Westwood Road Historic District
Why it's listed
Westwood Road and a short stretch of Benton Road in Somerville form a compact residential enclave of about four acres. The land, once used for dairy farming on Spring Hill, was replatted in 1894 by hardware dealer Charles Bradshaw, who built eight of the houses himself and added sewer, water and gas connections. In 1895 he moved mature elms and maples to the street line, a procedure described in 1897 as the first tree-moving in Massachusetts. The district holds 30 buildings, including 21 houses, nine garages and the brick Somerville Historical Society museum, built from 1925 to 1929 to a design by William Dykeman. Most houses are Shingle Style, Queen Anne or Colonial Revival, with original shingles, fieldstone, leaded glass and wrought iron still visible. Early owners were Somerville lawyers, pharmacists and manufacturers. The district was listed for its intact development history and its architecture.
Significance in brief: The district is an intact turn-of-the-century subdivision, one of Somerville's few exclusive residential enclaves. It is significant for its development history (Criterion A) and for its architect-designed Shingle Style, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival houses (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 89001221, listed September 18, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by Summer St., Benton Rd., Westwood Rd., and Central St., Somerville |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | September 18, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001221 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | ca. 1895-1920 |
| Architect / builder | Charles Bradshaw (developer, built eight houses); William Dykeman (architect of the Somerville Historical Society building) |
| Architectural style | Shingle Style, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is residential, general condition good; 27 contributing and 3 non-contributing buildings, with only two houses drastically altered. |
| Acreage | 4 |
| Coordinates | 42.38714, -71.10574 (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 89001221.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.