Woburn Street Historic District
Why it's listed
Woburn Street in Reading, between Temple Street and Summer Avenue, is lined with 16 buildings on spacious, landscaped lots: 15 houses and one church. The oldest is a Federal farmhouse built about 1795. Most of the others were built or remodeled between the late 19th century and about 1920 in styles including Queen Anne, Shingle, Colonial Revival, Stick, and Craftsman. Saint Agnes Catholic Church is a simplified High Victorian Gothic building, and an Italianate house was moved around 1908 to serve as its rectory. Former farmland here became a neighborhood for professionals and rail commuters seeking larger lots, and residents included shoe manufacturers, a bank founder, a railroad president, and architects Willard P. Adden and Horace G. Wadlin. The district was listed for its representation of suburban development for Reading's upper middle class and for its intact group of high-style residential buildings, with no intrusions. The area still functions as a home for professionals and businessmen.
Significance in brief: The district represents late 19th and early 20th century suburban development for Reading's upper middle class, including professionals and rail commuters. It also holds a large, intact concentration of high-style houses from a short span of time, with no intrusions. Two prominent local architects, Willard P. Adden and Horace G. Wadlin, designed or lived in several of the houses.
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 85000551, listed February 1, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Woburn St. from Temple St. to Summer Ave., Reading |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | February 1, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85000551 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1795-1920 |
| Architect / builder | Willard P. Adden; Horace G. Wadlin; Richard W. Francis (built 216 Woburn Street) |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Shingle, Stick, Greek Revival, Italianate, Federal, Craftsman, High Victorian Gothic |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The neighborhood is still used as a residential area for upper middle-class professionals and businessmen, and houses and setting have remained largely unchanged since construction. |
| Acreage | 10 |
| Coordinates | 42.52093, -71.11386 (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 85000551.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8028980
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.