{"nrhp_refnum":"84002668","name":"House at 1177 Main Street","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1177 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.54651815400007,"lon":-71.10401243299998,"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 1-1/2 story clapboard house at 1177 Main Street in Reading, Massachusetts, built about 1853 for John B. Nichols. It sits on a hill facing west toward the early 19th-century turnpike.","why_significant":"The house is significant as an example of how younger sons of old Reading families built up-to-date houses near their ancestral homesteads. It is also tied to the early Reading Nichols family and is a good example of transitional Greek Revival-Italianate styling. It retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and feeling.","narrative":"Built around 1853, this 1-1/2 story clapboard house on Main Street in Reading was erected for John Brooks Nichols, a member of the early Reading Nichols family. The family were farmers, and an 1875 map shows nine separate Nichols houses in the northern part of town. John's farming seems to have centered on delivering milk, and he probably built the house after marrying in 1853. It stands near one of the family's old homesteads. Architecturally, the gable-end house blends Greek Revival and Italianate styles. The gables do not return but have mitered ends, and the cornice is very broad, made of lapped boards. Full-length first-floor windows topped with shallow pediments and a full-width porch on paired colonettes add Italianate character. The house is valued as an example of younger sons of old families building up-to-date homes near ancestral land, for its Nichols family link, and for its transitional styling. Later changes include a rear extension, a dormer and an exterior chimney.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John Brooks Nichols (builder)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival-Italianate","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Alterations include a 1-1/2 story rear extension, a dormer and an exterior chimney; the form notes the house has not been moved. A garage stands on the lot.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.227577-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/52/7909/63790952/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002668.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002668/fbbab9b12c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002668/fbbab9b12c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ReadingMA_1177MainStreet.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_1177MainStreet.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790952","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_at_1177_Main_Street","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5913897"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/house-at-1177-main-street-84002668/"}