Round House
Why it's listed
Round in plan and two stories tall, this house at 971 West Main Street in Centerville was completed in 1930 for the Boyne family, who had emigrated from Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1921-22 and settled on Cape Cod in 1923. William Boyne, Jr., who had designed and flown airplanes in Scotland and England as early as 1910, designed the house. He and his father and brothers dug the cellar and cast their own cement blocks for the foundation. A central chimney rises through the house, and a flat roof carries a large round cupola with windows and a door. The cupola served as William Jr.'s workshop for model airplanes and ships. The ground floor is divided into a living room, kitchen and dining room, with five bedrooms and a bath upstairs. The round plan is a variant of the octagon plan popularized in the mid-19th century, and the house is one of a handful in Massachusetts to use it. It was listed for this rare design.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is a rare example of a dwelling built on a round plan by its occupant and builder. It is described as locally and regionally unique, and one of only a handful of round-plan houses in the state. It is presented as a variant of the mid-19th-century octagon plan.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 87000282, listed March 13, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 971 W. Main St., Barnstable |
|---|---|
| County | Barnstable County |
| Listed | March 13, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87000282 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | William Boyne, Jr. (builder) |
| Architectural style | Round |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition is given as fair-good; the property is in use as a dwelling, as it was originally. A balustrade was removed in 1986. |
| Acreage | 1.2 |
| Coordinates | 41.65661, -70.32896 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 87000282.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7371047
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.