House at 11 Wave Avenue
Why it's listed
This 2½-story gable-roofed house at 11 Wave Avenue in Wakefield, Massachusetts, was built between 1875 and 1888 and remains a dwelling. Its design is mainly Queen Anne, with Stick Style influence that is muted. Clapboard on the first floor and shingle above emphasize horizontal lines, and the house also has shed-roof window hoods, multi-pane sash, a jerkin-head main gable and deep eaves on heavy braces. The porch has open-work detail and a frieze, and patterned shingle adds surface interest. A carriage house of about 1889 survives, and a rear addition was made around 1900. Wave Street was subdivided about 1874 by the heirs of Thomas Emerson, a shoe manufacturer and legislator. Shoe making continued in the area, and Henry Haskell built a factory beside this house between 1874 and 1889. Workers lived in the same neighborhood as the shoe executives for whom nearby streets were named.
Significance in brief: The house is described as one of the finer Queen Anne houses in its neighborhood, with Stick Style influences in the porch, gable field and first floor. It retains integrity and meets criterion C at the local level. Its street was also part of a neighborhood tied to the local shoe-making industry.
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 89000678, listed July 6, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 11 Wave Ave., Wakefield |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | July 6, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89000678 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne/Stick Style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is a dwelling; condition is listed as fair. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.51111, -71.07045 (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 89000678.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5913905
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.