{"nrhp_refnum":"86001764","name":"Webster Park Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Along Webster Pk. and Webster St. between Westwood St. and Oak Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.349726814000036,"lon":-71.22797464834876,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-09-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residential historic district of 26 properties along Webster Street and Webster Park in West Newton, Newton, Massachusetts, laid out in 1844 and developed mainly from the late 1840s onward, covering about 11.51 acres.","why_significant":"It is presented as one of the most intact early residential subdivisions built after the Boston & Worcester Railroad opened in 1834. The original oval park laid out by Alexander Wadsworth survives. A group of eight Gothic Revival cottages designed by Boston architect Edward Shaw is a significant component of the district.","narrative":"Webster Park Historic District is a residential neighborhood of 26 properties in West Newton, Massachusetts, centered on Webster Street and a small oval park. It was the southwest corner of the Webster Place subdivision, laid out in 1844 by surveyor and landscape architect Alexander Wadsworth for developer William J. Porter, next to the Boston & Worcester Railroad. The district's best-known feature is a group of eight Gothic Revival cottages, originally ten, designed by Boston architect Edward Shaw and built by housewright John Rollins in the late 1840s. Twin gables and central entrance pavilions mark these houses. Later buildings include Italianate, Mansard, and Queen Anne houses, along with an early school moved to the area and converted to a house. Little changed here after 1900. The district is described as one of the least altered early railroad suburbs in Newton, and it was listed for its intact subdivision plan and its architecture.","period_of_significance":"1845-1870","architect_builder":"Edward Shaw (architect of the Gothic Revival cottages); John Rollins (builder); Gilbert Patter (carpenter); Alexander Wadsworth (surveyor/landscape architect)","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival, with Italianate, Mansard, and Queen Anne buildings","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Present use is residential; general condition is given as fair to good. Two contributing-status exceptions are noted: two non-contributing buildings and two vacant lots.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.437029-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/55/7919/63791955/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001764.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001764/5d7577fb7c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001764/5d7577fb7c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:House_on_Webster_Park,_West_Newton_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:House_on_Webster_Park,_West_Newton_MA.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"90000017","name":"West Newton Village Center Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/west-newton-village-center-historic-district-90000017/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791955","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster_Park_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7978947"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/webster-park-historic-district-86001764/"}