Lewis House
Why it's listed
This two-and-one-half-story, three-bay clapboard house at 276 Woburn Street in Reading was built between 1875 and 1879 for John B. Lewis, Jr. Lewis appears to have built it at the rear of his lot and then moved an older house, built by Jedde Brown, to Berkeley Street. Between 1929 and 1932 the new house was shifted closer to the street so two more houses could be built on the same lot. Its Colonial Revival design includes a low hipped roof with wide eaves, pedimented dormers, wooden quoins, a rounded Regency-style bay window, and an entrance with leaded sidelights, a fanlight and a portico with paired Doric columns. Lewis began working as a boy, served in the Union army, and later dealt in real estate and shoes in Shreveport, Louisiana. In 1880 he founded a Boston firm that became the city's largest shoe supplier to the retail trade. The house represents the upper-middle-class homes built in the latest style in Reading in the late nineteenth century.
Significance in brief: The nomination cites the house's role in the 19th-century residential development of Woburn Street and its association with John B. Lewis, a successful shoe supplier. It also treats the house as a good example of Colonial Revival architecture that retains integrity.
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 84002741, listed July 19, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 276 Woburn St., Reading |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | July 19, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84002741 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Currently a private dwelling; the porch steps were replaced around 1960 and a detached double garage stands to the rear. |
| Acreage | 0.5 |
| Coordinates | 42.51848, -71.13009 (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 84002741.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14715666
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.