{"nrhp_refnum":"84002505","name":"Beard, Benjamin, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"251 Ash St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.51667488000004,"lon":-71.10106216599996,"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 one-and-one-half-story Greek Revival cottage at 251 Ash Street in Reading, Massachusetts, built about 1851-1854 for Benjamin E. Beard. It faces east on a raised corner lot.","why_significant":"The house is tied to Benjamin E. Beard, said to be the first person in Reading to make the watch and jewelry trade a distinct business. It is also an elaborate example of the typical Greek Revival cottage built in Reading through the 1850s, and it retains its integrity.","narrative":"Built between about 1851 and 1854, this clapboard cottage at 251 Ash Street in Reading follows a common local Greek Revival form: one and one-half stories, with the long side parallel to the street and wide corner pilasters supporting an entablature. Here the entablature has the classical three parts rather than the more usual two. The door surround is the main point of architectural interest, keeping a Federal-style tallness and high entablature, while the window surrounds carry elaborate molded cornices. An ell was added on the south side, and a 20th-century toolshed stands on the lot. The first owner, Benjamin E. Beard, was said to be the first person in town to make the watch and jewelry trade a distinct business. He opened a store in 1847 and ran it until his death in 1868, after earlier working for clock manufacturer Daniel Pratt. His son William later moved the business to the Lyceum Building in 1873. The property retains its location, design, setting, materials and workmanship.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["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 02:11:56.703811-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/89/7914/63791489/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002505.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002505/0ca4d24fbc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002505/0ca4d24fbc-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ReadingMA_BenjaminBeardHouse.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_BenjaminBeardHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791489","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Beard_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4888263"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/beard-benjamin-house-84002505/"}