{"nrhp_refnum":"90000047","name":"Walker Home for Missionary Children","other_names":["See Also:Harding House--Walker Missionary Home"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"161--63, 165, 167 Grove St., 136, 138, 144 Hancock St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.34146622600008,"lon":-71.25083510499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-06-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Education","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of eight buildings at the corner of Grove and Hancock Streets in Auburndale, Newton, Massachusetts, built between 1850 and 1957 for the Walker Home for Missionary Children.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is significant for its association with the Walker Home, founded in 1868 to serve missionaries and their children, and for its role in the development of Auburndale. It also includes two buildings of individual architectural merit, Walker House and Harding East and West, and illustrates the growth of an institution serving missionaries.","narrative":"At the corner of Grove and Hancock Streets in Auburndale, a group of eight buildings records the growth of a home for missionary families. Eliza Walker, widow of an American missionary to Turkey, founded the Walker Home for Missionary Children in 1868 and took in children of missionaries stationed around the world, who attended Newton schools. Missionaries on furlough and retired missionary families also stayed there. The main building, Walker House, was designed by Coolidge and Carlson and completed in 1913 after fire destroyed an earlier house. It is a large brick Colonial Revival structure that keeps a domestic character suited to the surrounding neighborhood. The oldest building, Harding East and West, dates from about 1850 and is Italianate. Additional residences, a converted barn, and garages were added mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, with a Cape-style house following in the 1950s. The complex is notable for its long-running missionary association and its role in Auburndale's development.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Coolidge and Carlson (Walker House, 1913); Albert Kreider (Eddy House, 1954); Herbert Kellaway (landscaping, late 1930s); Rev. Sewell Harding (Harding East and West)","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival (Walker, Barton, Howard, Hume Houses); Italianate (Harding East and West); Cape (Eddy House)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Described as in good condition, with the Home in continuous operation for more than 120 years and continuing its educational and religious mission.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.855385-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/7919/63791998/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000047.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000047/e5423110b0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000047/e5423110b0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewtonMA_WalkerHome144Hancock.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_WalkerHome144Hancock.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791998","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_Home_for_Missionary_Children","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7962274"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/walker-home-for-missionary-children-90000047/"}