{"nrhp_refnum":"83000783","name":"Boston Post Road Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Both sides of the Boston Post Rd. from Plain Rd. to Stony Brook","address_restricted":false,"city":"Weston","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.36692300000004,"lon":-71.3050014588356,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-02-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Commerce","Politics/Government","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A linear historic district of about 760 acres and 170 major buildings along 3.5 miles of the Boston Post Road in Weston, Massachusetts, from the Waltham line to the Wayland line. It includes the historic town center and buildings from the 18th through 20th centuries.","why_significant":"The district is the historic center of Weston, which thrived on travelers' trade in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and holds the state's best preserved segment of this major east-west route. It contains important Georgian and Federal buildings, including taverns and law offices, plus a large group of turn-of-the-century civic buildings from suburbanization. The form states it meets criteria A and C.","narrative":"Running 3.5 miles east to west through Weston, Massachusetts, this district follows the Boston Post Road, a main east-west route that began as a Native American trail. About 170 major buildings, along with barns and outbuildings, span roughly 250 years, from Georgian houses and taverns to Colonial Revival public buildings. Weston's economy thrived on travelers in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and the Golden Ball Tavern of 1768 and the Josiah Smith Tavern of 1757 survive from that era, along with two Federal-period law offices. Later growth came with railroads and suburban estates, and around 1900 the town built its church, library, town hall and fire station, all designed by Boston architects. The Town Green, laid out in 1917, anchors the center. Parks and conservation land have helped the district keep its rural character. The district is also considered likely to hold archaeological remains.","period_of_significance":"1700-1799, 1800-1899, 1900-","architect_builder":"Jeduthan Baldwin and John Paradee (housewrights); Samuel Mead; Peabody and Stearns; Joseph Chandler; Fox, Jenney and Gale; Bigelow and Wadsworth; Clifford Albright; Arthur Shurcliffe (landscape architect)","architectural_style":"Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Stick, Colonial Revival and other revival styles","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Buildings and grounds are generally well preserved and well maintained; uses include residences, a museum, schools, town offices, churches and commercial buildings.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.974146-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/22/7957/63795722/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000783.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000783/e4778991db-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000783/e4778991db-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"John Phelan, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Parish_Church,_Weston_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795722","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Post_Road_Historic_District_(Weston,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4948033"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/boston-post-road-historic-district-83000783/"}