{"nrhp_refnum":"76000260","name":"Meetinghouse Common District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Summer, S. Common, and Main Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lynnfield","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.53932700000007,"lon":-71.04954349147721,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-11-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 20-acre historic district in the center of Lynnfield, Massachusetts, built around the town common along Summer, South Common and Main Streets. It contains 14 buildings and 2 cemeteries, mostly from the nineteenth century, centered on a meeting house built in 1714.","why_significant":"The district is significant for its grouping of fine architectural examples and its link to the development of Lynnfield. The 1714 Meeting House has served religious, civic, governmental and social functions and is described as one of the three oldest meeting houses in Massachusetts. The area around the common has changed little since the nineteenth century.","narrative":"Lynnfield's town center is organized around a common and a group of buildings that mostly date from the nineteenth century. The district covers about 20 acres and includes 14 buildings and two cemeteries, with religious, commercial, cultural and residential structures set back from the street under mature trees. Its focal point is the Meeting House of 1714, an oak-framed building enlarged in 1782 and given a second floor in 1836. Over time it served as a church, town hall, school and fire station, and it was restored after 1960 for civic use. Nearby are the Public Library, whose oldest section was built in 1856 as a school, the Centre Congregational Church with its 1832 chapel and 1960 addition, the Old Parsonage of 1839, and several Bryant, Whittredge and Mottey family houses. The Old Burying Ground dates to 1714. The grouping reflects the town's development, and the area has seen few major alterations since the nineteenth century.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"The 1714 Meeting House was restored by the Lynn Historical Society after 1960 and is again used for civic meetings. The form describes the district as occupied and mixed in use, with a Gulf station noted as the only real intrusion.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.806674-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/40/7949/63794940/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/76000260.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000260/6420f6e4fa-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000260/6420f6e4fa-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Meeting_House,_Lynnfield_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Meeting_House,_Lynnfield_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794940","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meetinghouse_Common_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6807922"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/meetinghouse-common-district-76000260/"}