{"nrhp_refnum":"84002482","name":"Bassett, Edwin, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"115 Prescott St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.518950679000056,"lon":-71.11440742699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Greek Revival house at 115 Prescott Street in Reading, Massachusetts, built soon after 1850 for shoe manufacturer Edwin Bassett. It is a 3-bay clapboard dwelling with later Queen Anne porches.","why_significant":"The nomination cites its role in Reading's shoemaking industry, since the first MacKay sewing machine in town was installed in an upstairs room. It also connects to Edwin Bassett, an innovative shoemaker, and is an example of a Greek Revival house updated with a Queen Anne porch.","narrative":"Built soon after Edwin Bassett bought the lot in May 1850, this clapboard house at 115 Prescott Street in Reading is a 3-bay Greek Revival dwelling. Its full pediment in the gable is unusual for the town. Other period features include a door surround with flat pilasters, a wide frieze that wraps the house, a tall central chimney and 6/6 windows. A Queen Anne porch on the south facade, a smaller one on the east, and probably the bay window were added later. Prescott Street was laid out in 1845 after rail commuter service to Boston opened. Bassett made infant and children's shoes, a Reading specialty. In a second-floor room of his house the town's first MacKay sewing machine was installed. It attached shoe uppers to soles mechanically and helped move production from hand-cottage work to mechanical factories. The property was recognized for its place in the local shoemaking industry, its link to Bassett, and its architecture.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Edwin Bassett (original owner and builder); architect n/a","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.972239-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/7921/63792134/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002482.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002482/9463e76eb3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002482/9463e76eb3-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ReadingMA_EdwinBassettHouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ReadingMA_EdwinBassettHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792134","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Bassett_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5346244"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/bassett-edwin-house-84002482/"}