{"nrhp_refnum":"87002549","name":"District 13 Police Station","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"28 Seaverns Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.31204452700007,"lon":-71.11231496299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-02-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2 1/2-story red brick police station at 28 Seaverns Avenue in Jamaica Plain, Boston, built in 1873 for the Town of West Roxbury, with an annex added from 1892.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is architecturally significant as an unusual example of High Victorian Gothic style in an area of mostly frame houses. It is the only Gothic style municipal building in Jamaica Plain and one of few high Victorian buildings in Boston. The 1892 annex by City Architect Edmund M. Wheelwright adds Romanesque-derived details related to the original design.","narrative":"Built in 1873 at 28 Seaverns Avenue in Jamaica Plain, this red brick police station was the last major municipal project of the Town of West Roxbury before its annexation to Boston. George Ropes was paid as architect. Sandstone trim, pointed-arch windows with red and beige voussoirs, a bracketed cornice and a steep slate roof give it a High Victorian Gothic character that stands out among the surrounding frame houses. It is the only Gothic style municipal building in Jamaica Plain. In 1892 City Architect Edmund M. Wheelwright designed an annex with a patrol-wagon house, stable, courtroom and dormitory, built by John Mack, Jr. Its Romanesque-derived details were meant to relate to the original building. A later renovation, probably in the 1920s, converted the stables to a garage and added Georgian Revival touches, and the roof was replaced in 1937. Old jail cell bars and original lockers survive inside. The building served as a police station until its conversion to condominiums in the early 1980s.","period_of_significance":"1873-1937","architect_builder":"Edmund M. Wheelwright; George Ropes","architectural_style":"High Victorian Gothic","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Served as the neighborhood police station until converted to condominiums in the early 1980s; current function is listed as multiple dwelling.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.740291-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/91/7966/63796691/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/87002549.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87002549/d574fbdee8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87002549/d574fbdee8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jameslwoodward","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:District_13_Police_Station_Boston_MA_01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jameslwoodward</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:District_13_Police_Station_Boston_MA_01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796691","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_13_Police_Station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5283233"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/district-13-police-station-87002549/"}