{"nrhp_refnum":"85003317","name":"Standish, James H., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"54 Francis St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brookline","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.33864645500006,"lon":-71.11526945499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-10-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-family house at 54 Francis Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, built in 1874-5 in a variation on the Italianate style, with a clapboard exterior and a barn/carriage house behind it.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house meets criterion C as a rare example of a Stick Style house that keeps its important detailing, including cresting, a tower with finial, polygonal decorative slates, stickwork and brackets. The original barn/carriage house detailing and the original arrangement of the site, with the barn behind the house, are also preserved.","narrative":"Built in 1874-5 at 54 Francis Street in Brookline, this clapboard house combines Italianate and Stick Style elements. It has a hip roof, a polygonal bay, a crested turret or tower with finial, and a slate-covered entrance porch. Brackets and dentils run under the cornice, crossbucks sit beneath the first-floor windows, and heavy decorative work marks the entrance. The land once belonged to Thomas and Augustus Aspinwall and had been divided by 1874, when the tax list showed James Standish as owner of the land, a house and a stable. The 1875 Brookline Directory lists him as a carpenter and builder. Sarah Standish appears as owner on the 1875 tax list and moved to Allston in 1877 and Boston in 1879. The property was listed for architectural merit: it is a rare example of a Stick Style house that retains its cresting, decorative slates, stickwork and brackets. The barn or carriage house behind it also keeps its cupola, windows, siding and drip moldings, preserving the original site arrangement.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Variation on Italianate style; described in the significance statement as Stick Style","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Present use is residential.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.717298-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/73/7923/63792373/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/85003317.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003317/ca36f3582a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003317/ca36f3582a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BrooklineMA_JamesHStandishHouse.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:BrooklineMA_JamesHStandishHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792373","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Standish_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6135292"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/standish-james-h-house-85003317/"}