{"nrhp_refnum":"89001251","name":"Brooks, James H., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"61 Columbus Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Somerville","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.38171225000008,"lon":-71.09460862899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-09-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small Second Empire mansard cottage at 61 Columbus Avenue on Prospect Hill in Somerville, Massachusetts, built around 1880 as a residence for dry goods dealer James H. Brooks.","why_significant":"The house is one of Somerville's best-preserved and most ambitious examples of Second Empire style, notable for its square corner tower with original iron cresting. It is also tied to the post-Civil War subdivision of Prospect Hill and to the city's commercial growth. It is judged significant on a local level.","narrative":"Built around 1880 at 61 Columbus Avenue, this 1 1/2-story mansard cottage is one of Somerville's most pretentious small examples of the Second Empire style. A square corner tower with gabled dormers sits offset to the left and keeps its original iron cresting. A full-height polygonal bay, a steep slate mansard roof and a bracketed, flat-roofed porch wrapping the front and side complete the design, which likely came from a pattern book. Aluminum siding covers the walls, but the detailing remains intact. The lot lies within the Prospect Hill subdivision platted in 1870 by businessman Ira Hill, who also drove the growth of Union Square as the city's commercial center. Large lots there were meant for spacious houses for businessmen and professionals. The first owner, James Brooks, was a dry goods dealer with offices in Union Square's Masonic Block. The house was listed for its architecture and for its link to Somerville's postwar subdivision and commercial development.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Second Empire","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Recorded in 1986 as in excellent condition and in use as a residence; aluminum siding has been applied but the detailing remains intact.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.793466-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/73/7919/63791973/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89001251.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001251/914c432580-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001251/914c432580-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SomervilleMA_JamesHBrooksHouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SomervilleMA_JamesHBrooksHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791973","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Brooks_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6135099"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/brooks-james-h-house-89001251/"}