{"nrhp_refnum":"84002817","name":"Rowhouses at 256-274 Haven Street","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"256-274 Haven St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.52349681000004,"lon":-71.10226494399996,"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 row of Italianate-style rowhouses at 256-274 Haven Street in Reading, Massachusetts, built in 1886 by Edwin Manning on part of the former Harnden millyard.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the row is one of Reading's few examples of row housing, which was uncommon in a town of freestanding suburban houses. It is also tied to Edwin Manning, a local furniture maker and builder, and is a largely intact example of vernacular Italianate architecture that retains its integrity.","narrative":"Row housing was unusual in Reading, where many newcomers sought freestanding suburban houses. The rowhouses at 256-274 Haven Street, built in 1886, are one of the town's few examples. They face south close to the street and are clad in clapboards. Although built late in the century, they recall the earlier Italianate style through strong vertical lines, two-story gable-roofed bays and flat caps over the windows. Edwin Manning built them on part of the old Harnden millyard, where a furniture company founded in 1828 had once produced thousands of refrigerators a year. Manning ran a cabinetmaking business there until fire leveled the millyard in 1884, after which directories list him as a builder. Later he moved his own house and built a business block at Main and Haven Streets. The row is valued for its rarity in town, its link to Manning, and its largely intact vernacular Italianate character, with only various doorway alterations recorded.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Edwin Manning (original owner and builder)","architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Exterior wall fabric is clapboard; the only major alterations noted are various doorway alterations. The property has not been moved.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.646148-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/80/7921/63792180/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002817.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002817/90c3fdfd72-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002817/90c3fdfd72-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rowhouses_at_256-274_Haven_Street,_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:Rowhouses_at_256-274_Haven_Street,_Reading_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792180","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowhouses_at_256%E2%80%93274_Haven_Street","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715836"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/rowhouses-at-256-274-haven-street-84002817/"}