{"nrhp_refnum":"75000279","name":"Old Ship Street Historic District","other_names":["Pleasant Street Area"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Both sides of Pleasant St. from Riverside Ave. to Park St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Medford","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.41653202600003,"lon":-71.10123720299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-04-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residential historic district of 38 houses on about seven acres along Pleasant Street, Riverside Avenue and Park Street in Medford, Massachusetts, near the Mystic River. Most houses were built between 1828 and 1855.","why_significant":"The district is closely tied to Medford's 19th-century shipbuilding industry, which was the town's major industry. Its small Greek Revival houses and cottages were built largely for shipyard owners and craftsmen, and the area developed alongside the shipyards, growing most between 1844 and 1855. It survives as a cohesive neighborhood distinct from its surroundings.","narrative":"This neighborhood of 38 houses in Medford, Massachusetts, sits on roughly seven acres near the Mystic River, close to where the town's shipyards once operated. Most buildings are small Greek Revival houses and cottages, typically one and a half or two and a half stories with the gable end facing the street. Robert Ells, a ship joiner, began developing the area in 1828 and is believed to have built five houses on Park Street, including a Federal-style hip-roof house described as Medford's best surviving example. From 1844, housewright Oakman Joyce developed the remaining lots, selling mainly to shipbuilders, ship carpenters and other tradesmen. By 1855 the area was essentially complete. Because one builder and his apprentices produced most of the houses, they share a consistent character. Many now have replacement siding, but the small-town Greek Revival streetscape remains intact. The district was listed for its architecture and its link to Medford's shipbuilding era, when 567 vessels were built between 1802 and 1873.","period_of_significance":"1828-1855","architect_builder":"Robert Ells, ship joiner (developer, c. 1828-1832 houses); Oakman Joyce, housewright (developer and builder of the area from 1844)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival, with an earlier Federal example (Robert Ells House)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Form lists the district as occupied, privately owned, in excellent to good condition, with many buildings altered by non-original siding.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.597014-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/53/7959/63795953/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/75000279.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000279/d4bffc076d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000279/d4bffc076d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MedfordMA_OldShipStreetHD.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:MedfordMA_OldShipStreetHD.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795953","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Ship_Street_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7084969"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/old-ship-street-historic-district-75000279/"}