{"nrhp_refnum":"80000590","name":"Borden-Pond House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"40 Laurel St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worcester","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.26902698200007,"lon":-71.79241452599996,"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 granite Second Empire house at 40 Laurel Street on the west slope of Chandler Hill in Worcester, Massachusetts, built between 1856 and 1859 and now used as residential apartments.","why_significant":"It is presented as an early, important example of Second Empire architecture that keeps its significance despite alterations. It is one of Worcester's few surviving stone villas of the 1850s and 1860s. It is also linked to Lucius W. Pond, a machine manufacturer, state senator and Civil War cannon maker who was later convicted of fraud.","narrative":"Built between 1856 and 1859 on the west slope of Chandler Hill, this granite house at 40 Laurel Street in Worcester is an early Second Empire residence that has been altered but still shows much of its original character. The front section is granite rubble with dressed quoins and window trim, rising from a high basement to a heavy modillioned cornice. Its mansard roof was later squared out to make a full third storey. Two curved granite stairways with cast-iron railings lead to the entrance. Mason and stucco worker John Borden built it, reportedly hoping to outdo a nearby mansion, but sold it unfinished to Lucius Pond in 1861. Pond, a machine manufacturer who made the Ellsworth Gun for the Union Army and served as a state senator, lived there from 1868 until 1875, when he was imprisoned for forging bank note dates. The house is among the few remaining stone villas of its era in the city. It now holds apartments.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown; built for (and perhaps by) John Borden, a mason and stucco worker","architectural_style":"Second Empire (altered)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Present use is residential apartments; the former stone stable has been converted to a separate house.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.357247-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/63/7929/63792963/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000590.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000590/353bb6691b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000590/353bb6691b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Theflyer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PXL_20211010_190941893.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Theflyer</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PXL_20211010_190941893.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792963","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borden-Pond_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4944474"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/borden-pond-house-80000590/"}