{"nrhp_refnum":"74002350","name":"Blake, James, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"735 Columbia Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.31975520100008,"lon":-71.05978634899998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-05-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-storey, wood-frame, gable-roof house at 735 Columbia Road in Richardson Park, Dorchester, Boston. Traditionally dated to about 1650, it was moved about a quarter mile to its present site in 1895.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a fine example of 17th-century domestic architecture, with framing and joinery supporting a traditional 1650 date and suggesting construction by immigrant carpenters. It was also among the earliest houses moved solely for historic preservation. A 2009 supplement uses tree-ring dating to place construction in 1661, making it the second oldest standing building in New England.","narrative":"Set in the middle of Richardson Park in Dorchester, this two-storey wood-frame house with a gable roof and central brick chimney is among the oldest buildings in New England. Tradition dates it to about 1650, and the framing and joinery support an early date. Its heavy timbers suggest a builder from the west of England. James Blake, who married Elizabeth Clap in 1651, was its first occupant, and his descendants lived there until 1825. After a series of owners, the City of Boston acquired it in 1895 and planned demolition, but the Dorchester Historical Society offered to move and preserve it. Moving it about a quarter mile to Richardson Park was one of the earliest relocations done only for preservation. The 1895 restoration removed two side wings and installed diamond-pane casements and wood shingles. Tree-ring testing in 2007 later dated construction to 1661, confirming it as the second oldest standing building in New England.","period_of_significance":"17th Century; specific dates circa 1650 and 1895","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"17th Century domestic architecture","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition, altered and moved; owned by the Dorchester Historical Society and occupied.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.421288-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/12/7967/63796712/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/74002350.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74002350/06a444d201-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74002350/06a444d201-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daderot at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_Blake_House,_Dorchester,_Massachusetts_-_exterior.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot at en.wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_Blake_House,_Dorchester,_Massachusetts_-_exterior.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796712","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Blake_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6129865"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/blake-james-house-74002350/"}