{"nrhp_refnum":"90000023","name":"Boston Edison Power Station","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"374 Homer St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.33650259600006,"lon":-71.20975289599994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story stuccoed concrete electrical power (transfer) station at 374 Homer Street in Newton Centre, Newton, Massachusetts, begun in 1904 and enlarged in 1910 and 1913, designed by Bigelow & Wadsworth.","why_significant":"The station is significant for its early role in bringing electricity to Newton and for its ties to the street railway system, which it powered after 1910. It is also considered an important piece of industrial architecture because of its eclectic Mannerist Classical Revival design by the well-known firm of Bigelow & Wadsworth.","narrative":"Across from Newton City Hall, this one-story power station on Homer Street began in 1904 as a small hip-roofed building with three bays per side. Expansions in 1910 and 1913 left it more than four times its original size while keeping the original eclectic design. Built by the Edison Electric Illuminating Company and designed by Bigelow & Wadsworth, it has stuccoed concrete walls, brick quoins, cast stone trim, a coved cornice with acanthus leaves and a red tile roof with exposed rafters. Its symmetrical facade uses classical elements in unconventional ways, a approach described as Mannerist. The station mattered because it supplied power to Newton's street railway system after the nearby Middlesex Street Railway power station closed in 1910, converting alternating current to direct current for lighting and the railways. It is valued for its early role in electrifying the city and as an example of industrial architecture. Today it serves as a distribution center for the city's electrical service.","period_of_significance":"1904-1913","architect_builder":"Bigelow & Wadsworth","architectural_style":"Mannerist Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Recorded in good condition and still in use as a power station; today it is a distribution center for electrical service to Newton.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.748923-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/91/7917/63791791/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000023.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000023/f7937eda76-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000023/f7937eda76-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Biruitorul","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HomerStStation.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Biruitorul</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HomerStStation.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791791","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Edison_Power_Station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4947894"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/boston-edison-power-station-90000023/"}