{"nrhp_refnum":"85000498","name":"Harnden-Browne House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"60-62 Salem St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.52719042500007,"lon":-71.09727546299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-02-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-family dwelling at 60-62 Salem Street in Reading, Massachusetts, originally built in 1831 by Sylvester Harnden and later moved to its present site and enlarged between 1890 and 1905.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant as an example of a building that evolved stylistically over time. It was altered in the late 19th century to meet changing local housing needs, reflecting Reading's tendency to recycle its housing stock. It retains integrity of design, materials, setting and workmanship.","narrative":"This clapboard house at 60-62 Salem Street in Reading began in 1831 as a home built by Sylvester Harnden, a furniture manufacturer and mill yard owner. It is said to have been moved from Haven Street, and the form finds this likely because the house shows early construction techniques and signs of alteration, while no building appears on the Salem Street site until late 1889. The original form was probably a vernacular Georgian-Federal house. Between 1890 and 1905 it was remodelled for two families, with wings added on the east and west and front bays added, along with Queen Anne details such as colored glass lights, spandrels and a pedimented gable supported by volutes. A former barn on the lot was converted to a residence. By 1928 Thomas Browne, an Irish immigrant who worked for the trolley company and later as a letter carrier, owned the house, which also housed other lodgers. It is valued as an example of Reading reusing its housing stock.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Sylvester Harnden (original builder, 1831); architect n/a","architectural_style":"Queen Anne on Federal","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Used as a dwelling; the form lists both original and present use as dwelling.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.51924-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/4/7912/63791204/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/85000498.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000498/334a7503ec-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000498/334a7503ec-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harnden-Browne_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:Harnden-Browne_House,_Reading_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791204","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harnden%E2%80%93Browne_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715505"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/harnden-browne-house-85000498/"}