{"nrhp_refnum":"08000906","name":"Joseph Fenno House-Woman's Friend Society","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"12-14 Hawthorne Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Salem","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.52177986600003,"lon":-70.89086715599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-09-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story red brick Federal-style double house at 12-14 Hawthorne Boulevard in downtown Salem, Massachusetts, built 1811-1812, with an early 20th-century rear ell added as a dormitory.","why_significant":"The building is a well-preserved example of an early Salem double house, with fine Federal interior woodwork including carved chimneypieces and freestanding circular staircases. It is also tied to the Woman's Friend Society, founded in 1876, which acquired the two halves in 1884 and 1889 and used the property for its services to women and girls in Salem. The ell reflects that association.","narrative":"Built in 1811-1812 in downtown Salem, this three-story red brick building at 12-14 Hawthorne Boulevard was designed as a double house, with two end-to-the-street halves separated by a brick party wall and a pair of arched entrances on each side. Details typical of Salem's Federal period include splayed stone lintels, Flemish bond brickwork and a hipped roof with four tall chimneys. Inside, the first-floor parlors have elaborate chimneypieces carved with eagles, wheat sheaves and sunflowers, and two compact circular staircases rise three stories without visible support. The property later became associated with the Woman's Friend Society, founded in 1876 to help girls and women. The Society obtained the northern half in 1884 through a gift arranged by philanthropist John Bertram, and bought the southern half in 1889. Openings were cut through the party wall, and an ell built about 1910 served as a dormitory. Few exterior alterations have occurred, and the house still serves as institutional housing.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Early Republic: Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Current function is institutional housing (Domestic); the main block has had few exterior changes in two centuries, and the original rear service wings were replaced by the ell built about 1910.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.261869-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/86/7949/63794986/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/08000906.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000906/2ca136eb97-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000906/2ca136eb97-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SalemMA_JosephFennoHouse.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:SalemMA_JosephFennoHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794986","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Fenno_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6283056"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/joseph-fenno-house-womans-friend-society-08000906/"}