Bow Street Historic District
Why it's listed
Bow Street in Somerville, Massachusetts, is a compact district of seventeen buildings on about three acres, mixing churches, municipal, commercial and residential structures from the late nineteenth century. Its highlights include the Prospect Hill Congregational Church, designed by Henry S. McKay in 1887 in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, the Gothic Revival First United Methodist Church, the 1874 Police Station, the curved Faulkner Apartment Block, and a row of Stick Style cottages known as Doctors' Row. The street follows an early cart track and took its bowed shape from nearby marshland. It was travelled during the events of April 1775, when British troops stopped for water on their way to Lexington. After street railways arrived, doctors who founded Somerville Hospital settled here. Many buildings along Somerville Avenue were heavily altered in the twentieth century, but Bow Street kept its streetscape and architectural integrity, and it was recognized as one of the best late nineteenth-century groupings in the city.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is a well-preserved record of Somerville's greatest growth in the late nineteenth century, with a range of styles from Romanesque Revival to Stick Style. It also notes Bow Street as an early thoroughfare tied to the 1775 British march and as the "Doctors' Row" of Somerville's streetcar-suburb era.
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 76000274, listed March 26, 1976. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Bow St., Somerville |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | March 26, 1976 |
| Reference number | 76000274 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Henry S. McKay (Prospect Hill Congregational Church, 1887) |
| Architectural style | Late nineteenth-century mix: Richardsonian Romanesque, Stick Style, Gothic Revival, Second Empire/mansard, Italianate, Queen Anne, Federal Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Altered but architecturally intact overall; the former Police Station now houses a Boys' Club and American Legion Post. |
| Acreage | 3 |
| Coordinates | 42.38147, -71.09776 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 76000274.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4950659
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.