{"nrhp_refnum":"90000216","name":"White-Ellery House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"244 Washington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Gloucester","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.62302059700005,"lon":-70.67566139999997,"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 2 1/2-story plank-frame house at 244 Washington Street, Gloucester, Massachusetts, built in 1710 by the Rev. John White and moved to its present site in 1947.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it meets Criterion C for its plank frame and many surviving First Period and transitional features, including elaborate chamfering and three kinds of rare painted decoration. It is among the earliest examples of transitional architecture in the study area. Its non-cosmetic 1947 restoration also illustrates the post-World War II preservation movement.","narrative":"Built in 1710 by the Rev. John White, a influential minister, this five-bay, 2 1/2-story plank-frame house at 244 Washington Street in Gloucester has a central chimney, an integral lean-to and a framed overhang on the facade. It was moved from a nearby site in 1947 to make way for a traffic rotary on Route 128. A local historical association then carried out a deliberately non-cosmetic restoration, leaving much archaeological evidence visible. Inside, the first-floor framing has costly quarter-round chamfers on every horizontal beam, and the staircase and paneled doors show early Renaissance-inspired detail. Three different kinds of painted decoration survive in the lean-to, and eighteenth-century grain painting remains in the north chamber. The house is valued as a rare, well-preserved example of First Period and transitional construction and as a study tool for restoration practice. Tree-ring testing in 2007 indicated the frame was prepared in the winter-spring of 1709-1710.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Rev. John White (builder); architect unknown","architectural_style":"First Period","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as unoccupied, boarded up and awaiting a decision on future use; condition rated good. A 2007 tree-ring study supports a framing date of about 1709-1710.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.398338-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/7899/63789998/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000216.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000216/e035eb1d91-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000216/e035eb1d91-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"CapeAnnMuseum","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:White_Ellery_new_claps_and_cornice.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">CapeAnnMuseum</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:White_Ellery_new_claps_and_cornice.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789998","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White%E2%80%93Ellery_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7994260"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/white-ellery-house-90000216/"}