{"nrhp_refnum":"86001821","name":"House at 203 Islington Road","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"203 Islington Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.35138127000005,"lon":-71.25495282299994,"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 c.1870 single-family house at 203 Islington Road in Auburndale, Newton, Massachusetts, built in the Victorian Gothic style of buff-colored composition stone block. It was a subsidiary building on a large riverside estate.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a rare surviving example of the Ruskinian mode of Victorian Gothic in Newton, adapted for a smaller dwelling (Criterion C). It is also tied to Ezra Winslow, a local real estate speculator, and later to Royal Pulsifer, an owner of the Boston Herald (Criterion B). It is one of few buildings left from the era of large estates along Auburndale's Charles River frontage.","narrative":"This small house at 203 Islington Road in Auburndale, Newton, dates from about 1870 and began as a companion building to a large estate called Islington, which occupied a promontory above the Charles River. The main mansion has long since been demolished. The house is built of buff-colored composition stone block, with darker brick belt courses and pointed-arch windows trimmed with voussoirs of alternating colors. A shallow projecting entrance topped by a jerkin-head gable organizes the facade, and carved wooden panels imitate Gothic tracery above the entrance and paired windows. It is regarded as an unusual, rare local example of the Ruskinian mode of Victorian Gothic, scaled down for a modest dwelling. Ezra Winslow, a local real estate speculator who also built a similar stone house nearby, is linked to the property, and Royal Pulsifer, an owner of the Boston Herald, acquired it in 1874. It remains well preserved and is one of few survivors of Auburndale's riverfront estates.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Victorian Gothic (Ruskinian mode)","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Condition described as very good and extremely well preserved; in use as a dwelling, with a 20th-century addition to the rear.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:12:59.73317-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/61/7919/63791961/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001821.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001821/5973288bd1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001821/5973288bd1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewtonMA_HouseAt203IslingtonRoad.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_HouseAt203IslingtonRoad.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791961","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_at_203_Islington_Road","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5914082"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/house-at-203-islington-road-86001821/"}