{"nrhp_refnum":"86001762","name":"Sumner and Gibbs Streets Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly Sumner St. between Willow St. and Cotswold Terr. and 184 Gibbs St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.333562666000034,"lon":-71.19170875568875,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-09-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residential historic district of 16 buildings on about 5.2 acres along Sumner and Gibbs Streets in Newton Centre, Newton, Massachusetts, just north of the village's commercial center. The houses date from the 1860s to about 1900.","why_significant":"The district is a cohesive cluster of suburban houses with fine representative examples of the architectural styles most common in Newton Centre between 1860 and 1900. Its development was driven by better rail service to Boston and by the construction of Commonwealth Avenue. It became a desirable address for well-to-do Boston businessmen.","narrative":"Sumner and Gibbs Streets in Newton Centre form a small residential district of 16 houses on about 5.2 acres, just north of the village's commercial center. Built mostly between the 1860s and 1900, the houses show the main styles of the period: Mansard, Queen Anne, Shingle, Georgian Revival, Colonial Revival and Italianate. Examples include the well-preserved 1864 Mansard house at 184 Gibbs Street, the Queen Anne house at 115 Sumner Street with its corner conical tower, and the brick Georgian Revival house at 134 Sumner Street. The Bowen House at 105 Sumner Street has a monumental circular portico. Development began in the 1860s and grew after improved rail service to Boston, including the Circuit Railroad in 1886, and after Commonwealth Avenue was built. Wealthy Boston businessmen built stylish suburban homes here, and land from the former Marshall Rice estate was sold off for building. The district is still residential and in very good condition.","period_of_significance":"1860-1900","architect_builder":"Edward B. Bowen built the Bowen House at 105 Sumner Street; architect Samuel Brown is suggested as a possible designer of that house.","architectural_style":"Mansard, Queen Anne, Shingle Style, Georgian Revival, Colonial Revival and Italianate","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Present use is residential; general condition is described as very good.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.738667-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/94/7910/63791094/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001762.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001762/e4e5ede0ff-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001762/e4e5ede0ff-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:184_Gibbs_Street,_Newton_Centre_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</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:184_Gibbs_Street,_Newton_Centre_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791094","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumner_and_Gibbs_Streets_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7637996"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/sumner-and-gibbs-streets-historic-district-86001762/"}