Washington Square Historic District (Boundary Increase)

Four multi-family houses at 140-160 Andover Street in Lowell's Belvidere neighborhood were added to the Washington Square Historic District in 1999. Built between about 1860 and 1895, they include a Second Empire double house with a mansard roof, an Italianate double house with a front gable, and two later flat-roofed apartment buildings with Queen Anne, Craftsman and Colonial Revival details. The district grew out of an 1832 subdivision by Thomas and John Nesmith, laid out around a small park by landscape architect Alexander Wadsworth on land once part of Judge Edward Livermore's estate. The Andover Street buildings stood just outside the original plan but followed the same pattern of development. Builders and owners included a banker, boot and shoe manufacturers and mill workers. The group reflects the move from single-family houses to two-family dwellings and small apartment houses as land values rose. The additions were judged significant for architecture and community development, and the area may also hold archaeological remains.