{"nrhp_refnum":"89001529","name":"Beard, Josiah, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"70 School St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Waltham","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.377812118000065,"lon":-71.23427925999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-09-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story Greek Revival clapboard house at 70 School Street in Waltham, Massachusetts, built in 1844 by Josiah Beard and moved to its present site in 1888.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a well-detailed, well-preserved example of a vernacular sidehall-plan Greek Revival house, with a pedimented gable, full entablature, paneled cornerboards and an encircling Doric porch. Its original owner was a prominent citizen, and it illustrates the mid-19th-century development of the north central Main Street area as a home for workers and small businessmen.","narrative":"Built in 1844, this 2½-story clapboard house at 70 School Street in Waltham is a vernacular sidehall-plan example of Greek Revival design. It has a gable roof with a pedimented attic, a full entablature, paneled corner boards with an unusual spade-shaped detail, floor-length first-floor window architraves, and an encircling portico on fluted Doric columns. Later additions include ells on the south and west, a cross-gabled bay on the east, and a double front door. Josiah Beard, the original owner, reportedly invented the bottle cap and served as selectman, bank director and state representative in 1862. The house first faced Church Street on a corner lot. After Beard died in 1885, Thomas P. Smith bought the property, built the Hotel Kilby apartment building on the corner in 1888, and moved the house around the corner to School Street. It was rented afterward. The house reflects the growth of the neighborhood as a home for workers and small businessmen.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown; built by Josiah Beard (apparently)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is residential; condition is described as good, with no major alterations listed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:00.79947-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/4/7917/63791704/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89001529.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001529/e37d28d44b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001529/e37d28d44b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Josiah_Beard_House,_Waltham_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:Josiah_Beard_House,_Waltham_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791704","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josiah_Beard_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6290420"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/beard-josiah-house-89001529/"}