{"nrhp_refnum":"90000208","name":"Titcomb, Benaiah, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"189 John Wise Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Essex","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.65144602100003,"lon":-70.79646765299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-03-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-bay, two-and-a-half story, central-chimney clapboarded First Period house at 189 John Wise Avenue, Essex, Massachusetts. Built shortly after 1700 at 4 Green Street, Newburyport, it was dismantled in 1911 and re-erected in Essex in 1917.","why_significant":"The house retains a First Period frame with distinctive form and construction. It has an original staircase possibly the finest of a surviving few, evidence of an exterior plaster cove cornice, and a completely exposed interior frame from both building phases. It also has hewn overhangs continued along the sides when the leanto was added, and 1917 work by restoration architect Norman M. Isham.","narrative":"This five-bay, two-and-a-half story clapboarded house on John Wise Avenue in Essex began life in Newburyport. Benaiah Titcomb, a merchant, military officer, sea captain and ship owner, built it shortly after 1700 at what is now 4 Green Street. When the city planned a police station on the site in 1911, the house was taken down with great care and moved to Ipswich. In 1917 Langdon Warner bought it for a summer residence and hired architect Norman M. Isham to plan its reconstruction, including a large rear dormer. The house has a central chimney and a double-cell plan that grew into a leanto form. Its frame is fully exposed inside, with chamfered posts, summer beams and lamb's tongue stops. The original staircase, with wide winders and short stubby balusters, is considered possibly the finest of the few that survive. Hewn overhangs and traces of a plaster cove cornice add to its importance as an example of First Period construction.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown (original); 1917 reconstruction and rear dormer designed by Norman M. Isham","architectural_style":"First Period","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Condition described as good; in use as a residence, with grounds well maintained.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:05.100382-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/90/7899/63789990/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000208.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000208/a20a7254ff-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000208/a20a7254ff-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EssexMA_BenaiahTitcombHouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EssexMA_BenaiahTitcombHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789990","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benaiah_Titcomb_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4886809"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/titcomb-benaiah-house-90000208/"}