Morton Road Historic District

Morton Road is a short, L-shaped residential street in Newton Centre, just north of Commonwealth Avenue. Laid out in 1915 by developer Newton Associates, it was planned by architect Gilbert Miles Ramsey, whose subdivision plan showed building footprints and plantings. The district takes in six houses on the road and two on Morton Street, with six contributing houses and three matching garages in Craftsman and Tudor Revival styles. Craftsman cottages have stucco walls, brick trim, clipped gable roofs and multi-pane windows, while two Tudor Revival cottages near the turn-around show half-timbering. A slight bend, a curved corner, a widened turn-around and mature shade trees add to the small-scale character. Two non-contributing houses, a four-square and a Colonial Revival, differ mainly in scale and detail. The district matters as an example of how construction near Commonwealth Avenue accelerated after 1914, peaking in the 1920s, and for the quality of its planned layout and architecture.