{"nrhp_refnum":"89001252","name":"Brackett, S. E., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"63 Columbus Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Somerville","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.38188781000008,"lon":-71.09485740699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-09-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-family Second Empire house at 63 Columbus Avenue on Prospect Hill in Somerville, Massachusetts, built about 1880 for S. E. Brackett, a local merchant. The architect is unknown.","why_significant":"The house is an intact, richly ornamented example of the Second Empire style and one of the most pretentious such residences left in the city. It is also tied to the 1870 Warren/Columbus Avenue subdivision and to the commercial growth of Somerville. The form finds it meets Criteria A and C at the local level.","narrative":"Built around 1880 at 63 Columbus Avenue on Prospect Hill in Somerville, this Second Empire house was the home of S. E. Brackett, a local merchant. It is a three-bay, two-and-a-half-story mansard-roofed house with a central pavilion flanked by one-story polygonal bays on panelled bases, and an entry porch at the pavilion's base. The steep slate roof is laid in several patterns, the facade is flush-boarded to imitate ashlar masonry, and varied applied wooden ornament decorates the exterior. A sawtooth cornice joining the tower to the main block is especially notable. The house is considered one of the most pretentious and best-preserved Second Empire residences in the city. It stands on one of the most desirable lots of Ira Hill's 1870 Warren/Columbus Avenue subdivision, next to the James H. Brooks House. Prospect Hill residents of the period were mostly businessmen and professionals, some commuting to Boston and others working in nearby Union Square. The house remains a residence in excellent condition.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Second Empire","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Residential use; condition described as excellent and well maintained, with a non-contributing garage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.244672-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/10/7915/63791510/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89001252.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001252/c4510180e6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001252/c4510180e6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SomervilleMA_SEBrackettHouse.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_SEBrackettHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791510","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._E._Brackett_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7387457"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/brackett-s-e-house-89001252/"}