{"nrhp_refnum":"84002477","name":"Bancroft, Wendell, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"20 Washington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.52226912100008,"lon":-71.11025855999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two and one-half story Gothic Revival house at 20 Washington Street in Reading, Massachusetts, built about 1867-1870 for Wendell Bancroft. It has wood clapboard walls and a hipped roof.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant for its connection with Wendell Bancroft, a prominent local businessman, builder and bank officer. It is also significant as one of the few high-style Gothic Revival residences in Reading, a town that favored the style mainly for churches. The form says it retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and feeling.","narrative":"Built between about 1867 and 1870 at the corner of Washington and Woburn Streets in Reading, this two and one-half story house is one of the few high-style Gothic Revival residences in the town, where the style was more readily used for churches. It has a hipped roof, wood clapboard walls and a three-bay plan. Steeply pitched transverse gables on the west facade carry bargeboards with a trefoil motif, and the south dormers have lancet windows. The only major alteration noted is the removal of roof cresting. Wendell Bancroft, the original owner, was one of Reading's leading businessmen. He helped found the First National Bank of Reading, served as an officer of the Mechanics Savings Bank, and worked as a builder and contractor who developed real estate in partnership with Temple. He also ran a warehouse and a coal and lumber yard. The house was listed for this association and for its architecture.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown; original owner Wendell Bancroft, who was a builder and contractor","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":["C","D"],"status_note":"Roof cresting has been removed; two carpenter shops and a barn stand on an adjacent lot. The house has not been moved.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.322583-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/87/7914/63791487/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002477.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002477/de2b5fa8ff-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002477/de2b5fa8ff-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wendell_Bancroft_House,_Reading_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</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:Wendell_Bancroft_House,_Reading_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791487","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Bancroft_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7982387"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/bancroft-wendell-house-84002477/"}