{"nrhp_refnum":"85003413","name":"Browne, Charles, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"932 S. Church St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"North Adams","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.67882117900007,"lon":-73.09731372599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-10-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Invention"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-family Italianate house at 932 South Church Street, North Adams, Massachusetts, built in 1869 by inventor Charles A. Browne on a small wooded lot at the base of the Hoosac Mountain Range. The architect is unknown.","why_significant":"The house is a simple, well-preserved example of a regional variation of Italianate design popular in North Adams after the Civil War. It is also tied to Charles A. Browne, a local inventor who contributed to building the Hoosac Tunnel, notably by perfecting an electric blasting cap fuse. It meets Criteria A, B and C.","narrative":"Built in 1869 at 932 South Church Street in North Adams, this clapboard house is a modest Italianate residence on a wooded lot at the base of the Hoosac Mountain Range. Its shallow hipped roof, brackets, polygonal side-bay window, three-bay facade, side entry under a small porch and nearly square plan are typical of the style as it appeared in North Adams after the Civil War. The house was built by Charles A. Browne, born in Adams in 1842, who worked on the Hoosac Tunnel project and became an inventor. He perfected and manufactured an electric blasting cap fuse, patented in 1870, that made work with explosives safer. With his brother Isaac he ran a small factory across the road, and tunnel contractors were among the firm's best customers. The business ended after the tunnel was finished. Browne retired to farm and died in 1907, leaving the house to his son William. The house retains its original location, design, setting and materials, and it is still a residence.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown; built by Charles A. Browne","architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Present use is residence; the form describes the house as well preserved, with minor alterations such as wrought iron porch posts and a small 20th-century east porch.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.520564-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/45/7892/63789245/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/85003413.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003413/c5dcdb1fcd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003413/c5dcdb1fcd-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Beyond My Ken","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Browne_House_932_South_Church_Street_North_Adams.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Beyond My Ken</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:Charles_Browne_House_932_South_Church_Street_North_Adams.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789245","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Browne_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5075836"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/browne-charles-house-85003413/"}