{"nrhp_refnum":"84002774","name":"Parker House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"52 Salem St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.527496883000026,"lon":-71.10020772599995,"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 2-1/2 story, five-bay, center-chimney Early Federal dwelling at 52 Salem Street in Reading, Massachusetts, built in 1792 around an earlier chimney, with clapboard walls and a later attached garage and ell.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant as an early farm homestead and for its link to the locally important Parker family and to Memorial Park, which was created on the former Parker farm. It is also valued as a well-preserved example of Federal architecture in Reading, with a more important door than is typical locally. It retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship and feeling.","narrative":"Set close to Salem Street in Reading, this clapboard farmhouse was raised in 1792 by Jonas Parker, apparently around a chimney left from an earlier house on the site that dated to at least 1715. It has five bays, a center entrance, a central chimney and two and a half stories. Its broad doorway, with sidelights reaching nearly to the sill, shallow pilasters, a deep entablature and a shallow hood, is more elaborate than most in town. The side door has an eaved entablature and small square panes above it. The land was once part of the large Boutwell farm. Jonas Parker, active in Revolutionary affairs, passed the house to his son Amos. Part of the Parker farm later became Memorial Park, given to the town in 1917 and built up during a community work day in 1919. The house was listed for its farmstead history, its Parker family ties, its park connection and its well-preserved Federal character.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Early Federal","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 02:11:57.589174-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/93/7906/63790693/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002774.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002774/95d11fd2ef-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002774/95d11fd2ef-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parker_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:Parker_House,_Reading_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790693","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_House_(Salem_Street,_Reading,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7138327"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/parker-house-84002774/"}