ALLERTON HOUSE RESIDENT PROFILE

Mary Cunningham

Although she was born in Massachusetts, Mary Cunningham moved to New York with her family when she was just five-years-old. She has always considered New York City her home. Mary attended a school that she describes as “very cosmopolitan”, which gave her the opportunity to mix with many interesting people. She particularly enjoyed the theater and opera and, with her sister and friends, would often queue at many of the best theaters and concert halls for cancellations and unfilled seats. In this way, they would see all of the top shows for just a few dollars—sometimes even squeezing in two performances a day. Mary loved the theater so much that she actually considered it as a career, and took acting lessons at The American Academy for Dramatic Arts. Like many aspiring performers, Mary also took a steadier job as a secretary in one of the top Fifth Avenue stores. Here she discovered a new interest in fashion and retailing, and she soon became personnel manager for yet another prestigious Fifth Avenue store. Her career blossomed, and she began to travel, managing dress shops in both Texas and San Juan.

Having seen a little bit of the world, she decided that her heart really was back in New York, and she returned, soon to become a buyer for Abercrombie and Fitch. However, before long she was traveling again, opening a store for them in San Francisco. Mary loved grand openings, and attended many in her time as a buyer. She eventually went on to work as a buyer for Philadelphia and Detroit-based companies and found herself traveling the world to make purchases in London, Paris, and Rome, as well as traveling to countries such as Switzerland and Portugal.

Mary had developed an obvious talent for buying, and her sister, Florence, who was also in the fashion industry, managed to persuade her to put her talents into their own business. Together they bought a house in Cohasset for no better reason, Mary says, than it fit their furniture perfectly. The two sisters then opened their own store, Elizabeth Hammond, in Wellesley. Mary and Florence took on every aspect of work in the store, from window dressing to bookkeeping. They specialized in sportswear and women’s clothing, and, with the help of four “wonderful girls” who manned the shop, the business thrived. Mary did the buying, but also loved to work directly with her customers and soon built up a faithful clientele. Together, they ran the store for eight hard—but happy—years, until they eventually decided that the time had come to put their feet up, enjoy their retirement and spend more time indulging in their passion for baseball and antiquing. 

Following Florence’s death, Mary was among the first to move into Allerton House at The Village at Duxbury. She loves her spacious, airy apartment with its cathedral ceiling and sunny windows, which complement so well with the beautiful pieces of furniture she brought with her.

Baseball is still a passion of Mary’s, and as the years have gone by, Mary has managed to combat her feelings of disappointment she suffered when the New York Giants moved to California. She is now a staunch supporter of the Red Sox!