{"nrhp_refnum":"82001436","name":"Simpson, Walter, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"521 Hancock St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sandusky","county":"Erie County","state":"OH","lat":41.452703548000045,"lon":-82.70605249199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-10-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story painted brick house at 521 Hancock Street in Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio, built in 1853 in the Renaissance Revival style, with a frame addition from late in the 19th century.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant for its fine architecture in a style not numerous in Sandusky. It was built for Walter Simpson, a Water Street merchant, and housed a series of merchants, and was itself used as a store in the 1930s and 1940s. Organized Jewish religious activities in Sandusky began here in 1905 when the then owner, Abraham Bear, lived in it.","narrative":"Built in 1853 at 521 Hancock Street in Sandusky, this two-story painted brick house is an example of Renaissance Revival architecture, a style the local survey describes as not numerous in the city. It has a hip roof with shingles, a stone foundation, and a wide cornice board with brackets and dentils. The same decoration appears on the front porch, which has five square pillar supports, and on the side bay windows. A frame addition from the late 19th century carries cutwork porch decoration. The front windows are six over six, and the double front entrance has a lighted transom. Walter Simpson, a Water Street merchant, was its first owner, and later occupants were also merchants. During the 1930s and 1940s the house itself served as a store. In 1905, while Abraham Bear owned it, organized religious activities of Sandusky's Jewish community began here. It remains a dwelling on a busy street, with a yard and shrubbery.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"E. Jefferson (builder, as read from the OCR text)","architectural_style":"Renaissance Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Used as a dwelling; interior condition good and exterior very good.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:15.147105-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/82001436.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001436/3dfb00257c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001436/3dfb00257c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walter_Simpson_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walter_Simpson_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71984904","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137779053"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/erie-county/simpson-walter-house-82001436/"}