{"nrhp_refnum":"85000548","name":"Common Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Main, Highland, and Federal Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.527172500000034,"lon":-71.10325199805823,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-02-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 30-acre historic district at the town center of Reading, Massachusetts, centered on the Common and bounded by Harnden, Sanborn, Woburn and Main Streets, with buildings dating from about 1800 to 1920.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district has been the civic, institutional and commercial center of Reading since the Colonial Period. It also cites the intact design of the 18th-century Common and the high quality of its residential and institutional architecture. It meets Criteria A and C.","narrative":"Reading's Common and the streets around it form an inverted triangle of about 30 acres, cut by Main Street (Route 28). The Common was held communally by 1737, and a burial ground lay to its north. A meetinghouse was built nearby in 1769, and a Federal-style church followed in 1817. That church burned in 1911 and was rebuilt in 1913 as a replica, using measured drawings by architect Winthrop Parker. Over time the area gathered schools, churches, stores and houses. Commercial activity grew after the Boston and Andover Turnpike opened in 1806. In the early 20th century the high school (1906), Town Hall and Public Library (both 1917-18), the First Congregational Church (1911) and the Christian Science church (1913-14) were added, all in historical styles. Greek Revival and other 19th-century houses line the edges, and Laurel Hill Cemetery, dating from 1737, marks the northern boundary. The district was listed for its role as the town's civic and institutional heart and for the quality of its architecture.","period_of_significance":"1800-1920","architect_builder":"Winthrop Parker (architect of the 1913 church rebuilding measured drawings); other buildings designed by Boston architects living in Reading","architectural_style":"Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Georgian Revival and Craftsman","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The form states there are no intrusions in the district and that it retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.123392-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/28/7915/63791528/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/85000548.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000548/1551b8ab41-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000548/1551b8ab41-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_South_United_Methodist_Church,_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:Old_South_United_Methodist_Church,_Reading_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791528","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Historic_District_(Reading,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5153387"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/common-historic-district-85000548/"}