{"nrhp_refnum":"90001080","name":"Kingsbury-Whitaker House","other_names":["Glendoon House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"53 Glendoon St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Needham","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.28170723000005,"lon":-71.23973073999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-07-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2 1/2-story clapboard house at 53 Glendoon Street, Needham, Massachusetts, built in stages from the early-to-mid 18th century through 1930, on land first owned by Deacon Timothy Kingsbury.","why_significant":"The house shows how an early dwelling grew into a substantial farmhouse and then a suburban residence, reflecting changing building practices over two centuries. It is tied to two prominent Needham citizens, Deacon Timothy Kingsbury and Edgar Kimball Whitaker. It also illustrates Needham's change from an isolated rural community to a Boston suburb.","narrative":"Set on a lot of less than an acre at 53 Glendoon Street in Needham, this 2 1/2-story clapboard house grew over roughly two centuries. Its eastern section contains framing from the early to mid 18th century, linked to Deacon Timothy Kingsbury, an early town clerk, selectman and church deacon. In 1839 Boston merchant Edgar Kimball Whitaker bought it and had it greatly enlarged, with a new central entrance and wide hall. Whitaker later helped bring the railroad to Needham. Later owners added an ell around 1870, a colonial-style entry porch and dormers around 1920, and western wings in the 1920s and 1930s. A barn was removed, and a new street and house lots were laid out in 1924, reflecting Needham's suburban growth. The Needham Historical Society bought the property in 1949 and uses it as a meeting place, library and museum. Its layers show a simple early dwelling becoming a large suburban residence.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1720-1930","architect_builder":"Kingsbury, Deacon Timothy; Whitaker, Edgar Kimball","architectural_style":"Colonial/Postmedieval English; Early Republic/Federal","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Used by the Needham Historical Society as a meeting place, library and museum, with a caretaker's apartment in the ell.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.606427-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/88/7962/63796288/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90001080.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001080/af66dffcc8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001080/af66dffcc8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kingsbury-Whitaker_House,_Needham_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kingsbury-Whitaker_House,_Needham_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796288","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingsbury-Whitaker_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6413152"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/kingsbury-whitaker-house-90001080/"}