{"nrhp_refnum":"08000166","name":"Washington Park Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"4-97 Washington Park & 5,15 Park Place","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.34931793900003,"lon":-71.20352059934636,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-03-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development","Landscape Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residential historic district on both sides of a landscaped central park at 4-97 Washington Park and 5, 15 Park Place in Newtonville, Newton, Massachusetts. It was laid out in 1865 by developer Dustin Lancey, with Marshall S. Rice as surveyor.","why_significant":"The district is presented as a notable example of a mid-19th century planned residential subdivision, influenced by the Urban Parks Movement. Its houses, mostly Victorian in style, remain well preserved and relate closely to the tree-lined central greensward. The 1873 Universalist Church is the only non-residential building.","narrative":"Washington Park is a planned residential neighborhood in Newtonville, part of Newton, Massachusetts. Real estate entrepreneur Dustin Lancey laid it out in 1865, with Marshall S. Rice as surveyor. Houses face each other across an oblong, tree-lined greensward about 900 by 50 feet, which was deeded to the city in 1877. The park design reflects the Urban Parks Movement, which took hold in Newton from the 1840s. The district contains 35 contributing resources, mostly large two- and three-story single and multi-family houses in Second Empire, Italianate, Queen Anne, Gothic Revival, Stick, Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles. The one non-residential building is the stone Universalist Church of 1873, which lost its steeple in the 1938 hurricane and now houses an art center. Most buildings keep their historic materials and form, and the relationship between houses and landscaping still follows Lancey's original vision.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Dustin Lancey (developer); Marshall S. Rice (surveyor)","architectural_style":"Mid-19th century Gothic Revival; Late Victorian (Italianate, Queen Anne, Stick, Second Empire); Colonial Revival; Craftsman","criteria":[],"status_note":"Architectural resources described as in excellent condition; the former Universalist Church is now an art center and the houses remain in residential use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.97942-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/72/7913/63791372/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/08000166.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000166/725ab1983a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000166/725ab1983a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewtonMA_WashingtonPark.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:NewtonMA_WashingtonPark.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791372","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Park_Historic_District_(Newton,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7972112"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/washington-park-historic-district-08000166/"}