{"nrhp_refnum":"89001290","name":"House at 42 Vinal Avenue","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"42 Vinal Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Somerville","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.38454782400004,"lon":-71.09713244499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-09-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-family residence at 42 Vinal Avenue in Somerville, Massachusetts, built around 1895 in the Shingle Style on the west side of Vinal Avenue, near Prospect Hill.","why_significant":"The house is presented as a well-preserved, modest-scale vernacular example of the pure Shingle Style in Somerville. Its continuous skin of decorative shingles and sweeping gable roof over an integral entry porch are highlighted. It is also typical of the fine houses in the Vinal/Grandview area, which developed as commuter housing.","narrative":"Built around 1895, this house at 42 Vinal Avenue in Somerville is a modest but carefully preserved example of the Shingle Style. Its most notable feature is the unbroken covering of decorative shingles in varied shapes, which forms a continuous skin over the exterior. A sweeping gable roof on the eastern side shelters an integral entry porch, and the windows are simply framed, apart from a small attic gable window with a suggestion of volutes. The house sits on the west side of Vinal Avenue in an established residential neighborhood at the edge of Prospect Hill. Vinal, Grandview and Pleasant Avenues were platted to serve the city's growing commuter population, many of whom wanted stylish single-family homes, and horsecar lines arriving in the 1860s spurred rapid growth on the hillside north of Union Square. The house retains its original design, materials and setting, and has no major alterations. Two garages stand on the property. It was recognized for its architecture at the local level.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Shingle Style","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Condition is described as excellent, with no major alterations and not moved; it is in residential use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.658544-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/68/7912/63791268/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89001290.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001290/0669ffffd0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001290/0669ffffd0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SomervilleMA_HouseAt42VinalAve.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_HouseAt42VinalAve.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791268","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_at_42_Vinal_Avenue","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5914320"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/house-at-42-vinal-avenue-89001290/"}