House at 6 Adams Street
Why it's listed
This house at 6 Adams Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts, is a Shingle Style dwelling built around 1886-87. Boston architect Robert Pote Wait, a partner in the firm Pote & Cutter, designed and built it as his own home. It sits on a low lot, hidden from street view, within Wakefield Park, a planned suburban development laid out on about 100 acres southeast of Cowdrey's Hill as the railroad brought population growth. The house has a deep gable roof with a transverse gable above 1½ stories, and shingles in patterns from waves to sawtooth cover all the major architectural features, including brackets and watertable. Twin entry columns, diamond sash and an ornament rail, unique in Wakefield, add Colonial Revival touches. Grace and Hubbard Mansfield bought it in 1907 and hired architect Charles R. Wait to add a furnace, gas lighting and town water. It is regarded as perhaps the best Shingle Style example in town and retains its original character.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it perhaps the best example of the Shingle Style in Wakefield, with distinctive Colonial Revival details such as twin entry columns and an ornament rail unique in the town. It was part of Wakefield Park, a planned suburban development, and its architecture and upper middle class owners typify the expectations for that neighborhood. It meets criterion C at the local level.
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 89000721, listed July 6, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 6 Adams St., Wakefield |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | July 6, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89000721 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Robert Pote Wait (designed and built); Charles R. Wait (later modernization for the Mansfields) |
| Architectural style | Shingle Style with Colonial Revival detailing |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as fair; no major alterations recorded; present use is a dwelling. |
| Acreage | 1.4 |
| Coordinates | 42.50200, -71.08633 (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 89000721.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5914444
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.