{"nrhp_refnum":"86001850","name":"Merriam, Galen, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"102 Highland St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.345926001000066,"lon":-71.22537934799993,"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 large Italianate hillside house at 102 Highland Street on West Newton Hill in Newton, Massachusetts, built in the late 1840s and apparently erected for Boston coal merchant Galen Merriam.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an elaborately detailed and well-preserved example of a large Italianate mansion on West Newton Hill, meeting criterion C. It also notes ties to Galen Merriam, a coal merchant who owned much of the land along Highland Street, and to later owner George A. Frost.","narrative":"Set on a hillside overlooking West Newton village, this house at 102 Highland Street was built in the late 1840s in the Italianate style. It was apparently built for Galen Merriam, a Boston coal merchant who owned much of the land on both sides of Highland Street. After he moved to Nahant around 1877, large parts of the estate were sold for development, and the house and remaining land passed to George A. Frost, a principal in a Boston manufacturer of ladies' underwear. The clapboard house was originally oriented north toward the village center, with a three-bay facade, center gable with a round window, and an entrance with transom and sidelights. Eaves brackets and a long bracketed veranda on three sides provide its Italianate detailing, while peaked gable-level windows recall Gothic Revival design. A barn survives on the property. It was listed as a very well-preserved example of early Italianate residences on West Newton Hill.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Recorded as in good condition, with no major alterations, not moved, and in present use as a residence.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.558776-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/7910/63791008/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001850.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001850/218973c580-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001850/218973c580-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Galen_Merriam_House,_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:Galen_Merriam_House,_West_Newton_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791008","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galen_Merriam_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715484"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/merriam-galen-house-86001850/"}