{"nrhp_refnum":"86001868","name":"Railroad Hotel","other_names":["Terminal Hotel"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1273--1279 Washington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.34942865200003,"lon":-71.22586721899995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-09-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick hotel building at 1273-1279 Washington Street in West Newton, Newton, Massachusetts, erected in 1831 by Seth Davis. It stands on a prominent corner lot at the intersection of Washington and Watertown streets.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an unusual and well-preserved example of a brick hotel and believes it is West Newton's oldest remaining commercial structure. It is also tied to Seth Davis, a prominent local figure, and to the growth of West Newton, including the arrival of the Boston & Worcester Railroad in 1834.","narrative":"Built in 1831 at the corner of Washington and Watertown streets, this three-story brick building is believed to be the oldest surviving commercial structure in West Newton. Seth Davis, a teacher, lecturer, author and real estate investor, put up the hotel using red hand-made brick, a major investment for a small village. It took the name Railroad Hotel when the Boston & Worcester Railroad reached West Newton in April 1834, and for a few months it served passengers connecting onward from the railhead. Railroad directors held a celebration there, and local Unitarians held their first public meetings in a hall in the building in the 1840s. In the 1860s it operated as the West-Newton Hotel, with a livery stable behind it, and it briefly served as a boarding house in the 1870s. Its louvered Gothic windows at the gable level are its best-known detail. The ground floor has been altered with storefronts, and the chimneys were removed, but much original character remains. It now houses shops and offices.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown; built by Seth Davis","architectural_style":"Federal/Greek Revival","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Condition rated good; present use is shops and offices, with 20th-century storefronts at ground level.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:00.733499-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/85/7914/63791485/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001868.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001868/b4d8eb3316-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001868/b4d8eb3316-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Railroad_Hotel,_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:Railroad_Hotel,_West_Newton_MA.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"90000017","name":"West Newton Village Center Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/west-newton-village-center-historic-district-90000017/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791485","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroad_Hotel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7284055"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/railroad-hotel-86001868/"}