{"nrhp_refnum":"82001198","name":"Hughes, Langston, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"20 E. 127th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.80727452200006,"lon":-73.94041267499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-10-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Literature"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brownstone rowhouse at 20 East 127th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, built in 1869 in the Italianate style to designs by Alexander Wilson.","why_significant":"The house was the home of poet and author Langston Hughes, a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance, for the last twenty years of his life. It was the only residence he occupied for any length of time and is described as the most tangible symbol of his link to Harlem. It is also typical of post-Civil War rowhouses built in Harlem.","narrative":"This 20-by-45-foot brownstone rowhouse at 20 East 127th Street in Harlem was built in 1869 to designs by architect Alexander Wilson and constructed by developers James Meagher and Thomas Hanson. It rises three stories above a basement, with a brownstone stoop, cast-iron railings, arched window and door enframements, and a bracketed, modillioned sheet metal cornice. It is typical of rowhouses built in Harlem after the Civil War. The house is best known as the home of Langston Hughes, poet, author and a foremost figure of the Harlem Renaissance. He moved in with his friends Emerson and Ethel Harper when they bought the house in 1947 and lived there until his death in 1967, using the top floor as his workroom. Harlem inspired much of his writing, and this was the only residence he occupied for any length of time. The interior has been divided into two apartments, but his workroom survives largely intact.","period_of_significance":"1869 (1947-67)","architect_builder":"Alexander Wilson (architect); built by developers James Meagher and Thomas Hanson","architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Rated in good condition and altered; divided into two apartments and rented to tenants. Hughes's top-floor workroom survives largely intact as a separate apartment.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:41.227773-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/82001198.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001198/d70a7bd599-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001198/d70a7bd599-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Americasroof","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Langston-hughes-house-20e127.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Americasroof</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:Langston-hughes-house-20e127.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319640","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6486515"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/hughes-langston-house-82001198/"}