{"nrhp_refnum":"82004456","name":"Adams-Nervine Asylum","other_names":["Adams Aboretum Condominiums"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"990-1020 Centre St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.303621355000075,"lon":-71.12465013699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-06-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former nervous-disease asylum complex of three major buildings and four ancillary structures on a landscaped estate at 990-1020 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, Boston, dating from the late 19th century.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it Boston's single remaining rural estate of outstanding later Victorian wood frame structures in their original setting. It is also significant for its landscaping and for its social history as a medical treatment center embodying humanitarian and progressive ideals. It meets criteria A and C.","narrative":"Three late 19th century buildings and several service structures form this former asylum estate on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, set on broad lawns above the Arnold Arboretum. The oldest is the Weld House, a French Mansard mansion of about 1875 with a five-story octagonal tower. The Adams House, built in 1880 to a design by J. Pickering Putnam, is a Queen Anne building that housed female patients. The Director's House, a Colonial Revival building of about 1895, completes the group. The asylum was funded by a bequest from sugar refiner Seth Adams for the care of poor, nervous people who were not insane. Its plan followed the Kirkbride theory of small, home-like hospitals and the village plan, which emphasized patient dignity and freedom of movement. The estate is described as Boston's last rural estate of outstanding Victorian wood frame buildings in their original setting, and it is valued for architecture, landscaping and social history. The buildings are now occupied as condominiums.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"J. Pickering Putnam","architectural_style":"French Mansard (Weld House), Queen Anne (Adams House), Colonial Revival (Director's House)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Occupied; now private condominium residences. The greenhouse is in disrepair and the 1891 Men's Residence was destroyed by fire.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.515041-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/49/7969/63796949/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82004456.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004456/f6dce40de8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004456/f6dce40de8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jameslwoodward","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adams-Nervine_Asylum_Boston_MA_02.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jameslwoodward</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:Adams-Nervine_Asylum_Boston_MA_02.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796949","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adams-Nervine_Asylum","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4680279"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/adams-nervine-asylum-82004456/"}