, with a dormer window seat that catches the sunset. Full bed, steep stairs, the best value in the house.
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Carriage House Suite
A separate building across the garden with a king bed, a kitchenette and a private patio. Dogs welcome (up to two), children of any age, and the pickleball courts next door.
See the suiteCompare the rooms
Rates run from our quietest winter weeknights to October, which is its own season. Taxes are not included.
| Room | Floor | Bed | Bath | Sleeps | Stairs | Rate per night |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain's Quarters | 2nd | King | Private, walk-in shower | 2 | One flight | $289–$429 |
| Widow's Walk Suite | 3rd | King + sitting room | Private, soaking tub and shower | 2 | Two flights, plus the walk stair | $349–$529 |
| The Lady's Chamber | 2nd | Queen canopy | Private, clawfoot tub | 2 | One flight | $269–$399 |
| The Apothecary | 1st | Queen | Private, roll-in shower | 2 | None (accessible) | $239–$359 |
| The Nursery | 3rd | Queen + daybed | Private, tub-shower | 3 | Two flights | $219–$329 |
| The Ledger Room | 2nd | Double | Private, shower | 2 | One flight | $199–$299 |
| Garret East / Garret West | 4th | Full | Shared hall bath (renovated 2021) | 2 each | Three flights, the last one steep | $179–$249 |
| Carriage House Suite | Separate building | King + kitchenette | Private, shower | 2 adults + children | One low step | $329–$489 |
In every room
Breakfast in the Lantern Room is included with every stay, served 7:30 to 10:00 on weekdays and 8:00 to 10:30 on weekends. Every room has its own heat and air conditioning (quiet, mostly hidden, installed with enormous patience in 1996), Wi-Fi that reaches even the garrets, good reading lamps, robes, a tea tray with an electric kettle, and blackout shades behind the period curtains. We don't have televisions in the main-house rooms; we have the Library, a lot of books and the Thursday history talk at 7 pm.
What we don't have is an elevator. The house was built in 1748 and its stairs are original, which is charming on the way down and educational on the way up. If stairs are a concern, see our accessibility page, and look closely at the Apothecary and the Carriage House Suite.
Before you book
- Check-in is 3:00 to 8:00 pm; later arrivals can be arranged with a lockbox. Check-out is 11:00 am.
- Weekends have a 2-night minimum. Any stay that touches an October weekend has a 3-night minimum.
- Children 10 and up are welcome in the main house; children of any age in the Carriage House Suite.
- Dogs stay in the Carriage House Suite only ($50 per night, two dogs at most).
- October books early. The Nursery and the Widow's Walk Suite are often taken a year ahead.
The full details are on our inn policies page, and our packages bundle a stay with ghost walks, tarot, pickleball or dinner.