{"nrhp_refnum":"98000543","name":"Lowell Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"984 Lawrence St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lowell","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.62785094250003,"lon":-71.29467211480667,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-05-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture","Community Planning and Development","Landscape Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Lowell Cemetery is a 73-acre nominated rural (garden) cemetery at 984 Lawrence Street in Lowell, Massachusetts, established in 1841 on the southeast slope of Fort Hill overlooking the Concord River. The 1841 plan was by civil engineer George P. Worcester.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a fine example of the mid-19th century rural cemetery movement, with a naturalistic landscape of curving roads, hilly terrain and mature plantings. It also holds architect-designed buildings, gates, mausoleums and monuments by local and nationally known sculptors and carvers. The nomination adds that it has archaeological potential for prehistoric and historic remains.","narrative":"Lowell Cemetery, at 984 Lawrence Street, is a 73-acre burial ground laid out in 1841 on the southeast slope of Fort Hill above the Concord River. Civil engineer George P. Worcester designed its plan, combining straight avenues with curving paths that follow hills, ponds and open greens, in keeping with the rural cemetery movement of the mid-19th century. A granite main gate designed by C.W. Painter was erected in 1862, and the Belvidere Gate was added in 1905. Frederick Stickney designed the Gothic Revival Talbot Memorial Chapel, the Superintendent's Office and the Egyptian Revival Receiving Tomb. Mausoleums, obelisks, sarcophagi and sculpted monuments range from slate markers to works by Daniel Chester French's studio and Frank Elwell, including \"The Mill Girl.\" The cemetery is still in use and keeps its original road layout. The nomination also notes prehistoric sites and the potential for further archaeological finds.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"George P. Worcester (1841 plan); Butterfield and Clark (1850 survey); C.W. Painter (main gate); Frederick W. Stickney (chapel, office, receiving tomb)","architectural_style":"Rural (garden) cemetery landscape; Gothic Revival, Egyptian Revival, neo-Classical and Art Deco structures and monuments","criteria":[],"status_note":"Remains in active use, with new graves interspersed among earlier ones.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:05.094265-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/71/7960/63796071/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/98000543.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000543/a29f7c8a8b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000543/a29f7c8a8b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Emw","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lowell_Cemetery;_Lawrence_Street_gate,_southwest_(front)_side;_Lowell,_MA;_2011-09-11.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Emw</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:Lowell_Cemetery;_Lawrence_Street_gate,_southwest_(front)_side;_Lowell,_MA;_2011-09-11.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796071","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_Cemetery_(Lowell,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2075832"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/lowell-cemetery-98000543/"}