{"nrhp_refnum":"08001178","name":"Myrtle Baptist Church Neighborhood Historic District","other_names":["Village, The","Curve Street"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly Curve St. and Prospect St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.345805727000055,"lon":-71.23580927575023,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-12-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Black","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residential and religious historic district of about 6.5 acres in West Newton, Newton, Massachusetts, centered on Curve and Prospect Streets. It includes Myrtle Baptist Church (opened 1898), twenty-two houses, one business and outbuildings, mostly dating from the 1880s to 1929.","why_significant":"The district is the surviving half of Newton's only historically African-American neighborhood, which grew around Myrtle Baptist Church after its 1874 founding. It documents patterns of African-American homeownership, boarding and community life, and the church was a center for local organizations. About half of the original neighborhood was lost to the 1963 Massachusetts Turnpike extension.","narrative":"Tucked behind Newton's main thoroughfares in West Newton, this 6.5-acre district grew up around Myrtle Baptist Church, founded in 1874. It contains 26 contributing resources: the church, a parish house, twenty-two houses, a business and outbuildings, mostly built between the 1880s and 1929. The current wood-framed church opened in 1898, a year after fire destroyed the first building, and was designed and built by its African-American congregants. Its stained-glass windows include one showing Philip baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch. Houses range from modest workers' housing to a Second Empire building with a cupola, and include Queen Anne, Italianate and Colonial Revival examples plus a triple-decker. The area was Newton's only historically African-American neighborhood, and families often took in boarders or shared houses. In 1963 the Massachusetts Turnpike extension destroyed about half of the neighborhood, leaving this surviving portion. Many buildings now have synthetic siding but retain their original scale and massing.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"J.G. McCraw (John G. McCraw), listed as architect of Myrtle Baptist Church and builder of 9 Curve Street; church designed and built by its African-American congregants","architectural_style":"Late Victorian (Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Victorian Eclectic) and Colonial Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"The church, parish house and houses remain in use; most houses are covered in aluminum or vinyl siding, and the district keeps its original rooflines, scale and massing.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.405299-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/22/7920/63792022/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/08001178.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001178/f2f6916e26-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001178/f2f6916e26-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"User:Magicpiano, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewtonMA_MyrtleBaptistChurch.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792022","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrtle_Baptist_Church_Neighborhood_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6948588"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/myrtle-baptist-church-neighborhood-historic-district-08001178/"}