{"nrhp_refnum":"90000218","name":"Whittemore House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"179 Washington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Gloucester","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.61872290200006,"lon":-70.67396092799999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-03-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, five-bay clapboarded wood-frame house at 179 Washington Street in Gloucester, Massachusetts, built about 1700 by an unknown builder and still used as a residence.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house retains integrity and shows distinctive First Period form and construction (Criterion C). The second cell added in the First Period is typical of many First Period houses, and the decoration of the two parts of the frame lets researchers study how Gloucester carpenters' framing decoration evolved. Its concealed framing could also yield information on local framing practices (Criterion D). It is also tied to the painter Fitz Hugh Lane, whose first studio was in the house.","narrative":"Built around 1700 at 179 Washington Street in Gloucester, this two-story, five-bay house is an example of First Period construction hidden behind a later exterior. Its clapboarded walls carry plain 19th-century trim and a bracketed door hood, and the central chimney has been removed. Inside, the frame shows an original single-cell structure with a second cell added to the right of the chimney bay during the First Period. Exposed summer beams, chamfered girts and a chimney post show lamb's tongue and triangular stops, and the decoration differs between the two parts of the frame. This offers a way to study how Gloucester carpenters' framing styles changed. Concealed framing may hold further information. The house also has a link to marine painter Fitz Hugh Lane (1804-1865), whose first studio was in the west room when his brother owned the property. It sits beside Oak Grove Cemetery on a mixed residential and commercial street.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"First Period with Federal vernacular exterior","criteria":["C","D"],"status_note":"Recorded in good condition and in use as a residence; a garage is the only outbuilding.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.623491-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/57/7898/63789857/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90000218.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000218/5e703c114c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000218/5e703c114c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Fletcher6","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whittemore_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Fletcher6</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:Whittemore_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789857","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whittemore_House_(Gloucester,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14716034"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/whittemore-house-90000218/"}