{"nrhp_refnum":"85001045","name":"Robinson-Lewis-G. F. Fessenden House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"40 Westminster Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Arlington","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.42722385600007,"lon":-71.18437381599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-04-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A ca. 1850 Italianate-style farmhouse at 40 Westminister Avenue in Arlington, Massachusetts, with clapboard walls, now used as a residence. The architect is unknown.","why_significant":"The form argues the house is a well-preserved example of the Italianate style, and probably the most fashionable of the early farmhouses that predate the Crescent Hill subdivision. It is one of two (possibly three) such farmhouses and reflects a period when this steep, rocky part of northwest Arlington was farmed. It meets Criterion C and retains integrity.","narrative":"Built around 1850 on the edge of a steep, wooded hill in northwest Arlington, this clapboard house is an Italianate farmhouse that still serves as a residence. Its five-bay rectangular plan is simple, but ornate bracketed window surrounds and a dentilated entrance porch on square posts with beveled edges give it a fashionable look. Later changes include the side chimney, an extended single-story porch across the side ell, and a roof extension over the side entrance added in 1935. It is one of two early farmhouses that predate the subdivision of Crescent Hill in about 1870-1890, and it recalls a time when this rocky slope was farmed with limited success. The Lewis family owned it for much of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, working in wood-turning and later the milk business. Original ownership is attributed to T.S.G. Robinson. The house was listed for its well-preserved Italianate character and its integrity of design, materials and setting.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate (altered)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Present use is as a residence; described as well preserved, with porch alterations from ca. 1895-1910 and a roof extension over the side entrance in 1935.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.295318-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/96/7909/63790996/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/85001045.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001045/1e117d572f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001045/1e117d572f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ArlingtonMA_RobinsonLewisGFFessendenHouse.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:ArlingtonMA_RobinsonLewisGFFessendenHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790996","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson-Lewis-G._F._Fessenden_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7352968"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/robinson-lewis-g-f-fessenden-house-85001045/"}