Austin, Francis B., House
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Standing at the corner of High and Wood Streets in Charlestown, this wood-frame house shows the Second Empire style in a neighborhood of late nineteenth-century rowhouses. Francis Boylston Austin enlarged it about 1865 from the earlier two-family house of his father, William Austin, adding a mansard roof of hexagonal slate, a boxed cornice with modillion brackets, segmentally arched dormers and molded window cases. Inside, marble mantelpieces, ornamental plaster and a wood stair balustrade survive. William Austin was a lawyer, state legislator and the author of the story Peter Rugg, while his son worked as a merchant in dry goods and later iron and steel. The house later served as a rooming house and, in 1985, was rehabilitated into five apartments, with shingles added in 1931 removed to expose the original clapboards. It was listed for its architecture and its ties to the Austin family.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house retains integrity of design, setting and materials and is a substantial local example of the Second Empire style. It is also associated with two generations of the Austin family, prominent in Charlestown politics, law, literature and commerce.
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 87001478, listed October 21, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 58 High St., Boston |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | October 21, 1988 |
| Reference number | 87001478 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1832 - 1903 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown (enlarged ca. 1865 by owner Francis Boylston Austin) |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian - Second Empire |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Converted into five residential units in 1985 through a rehabilitation following the Secretary of the Interior's Standards; historic function was single-family and current function is multiple-family housing. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.37628, -71.07633 (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 87001478.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5480077
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.