Entry No. 25 — the Boston file — filed under: newspaper house

Paper House

A house that Swedish mechanical engineer Elis F. Stenman built between 1922 and 1924 with walls insulated in varnished newspaper (about 215 sheets pressed to an inch thick), then furnished with newspaper too — a desk made from accounts of Lindbergh's 1927 transatlantic flight, and a grandfather clock built from newspapers representing each of the then-48 states. Still owned and run by the Stenman family, open daily April through October, largely unchanged since the 1920s.

The move: Drive up to Cape Ann for the day, tour the tiny newspaper-walled house room by room reading the century-old headlines embedded in the furniture, then walk down to Pigeon Cove for the water view.

• 📍 Rockport
• 💸 $
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 52 Pigeon Hill Street, Rockport, MA 01966

Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: Official site · Wikipedia

last checked: 2026-07-20