{"nrhp_refnum":"80000600","name":"Tower, Horatio, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"71 Pleasant St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worcester","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.26386464900003,"lon":-71.80467359599999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-03-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-storey frame Italianate house at 71 Pleasant Street, Worcester, Massachusetts, built about 1848-1850 as a residence for the builder Horatio N. Tower. It has served as a funeral service property since about 1925.","why_significant":"The form calls it one of the best examples of Italianate architecture in Worcester, more academic in its classical detail than the stucco-covered villas of the 1850s. It also keeps Greek Revival elements in its plan and pilasters. It is the only surviving large mansion of the early West side development along Pleasant, Chestnut and Elm Streets. It is also tied to Horatio Tower, a prominent local builder.","narrative":"Built around 1848-1850 at 71 Pleasant Street in Worcester, this two-storey frame house was the home of Horatio Tower, a prominent local builder. It sits on a rock-faced granite foundation under a low hip roof, with a nearly square plan and a small one-storey bay, possibly a former conservatory, on the east wall. The symmetrical south facade has a center entry with a fanlight and Corinthian porch, oversized first-floor windows with caps on carved acanthus consoles, corner pilasters, and a dentiled and modillioned cornice. Its classical detailing is more restrained than that of the stucco-covered Italianate villas of the 1850s, and the plan and pilasters echo local Greek Revival houses. Of the many mansions built along Pleasant, Chestnut and Elm Streets in the 1830s-1850s, it is the only one that remains intact. Tower worked on landmarks including Antiquarian Hall, the Old Court House and Mechanic's Hall. Dr. Albert Wood later owned the house, and it has been a funeral home since about 1925.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown; built by Horatio Tower according to his wife's obituary","architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Present use is funeral service; siding was altered to aluminum in the 1970s; not moved.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.690033-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/37/7929/63792937/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000600.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000600/b8b9b9a6f6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000600/b8b9b9a6f6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Pvmoutside","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Horatio_Tower_House_Worcester_MA.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:Horatio_Tower_House_Worcester_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792937","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Tower_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715559"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/tower-horatio-house-80000600/"}