{"nrhp_refnum":"89000725","name":"House at 95 Chestnut Street","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"95 Chestnut St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wakefield","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.501877474000025,"lon":-71.08291952799993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-07-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small 1½-story Greek Revival dwelling at 95 Chestnut Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts, built in 1849 by inventor Joshua Whittemore. It has a Stick Style porch and a c. 1900 addition.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a small, well-preserved vernacular example of the Greek Revival style under Criterion C at the local level. It was built by Joshua Whittemore, who patented an elastic crutch in 1862 that was sold worldwide. The house retains integrity of location, setting, design, materials, workmanship, feeling and association.","narrative":"Built in 1849 on a narrow lot in Wakefield, this 1½-story house has its gable end facing Chestnut Street and sits on a granite foundation. Greek Revival details include returning eaves, wide corner boards, a fully pedimented dormer and 6/6 sash. A Stick Style porch with a pedimented roof and sawtooth ornament was added later, and an addition on the northeast dates to about 1900. The house was built by Joshua Whittemore, a former sailor and carpenter who worked on the Massachusetts State House dome and became a metal roofer. After losing a leg in 1850, he turned to crutch making in a building behind the house, where he also made fireworks for local celebrations. His Patent Elastic Crutch, invented in 1862, was produced until 1885. The house is listed as a small, well-preserved vernacular example of Greek Revival design and for its link to this inventor.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Joshua Whittemore (builder)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Condition described as good; present use is a dwelling, with a noncontributing c. 1930s garage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:00.557477-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/22/7909/63790922/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89000725.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000725/38a9c8f7a2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000725/38a9c8f7a2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:House_at_95_Chestnut_Street,_Wakefield_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:House_at_95_Chestnut_Street,_Wakefield_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790922","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_at_95_Chestnut_Street","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5914512"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/house-at-95-chestnut-street-89000725/"}