{"nrhp_refnum":"76000253","name":"Bowers, Jonathan, House","other_names":["Round House","the Castle"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"58 Wannalancit St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lowell","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.646282359000054,"lon":-71.32791689399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-06-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-story round granite mansard house at 58 Wannalancit Street in Lowell, Massachusetts, built in 1872 by industrialist Jonathan Bowers. It is commonly known as the Round House or The Castle.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant for its unique architectural design and as the home of a well-known local mill owner. Bowers built it for his daughter's wedding reception using granite from his own quarry and woodwork from his own mill. The exterior remains virtually unaltered.","narrative":"Perched near the top of a small hill less than half a mile from the Merrimack River in Lowell, this round granite house was completed in 1872 by Jonathan Bowers, a mill owner and amusement park proprietor. Known locally as the Round House or The Castle, it is forty feet in diameter with eighteen-inch walls, a mansard roof clad in fish-scale shingles, and a walk-around cupola reached by a central spiral staircase. The granite came from Bowers' quarry in Tyngsboro, and carpenters from his mill cut the interior woodwork. The house cost $30,000 and was built for his daughter's wedding reception. Later occupants included a grain merchant, a plumbing dealer, a French society called Club Lafayette, and Bowers' grandson, legislator Victor Jewett, who used it for law offices. Empty from 1965 to 1971, it has since been under interior restoration, while the exterior remains virtually unaltered. Its unusual design and its link to Bowers account for its listing.","period_of_significance":"1872","architect_builder":"Builder: Jonathan Bowers (architect unknown)","architectural_style":"Second Empire","criteria":[],"status_note":"Private residence; abandoned from 1965 until 1971, then purchased by the owners who are restoring the interior to its 1872 appearance. Exterior virtually unaltered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.490643-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/57/7959/63795957/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/76000253.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000253/e16946ebaa-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000253/e16946ebaa-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jonathan_Bowers_House_-_Lowell,_Massachusetts_-_DSC00158.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jonathan_Bowers_House_-_Lowell,_Massachusetts_-_DSC00158.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"78003149","name":"Lowell National Historical Park","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/lowell-national-historical-park-78003149/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795957","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Bowers_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6272635"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/bowers-jonathan-house-76000253/"}