{"nrhp_refnum":"07001399","name":"Pinkham, Richard, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"24 Brooks Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Medford","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.41206249100003,"lon":-71.10923013399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-01-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-family house at 24 Brooks Park in Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, built around 1850 by housewright Richard G. Pinkham. It has an octagonal core with flanking wings and a rear ell in a cruciform plan.","why_significant":"The house is significant under Criterion C as an unusual example of the Italianate style incorporating the octagon form. It is Medford's only attempt at an octagonal house form. It was also designed and built by a local housewright on the newly laid out Brooks Park greensward.","narrative":"Richard Pinkham, a Medford housewright, bought land along the former Middlesex Canal in 1849 and built this house at 24 Brooks Park around 1850. Its most distinctive feature is an octagon rising through the middle of the building, flanked by two-story wings and a rear ell in a cruciform plan. The octagon has a heavily bracketed cornice and flush-board siding typical of the Italianate style, while the other elevations are clapboarded. The foundation combines fieldstone, brick and dressed granite. Inside, some original octagon-room trim survives alongside 1930s and 1940s changes. The house was listed for its architecture because it blends Italianate detailing with the octagon mode popularized by Orson Fowler's 1849 book, and a survey found no other octagonal buildings in Medford. Pinkham likely worked from pattern books and builders' guides. The property also has potential for archaeological remains of the canal and former outbuildings. A hip-roofed garage built in 1913 stands beside the house.","period_of_significance":"1850-1957","architect_builder":"Richard G. Pinkham, housewright","architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century/Italianate, Octagon Mode","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Historic and current function is single dwelling; the house retains good condition of original sheathing with selective replacement.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.22792-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/6/7956/63795606/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/07001399.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07001399/c61b250339-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07001399/c61b250339-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MedfordMA_RichardPinkhamHouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MedfordMA_RichardPinkhamHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795606","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pinkham_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7328442"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/pinkham-richard-house-07001399/"}