Pleasant Street Historic District
The pin is a point inside the NPS boundary polygon, not a surveyed location.
Why it's listed
Pleasant Street in Belmont, seven miles northwest of Boston, preserves a neighborhood of sixty-eight buildings and two monuments, most of them nineteenth century houses. Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire and Queen Anne styles appear along the route, with stone walls, shade trees and hillside lawns shaping the setting. The oldest building is the Captain Stephen Frost House, built about 1763. Landmarks include the 1881 Town Hall by Henry W. Hartwell, the 1902 Classical Revival Old Library by William R. Emerson, and the 1853 Italianate and Second Empire William Flagg Homer House. The street follows an old path from Arlington Center to Watertown. After rail service arrived, wealthy Boston merchants built summer and year-round homes here. Winslow Homer lived in the district and painted works here. Roscoe Pound, later Dean of Harvard Law School, lived in the Joseph Yates House, and David Mack founded the Orchard Hill boarding school. The district was listed for its architecture and these associations.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district is significant for its well-preserved variety of 18th and 19th century architectural styles and its character as a wealthy mid-to-late 19th century neighborhood. It is also tied to prominent people, including the artist Winslow Homer, legal scholar Roscoe Pound and educator David Mack. Historic visitors included General Lafayette and Elizabeth Peabody.
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 79000353, listed June 12, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Irregular Pattern along Pleasant St., Belmont |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | June 12, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79000353 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Henry W. Hartwell (Town Hall, 1881); William R. Emerson (Old Library, 1902); Albert Higgins (housewright) |
| Architectural style | Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire and Queen Anne |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Art, Transportation, Education, Law, Politics/Government, Architecture, Invention, Agriculture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition marked excellent and altered; most properties are occupied. The Old Library now houses school department administrative offices. |
| Acreage | 38 |
| Coordinates | 42.39848, -71.17607 (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 79000353.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14715820
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.