Riley, Charles, House
Why it's listed
Set on the Mount Ida hillside in Newton Corner, this house at 93 Bellevue Street began as a late-1870s dwelling built by Boston businessman Job Turner, with a hip roof and tall facade bays topped by steep pyramidal caps. Charles Riley, a wealthy manufacturer of cotton machinery, bought it in 1888 and shortly before 1900 removed the tower-like caps, added a porte-cochere, and clad the building in cream-colored brick and stone. The result is a blocky, upright Neo-Classical house under a hip roof, with smooth wall surfaces, little ornament, and banks of ground-floor windows meant to bring in more light. Its design rejected the picturesque detail of the Queen Anne style. The property is regarded as one of Newton's finest Neo-Classical buildings and a surviving example of the large suburban estates favored by wealthy Boston commuters. A five-bay carriage house at 109 Bellevue Street, now condominiums, stands as a companion building.
Significance in brief: The house is presented as one of Newton's best examples of early twentieth-century Neo-Classical design, with geometric massing, light brick walls and minimal ornament. It is also described as one of the finest remaining lavish suburban estates built by wealthy Boston businessmen in Newton Corner around the turn of the century.
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 86001872, listed September 4, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 93 Bellevue St., Newton |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | September 4, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86001872 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect unknown; original house built by Job Turner (per the form); remodelled by Charles Riley |
| Architectural style | Neo-Classical |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | State, Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as excellent; present use is a dwelling, and the carriage house has been converted to residential condominiums. |
| Acreage | 3.3 |
| Coordinates | 42.35165, -71.19025 (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 86001872.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5082061
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.