{"nrhp_refnum":"90000007","name":"Old Chestnut Hill Historic District (Boundary Increase)","other_names":["See Also:Old Chestnut Hill Historic District"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly Chestnut Hill, Essex, and Gate House;Middlesex, Hammond, and Longwood;and Suffolk and Old Orchard","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.32800100000006,"lon":-71.16670792784227,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An extension of the Old Chestnut Hill Historic District in the Chestnut Hill section of Newton, Massachusetts, covering about 98 acres and 107 properties west and southeast of the existing district. It is a residential and institutional area with buildings mainly from the 1880s to 1930s.","why_significant":"The area illustrates Newton's growth as a fashionable Boston suburb in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is characterized by large architect-designed houses, careful landscaping and winding roads. It is described as a well-preserved upper-class suburban enclave and meets criteria A and C.","narrative":"This extension to the Old Chestnut Hill Historic District adds roughly 98 acres and 107 properties in Newton, Massachusetts, around Old Orchard Road, Old England Road, Suffolk Road, Longwood Road and Chestnut Hill Road. Once remote farmland, the area was opened to suburban growth by the extension of Beacon Street, rail service and Commonwealth Avenue. Development peaked in the 1920s, when large estates such as those of R. H. White and the Lowell family were subdivided. The district is known for large architect-designed houses in Shingle, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Mission and Craftsman styles, set on large lots with winding roads and mature landscaping. Firms such as Chapman and Frazer designed many of them. Institutions include the First Church of Chestnut Hill, the Church of the Redeemer and the Longwood Cricket Club, home court of tennis player Hazel Wightman. The district is considered a well-preserved upper-class suburban enclave of its era.","period_of_significance":"1880s-1930s","architect_builder":"Chapman and Frazer; Little and Russell; R.C. Sturgis; Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch and Abbott; Bigelow and Wadsworth; Derby and Robinson; Hawley W. Morton; J. Lovett Little, Jr.; Henry Vaughn","architectural_style":"Shingle, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Mission and Craftsman, among other late 19th and early 20th century styles","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"General condition is described as excellent; present use is residential and institutional.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.43441-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/77/7919/63791977/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000007.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000007/39e5c2360c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000007/39e5c2360c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewtonMA_HammondStreet_ChestnutHillHD.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:NewtonMA_HammondStreet_ChestnutHillHD.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"86001756","name":"Old Chestnut Hill Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/old-chestnut-hill-historic-district-86001756/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791977","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Chestnut_Hill_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715794"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/old-chestnut-hill-historic-district-boundary-increase-90000007/"}