Hull Shore Drive, Nantasket Avenue, Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston MPS
Why it's listed
Nantasket Avenue and Hull Shore Drive form a 1.25-mile ocean parkway along Nantasket Beach in Hull, Massachusetts, about five miles southeast of Boston. Work began in 1900, when the Metropolitan Park Commission took over County Road as part of the new Nantasket Beach Reservation. The beach had been marred by private development and damaged by the 1898 storm, and the reservation was meant to restore its beauty as a respectable resort. Olmsted, Olmsted and Eliot, and later Olmsted Brothers, developed the road, which reflects Charles Eliot's ideas of public ownership and access. The commission regraded and resurfaced Nantasket Avenue in 1905-07, and it was realigned in 1932. Hull Shore Drive was built in 1935-36 along an abandoned railroad bed as a pleasure loop ending at Phipps Street. Since the late 1980s it has served as a one-way beach road. The parkway is significant for landscape architecture, recreation, transportation and conservation, with a period of significance of 1900 to 1956.
Significance in brief: The parkway reflects the principles of public ownership, control and access that Charles Eliot set out for ocean parkways. It was created as part of the Nantasket Beach Reservation to restore the beach as a respectable resort. It is significant at the state level under Criteria A and C, and it keeps its original alignment and integrity as an ocean parkway.
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 03001470, listed January 21, 2004. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Hull Shore Dr., Nantasket Ave., Hull |
|---|---|
| County | Plymouth County |
| Listed | January 21, 2004 |
| Reference number | 03001470 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1900-1956 |
| Architect / builder | Olmsted, Olmsted and Eliot and successor firm Olmsted Brothers; Arthur Shurcliff prepared 1935 plans; M. McDonough Company (1932 reconstruction contractor) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Conservation, Engineering, Entertainment/Recreation, Landscape Architecture, Transportation |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still a public parkway administered by the state park agency (now DCR). Hull Shore Drive was converted to a one-way service road for the beach in the late 1980s. |
| Acreage | 6.5 |
| Coordinates | 42.27028, -70.85610 (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 03001470.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q1153298
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.