{"nrhp_refnum":"86001782","name":"Chestnut Hill, The","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"219 Commonwealth Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.33780343900003,"lon":-71.17471887699998,"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 3-story Tudor Revival apartment building at 219 Commonwealth Avenue in the Chestnut Hill area of Newton, Massachusetts, built in 1899 and possibly intended originally as a hotel.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it meets Criterion C as one of the city's few apartment buildings erected before World War I and as a well-designed work by Francis Chandler of Cabot & Chandler. It is also tied to Dana Estes, who financed it and was a leading figure in the syndicate that extended Commonwealth Avenue westward through Newton.","narrative":"Built in 1899 at 219 Commonwealth Avenue in Newton's Chestnut Hill area, this three-story apartment block was designed in the Tudor Revival style by Francis Chandler of the firm Cabot & Chandler. Its symmetrical plan centers on a steeply pitched gabled entrance, with a lower story of dressed random fieldstone and upper stories of elaborately patterned half-timbering. Steep gabled end pavilions flank the boxlike form, the attic story projects at the end walls on curved consoles, and foliated mastic ornament decorates the second story. It was financed by Dana Estes, a major figure in the Newton Boulevard Syndicate, which extended Commonwealth Avenue west to Auburndale. Estes owned land along the route and shaped the road's construction to benefit his investments. He also built a second apartment building at 41 Commonwealth Avenue. The building is valued as one of the city's few apartment houses from before World War I and remains in very good condition as an apartment building.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Francis Chandler (of Cabot & Chandler)","architectural_style":"Tudor Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Present use is as an apartment building; condition is described as very good with no major alterations.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:02.211298-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/7912/63791298/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001782.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001782/1e7f3b5dff-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001782/1e7f3b5dff-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewtonMA_TheChestnutHill.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:NewtonMA_TheChestnutHill.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791298","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chestnut_Hill","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7722366"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/chestnut-hill-the-86001782/"}