{"nrhp_refnum":"85002691","name":"Arlington Center Historic District (Boundary Increase)","other_names":["See Also:Arlington Center Historic District","Russell,Jason,Ho"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Jason St., Massachusetts Ave., Pleasant and Gray Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Arlington","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.41611090150005,"lon":-71.15646406275036,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-09-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 78-acre historic district covering the town center of Arlington, Massachusetts, along Massachusetts Avenue and Pleasant Street, with buildings dating from about 1740 to 1940. It includes 216 properties, 183 of them contributing.","why_significant":"The district shows Arlington's growth from a sparse 18th century rural community, to an early 19th century milling village, to a mid-19th century and later commuter suburb of Boston. It holds well-preserved commercial, civic, religious and residential buildings in a wide range of styles.","narrative":"Arlington's town center is a district of about 78 acres built up around the crossing of Massachusetts Avenue and Pleasant Street. Its buildings span roughly 1740 to 1940 and include 216 properties, 183 of which contribute to its character. The oldest is the Jason Russell House of 1740, beside the Old Burying Ground. North of the commercial spine lies a neighborhood of modest mid-19th century housing built for workers in the mills along Mill Brook. South of it, Pleasant, Academy and Jason Streets hold larger Victorian and Colonial Revival homes of well-to-do commuters. Along Massachusetts Avenue stand brick and masonry commercial blocks, the Robbins Library of 1892, Robbins Memorial Town Hall of 1912, churches, and an octagonal Central Fire Station of 1926. Together these buildings record the town's shift from a rural crossroads and milling village to a railroad-era suburb of Boston.","period_of_significance":"1740-1940","architect_builder":"Various, including Hartwell and Richardson (Center School), Cabot, Everett, and Mead (Robbins Library), R. Clipston Sturgis (Robbins Memorial Town Hall), and George Ernest Robinson (Central Fire Station).","architectural_style":"Wide range, including Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Shingle Style, Colonial Revival and Renaissance Revival.","criteria":[],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:58.036128-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/24/7915/63791524/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/85002691.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002691/847d81727e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002691/847d81727e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Tim Pierce","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arlington_MA_Town_Hall.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tim Pierce</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:Arlington_MA_Town_Hall.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"74000361","name":"Arlington Center Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/arlington-center-historic-district-74000361/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791524","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_Center_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4792295"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/arlington-center-historic-district-boundary-increase-85002691/"}