{"nrhp_refnum":"77000169","name":"Ritter House","other_names":["Jireh Luce House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Beach St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Vineyard Haven","county":"Dukes County","state":"MA","lat":41.45389215700004,"lon":-70.60221254699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-12-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story Federal period wood-frame house on Beach Street in Vineyard Haven (Tisbury), Martha's Vineyard, built in 1796 for Jireh Luce. It has a five-bay central hall plan with an early two-story rear ell.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is one of the few buildings to survive the great Vineyard Haven fire of 1883 and that it served as an inn and home to many prominent citizens in the 19th century. It also has architectural significance for its simple Federal styling and well-preserved interiors.","narrative":"Built in 1796 for Jireh Luce, this Federal house on Beach Street in Vineyard Haven is the only Federal period house left on its stretch of the street. It is a 2½-story, five-bay wood-frame building with a chimney at each gable end, a rear ell forming a T-plan, a six-panel door under a pedimented surround, and mostly original woodwork, fireplaces and wainscoting inside. The house survived the fire of August 11, 1883, which destroyed more than 60 buildings along Main Street; local tradition credits owner Dr. Charles Lane with putting out sparks on the roof using his silk hat. It served as an inn from before 1800 to about 1812 under Dr. Rufus Spaulding, a doctor, postmaster and selectman, and later housed sea captains and a Tisbury School principal. Saved from demolition in 1976, it was leased for use as the school superintendent's headquarters.","period_of_significance":"1796","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Saved from demolition in 1976; leased to the Martha's Vineyard School Committee as the Superintendent of Schools' headquarters. Condition listed as good.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.974815-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/0/7946/63794600/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/77000169.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000169/d72e007c1f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000169/d72e007c1f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cbaer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ritter_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Cbaer</a>, <a href=\"https://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:Ritter_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794600","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritter_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2155082"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/dukes-county/ritter-house-77000169/"}