{"nrhp_refnum":"89001259","name":"Langmaid Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"48--52 Highland Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Somerville","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.38538893000003,"lon":-71.09545981499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-09-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Second Empire brick apartment rowhouse at 48-52 Highland Avenue in Somerville, Massachusetts, built about 1875-1883 by the Langmaid family; the architect is unknown.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a well-built example of late-19th-century apartment rowhouses, built when Somerville was growing fastest. It was the first building on its block of Highland Avenue, and its location on a route to Boston made commuting easy. It meets Criteria A and C at the local level.","narrative":"Located at 48-52 Highland Avenue in Somerville, Massachusetts, this brick apartment rowhouse dates from about 1875 to 1883. It was developed by Samuel Langmaid and the Langmaid family, who built several handsome brick rows in the city. The building is typical of the Second Empire apartment rows constructed in Somerville during the 1870s and 1880s. Its features include panel brick with decorative insets, a slate-covered mansard roof, three towers with polygonal roofs of varying height, stone lintels and sills, and segmental-arched windows on the end facade. It was the first building on its block of Highland Avenue, and later apartment construction nearby included the Romanesque Revival Highland Building. Because Highland Avenue was a well-travelled route to Boston, residents could commute easily into the city. The property retains its original integrity, has had no major alterations, and remains in good condition as an apartment house facing Somerville's institutional district on Central Hill. It was recognized for its architecture and its link to the city's period of greatest growth.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Second Empire","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Condition is good, with no major alterations and no outbuildings; it is currently used as an apartment house.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.785786-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/89/7918/63791889/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89001259.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001259/b1bbb6b244-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001259/b1bbb6b244-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SomervilleMA_LangmaidBuilding.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_LangmaidBuilding.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791889","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langmaid_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6486339"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/langmaid-building-89001259/"}