{"nrhp_refnum":"86002943","name":"Winchester Center Historic District","other_names":["See Also:Winchester Town Hall","Winchester Savings Bank"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Mt. Vernon and Washington Sts., Waterfield Rd., Church and Main Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Winchester","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.45183600000004,"lon":-71.13627542229727,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-11-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 40-acre historic district in the center of Winchester, Massachusetts, along the Aberjona River, made up of commercial, civic, religious and residential buildings from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries, plus parks and two historic bridges.","why_significant":"The district is argued to be an exceptionally well-preserved example of an affluent Boston suburb, with an eclectic and well-designed mix of buildings and landscaped parks. It reflects the town's commercial, institutional and residential development over the 100 years following its 1850 incorporation. It also keeps some features of its earlier settlement and has archaeological potential.","narrative":"Winchester Center is the commercial and civic heart of a Boston suburb, a district of about 40 acres on flat ground along the Aberjona River. It includes 56 contributing buildings, three parks and two historic bridges, lining Main, Church and Mount Vernon Streets. The area was first settled by Europeans around 1640 and grew rapidly after the Boston & Lowell Railroad arrived in 1835, leading to the town's separation from Woburn in 1850. Buildings range from Greek Revival houses and the 1854 First Congregational Church to the Queen Anne Brown & Stanton Block of 1879, the 1903 Beaux Arts high school, the 1914 police and fire stations, the 1931 Gothic Revival library and the 1935-1936 Colonial Revival Locatelli Building. The district was listed for its architecture and its record of the town's commercial, institutional and residential growth between 1835 and 1935. Mill sites along the river also suggest archaeological potential.","period_of_significance":"1835-1935","architect_builder":"see text (individual buildings name Robert Coit, architect of the 1931 Public Library)","architectural_style":"Varied, from Greek Revival and Italianate to Queen Anne, Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival, Gothic Revival and Beaux Arts","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Generally in good condition; most buildings retain original features such as entries, window surrounds and cornices. Some buildings have been altered, and 14 structures are noncontributing.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.59452-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/90/7956/63795690/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86002943.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002943/71d1a99f86-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002943/71d1a99f86-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Book_Ends_-_Winchester,_MA_-_DSC04163.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Book_Ends_-_Winchester,_MA_-_DSC04163.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795690","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Center_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8023784"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/winchester-center-historic-district-86002943/"}