{"nrhp_refnum":"11000333","name":"Seaside Park","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Atlantic Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Marblehead","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.49466505250004,"lon":-70.85597264131829,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-06-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Landscape Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Seaside Park is a 14.33-acre municipal park on Atlantic Avenue in Marblehead, Massachusetts, overlooking Marblehead Harbor. Land was acquired by the town around 1895, the park was laid out in 1905, and its wooden Roundy Grandstand was built in 1916.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the park is Marblehead's largest and most active recreation site, and its baseball diamond and grandstand have hosted local and semi-pro teams for nearly a century. Its layout exemplifies early 20th-century American baseball parks. The Roundy Grandstand is described as one of only three extant open-air covered spectator facilities of its kind in Massachusetts.","narrative":"Seaside Park is Marblehead's largest public park, covering 14.33 acres on a rocky headland above Marblehead Harbor. The town acquired the land around 1895 and laid out the park in 1905. Its western half holds the ball field, tennis and basketball courts and a play area, while the eastern half is wooded rock outcropping dropping to the sea. The central feature is the Roundy Grandstand, a wood-framed, shingled structure of 1916 with eight tiers of seats and concrete block rooms underneath. Local and semi-pro teams, including the Marblehead Athletic Association, played here before large crowds, and President Calvin Coolidge and Lucille Ball were among the notable visitors. The grandstand was nearly demolished in 1987 but was saved and restored by local effort. The park was recognized for its role in local recreation history and as an example of early 20th-century baseball park design and landscape planning, with one of only three comparable covered grandstands in Massachusetts.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1895 - 1961","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Maintained by the town's Recreation and Parks Department. The grandstand was restored after a 1987 demolition threat and received a new roof and paint in 2007. The eastern end of the park is overgrown and underused.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:10:51.979075-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/39/7950/63795039/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/11000333.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000333/8788cc27bc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000333/8788cc27bc-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MarbleheadMA_MarbleheadNeckFromSeasidePark.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:MarbleheadMA_MarbleheadNeckFromSeasidePark.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795039","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaside_Park_(Marblehead,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7441845"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/seaside-park-11000333/"}