{"nrhp_refnum":"84002515","name":"Brackett House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"276 Summer Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.51787746000008,"lon":-71.11400600799993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-one-half-story Bungalow-style dwelling at 276 Summer Avenue in Reading, Massachusetts, built in 1920 for Herbert and Eva Brackett. The architect is unknown.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the closest example in Reading to the ideals of the Bungalow style that spread across the country in the early 20th century. It also represents the infill housing built on old homestead land as it was subdivided for development. It is judged to retain integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and feeling.","narrative":"Built in 1920 at 276 Summer Avenue in Reading, this one-and-one-half-story bungalow was designed for Herbert and Eva Brackett, a merchant and his wife. It sits close to the ground behind a screen of evergreens. A three-sided porch with large stuccoed columns defines the design: one side is screened for outdoor living, one is roofed as an entrance, and one is left unroofed to form a pergola that lets sunlight reach the south side of the interior. Exposed rafter ends emphasize hand-crafted construction. The lot was once part of Prescott land, and the house now stands on a corner because Nichols Road was laid out after it was built. It was listed because it shows how later building filled in early real estate subdivisions as old homesteads opened for development, and because it is regarded as the town's best example of the Bungalow style. It has had no major alterations and retains its original character.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Bungalow (described as bungaloid style)","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"No major alterations are recorded; the house has not been moved and has a garage outbuilding. It sits on a corner lot of about 9,464 square feet with heavy evergreen plantings.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.270998-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/27/7906/63790627/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002515.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002515/096e25070a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002515/096e25070a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ReadingMA_BrackettHouse.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_BrackettHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790627","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brackett_House_(Reading,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4953710"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/brackett-house-84002515/"}