{"nrhp_refnum":"86000093","name":"Dutch House, The","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"20 Netherlands Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brookline","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.336090185000046,"lon":-71.11227058399999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-01-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story residence at 20 Netherlands Road in Brookline, Massachusetts, built in 1893 as the Van Houten Cocoa Company's exhibition building at the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition and later moved to Brookline.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a direct copy of the 1591 town hall at Francker, Friesland, and is considered the most authentic example of Dutch High Renaissance architecture in America. It is also significant for its link to the 1893 Columbian Exposition, where it won a medal, and for its association with Captain Charles Brooks Appleton, who moved it to Brookline.","narrative":"Built for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, this four-story house at 20 Netherlands Road in Brookline began as the display building of the Van Houten Cocoa Company. It copies the 1591 town hall at Francker in Friesland, Holland, and was constructed in Holland and Belgium before being erected in Chicago. It was one of the few privately erected buildings at the fair to win a medal. After the exposition, Captain Charles Brooks Appleton bought it at auction and had it moved to Brookline, with Kingsbury and Richardson planning the reconstruction. Its high mansard roof carries a dome and bell tower, and the windows hold about 12,000 leaded green lights. The interior includes carved doors and panels from Hindeloopen, oak panelling from Flemish dwellings and Delft tiles. Its exterior was covered in Portland cement. The property was listed for its connection to the Exposition and as the town's most authentic example of Dutch Renaissance design.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"M. Guillaume Wyuen (original architect); Kingsbury and Richardson of Boston (reconstruction plans); E.F. McIntire of Salem (interior plans)","architectural_style":"Dutch High Renaissance","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is residential; alterations include a replaced sill in 1950 and a doctor's office installed in the basement in 1962.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.287495-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/92/7924/63792492/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86000093.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000093/becddcc1aa-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000093/becddcc1aa-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BrooklineMA_TheDutchHouse.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_TheDutchHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792492","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dutch_House_(Brookline,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7731265"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/dutch-house-the-86000093/"}