{"nrhp_refnum":"86001819","name":"House at 170 Otis Street","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"170 Otis St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.346222898000065,"lon":-71.21470674399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-09-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story mansard-style house at 170 Otis Street in Newtonville, Newton, Massachusetts, built in 1870-71 and designed by Boston architect Hammatt Billings. It sits on a wooded hillside in a residential neighborhood.","why_significant":"The house is an important example of the mansard style in Newton by the nationally known architect Hammatt Billings, one of few known Newton works by him. It is also associated with the Claflin family, as it was built for the daughter of Governor William Claflin and her husband.","narrative":"Built in 1870-71 on a wooded hillside in Newtonville, this two-story mansard house was designed by Boston architect Hammatt Billings, whose work also includes the Boston Museum and the original Wellesley College buildings. His watercolor elevation and floor plans, dated September 1869, remain in the house. Its most striking feature is a 2-1/2-story mansard tower on the west facade, with original iron cresting and slate fishscale shingles. Flanking pavilions, segmental windows with carved bosses, and Eastlake-inspired brackets add ornament. William Claflin, a real estate developer who served as Governor of Massachusetts beginning in 1869, had it built for his daughter Emma and her husband, Charles Warren Ellis. Later occupants included Boston dry goods merchant George L. Clark and, from the 1890s, the family of paper wholesaler J. Richard Carter, who kept the house until the 1950s. The house is valued as an example of the mansard style and for its Claflin connection.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Hammatt Billings","architectural_style":"Mansard","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Described as in good condition, retaining its iron cresting; a deck and north chimney were added and windows in the south ell were altered.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:02.212714-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/16/7915/63791516/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001819.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001819/bc691619d7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001819/bc691619d7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewtonMA_170OtisStreet.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_170OtisStreet.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791516","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_at_170_Otis_Street","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5913991"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/house-at-170-otis-street-86001819/"}