{"nrhp_refnum":"86001817","name":"House at 15 Davis Avenue","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"15 Davis Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.35197202200004,"lon":-71.22474293999994,"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 small Italianate house at 15 Davis Avenue in West Newton, Newton, Massachusetts, built in the 1850s by an unknown architect. It is a clapboard-sided residence on a corner lot in a mixed residential neighborhood.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an elaborately detailed and well-preserved example of a modest Italianate residence, meeting criterion C. Its ornate wooden trim is unusually fine for a small, narrow dwelling, and it combines Italianate detailing with Gothic Revival hood mouldings uncommon in West Newton. It also appears to be among the first lots sold off by Seth Davis.","narrative":"Built in the 1850s, this small house at 15 Davis Avenue in West Newton is a well-preserved example of Italianate residential design. It has a front-gabled main block with an offset rear ell that appears to be part of the original plan. Clapboards cover the exterior, and the house has seen no major alterations. Its wooden trim is unusually elaborate for such a narrow dwelling: paired scroll brackets at the eaves, bracketed lintels over the windows and doorway, paneled corner pilaster strips, sidelights and a transom at the entrance, long parlor windows and 6/6 sash. Gothic Revival hood mouldings, an uncommon feature among West Newton's Italianate houses, appear in the gable, second story and rear ell. The house resembles 3 Davis Avenue. Margaret Tufts, a widow, owned it in 1868, and Joseph Symonds bought it in the late 1870s, his family keeping it through the century. Both lots were among the first sold by Seth Davis, who once owned the surrounding land.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Recorded in good condition in 1977, with no major alterations, no outbuildings and not moved.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.496592-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/2/7910/63791002/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001817.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001817/fbbd5ef99d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001817/fbbd5ef99d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewtonMA_HouseAt15DavisAvenue.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_HouseAt15DavisAvenue.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791002","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_at_15_Davis_Avenue","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5913964"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/house-at-15-davis-avenue-86001817/"}