{"nrhp_refnum":"80000559","name":"Swift, D. Wheeler, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"22 Oak Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worcester","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.27333450800006,"lon":-71.79302925199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-03-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half-story Victorian Gothic house at 22 Oak Avenue, Worcester, Massachusetts, built in 1879-1880 and designed by Stephen Earle for D. Wheeler Swift.","why_significant":"The house is described as an unaltered example of its period, combining Victorian Gothic and Stick Style elements, with an unusual entry set at a 45 degree angle. It is also tied to D. Wheeler Swift, an inventor of envelope-making machinery central to Worcester's envelope industry.","narrative":"Built in 1879-1880 at 22 Oak Avenue in Worcester, this two-and-one-half-story house was designed by Stephen Earle for D. Wheeler Swift. It combines Victorian Gothic and Stick Style features. A steep gable with decorative bargeboards and an apron dominates the west facade, and a smaller matching gable appears on the north side. The entry is set at a 45 degree angle to the north and west walls, flanked by an original porch with open braces and a geometric railing. Other original details include window caps, a granite stoop, and a low rock-faced granite retaining wall along Oak Avenue and Kendall Street. Swift (1840-1910) came to Worcester in 1864 to run envelope-making machinery. With his brother Henry he invented machines that sharply raised output and cut costs, supporting the Whitcomb Envelope Company and later the Logan, Swift and Brigham Envelope Company. The house later became an interns' residence for a hospital.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Stephen Earle","architectural_style":"Victorian Gothic (with Stick Style elements)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Used as an interns' residence by its owner, a hospital. A 1979 owner letter says the hospital planned to demolish it for a proposed new wing.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:55.011409-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/29/7930/63793029/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000559.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000559/1080a80fd5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000559/1080a80fd5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Pvmoutside","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:D._Wheeler_Swift_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pvmoutside</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:D._Wheeler_Swift_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793029","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._Wheeler_Swift_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5203877"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/swift-d-wheeler-house-80000559/"}