{"nrhp_refnum":"85002679","name":"Kensington Park Historic District","other_names":["Numbers 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 23"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Kensington Park, Brantwood and Kensington Rds.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Arlington","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.38243643200005,"lon":-72.26631767563941,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-09-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residential historic district of about 12 acres on the highlands above Pleasant Street in Arlington, Massachusetts, developed from the mid 1890s and containing 44 properties, mostly houses built between about 1896 and 1920.","why_significant":"The district is significant as a planned turn-of-the-century residential neighborhood in a fine state of preservation. It represents an early stage in Arlington's shift from a rural farming town to a Boston bedroom suburb. It also contains a notable group of Queen Anne, Shingle Style, Colonial Revival and Bungalow houses, several designed by developer C. Herbert McClare.","narrative":"Kensington Park is a hillside residential enclave in Arlington, Massachusetts, laid out in the mid 1890s for affluent Boston-area businessmen. Subdivided from land held by the Hill, Lewis and Gray families, it was promoted by an investment syndicate that included architect C. Herbert McClare, who managed the development and designed a number of its houses. Buyers were drawn by clean air, views, wooded lots, paved roads, water pipes and nearby trolley and train service to Boston. Winding roads climb a rocky, wooded ridge, and many houses on Brantwood and Kensington Roads overlook Pleasant Street, Spy Pond and the distant skyline. The district holds 44 properties, 38 of them contributing, in Queen Anne, Shingle Style, Colonial Revival, Craftsman and Bungalow designs. The McClare House at 9 Brantwood Road is cited as one of Arlington's finest Queen Anne and Shingle Style residences. The neighborhood was listed for its planned character, architecture and well-preserved setting.","period_of_significance":"1896-1920","architect_builder":"C. Herbert McClare (architect and development manager)","architectural_style":"Queen Anne, Shingle Style, Colonial Revival, Bungalow/Craftsman, Tudor Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Described as a planned neighborhood in a fine state of preservation; 38 of 44 properties contribute, and the remainder are noncontributing.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.064647-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/11/7919/63791911/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/85002679.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002679/0b95613205-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002679/0b95613205-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kensington_Park_Historic_District,_ArlingtonMA_-_IMG_2817.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kensington_Park_Historic_District,_ArlingtonMA_-_IMG_2817.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791911","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kensington_Park_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6391471"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/kensington-park-historic-district-85002679/"}