{"nrhp_refnum":"76000264","name":"Hooper, Robert \"King\", Mansion","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"8 Hooper St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Marblehead","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.50330000000008,"lon":-70.85056999999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-05-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-part house at 8 Hooper Street in the center of Marblehead, Massachusetts. The older gambrel-roofed section dates from 1727-1728 and a three-story Georgian addition was built in 1745.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the house as an architectural landmark showing the shift from vernacular Colonial to provincial Georgian styles between 1727 and 1745. It is also tied to the Hooper family, prosperous merchants and ship owners, and especially Robert \"King\" Hooper, whose trade and civic generosity shaped Marblehead's history.","narrative":"Located in the dense center of Marblehead, this 20-room house grew in two stages. Greenfield Hooper, a tallow chandler, built the original four-story gambrel-roofed section in 1727-1728. In 1745 his son, Robert Hooper, a successful shipper and merchant, added a three-story Georgian front with wood imitating ashlar stone, corner quoins and a dentiled cornice. Inside, the third floor holds a ballroom with a domed bell ceiling and original chandelier. Hooper's ships carried cured fish abroad, and his gifts to the town, including a fire engine in 1751, earned him the name \"King Hooper.\" Opposed to British trade restrictions but not to remaining a colony, he fled to the Maritimes during the Revolution and lost his wharves, though the house was left untouched. The mansion was listed as an architectural landmark that shows the change from Colonial to Georgian styles. It remained a residence until 1938, when an arts association bought and restored it as an arts center.","period_of_significance":"1700-1799 (specific dates 1728/1745)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Vernacular Colonial (1727-28 section) and Georgian (1745 addition)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as an arts center and museum, open daily to visitors; restored after the Marblehead Arts Association bought it in 1938. Condition is marked good.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.643268-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/10/7947/63794710/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/76000264.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000264/4124cc861b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000264/4124cc861b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Hooper_Mansion,_Marblehead_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:Robert_Hooper_Mansion,_Marblehead_MA.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"84002402","name":"Marblehead Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/marblehead-historic-district-84002402/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794710","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_%22King%22_Hooper_Mansion","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7341167"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/hooper-robert-king-mansion-76000264/"}