House at 17 Cranston Street
Why it's listed
Perched on Cedar Hill in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood, 17 Cranston Street is a wood-frame house built in 1871 on an unusual Y-shaped plan made of three hexagonal bays. A hexagonal cupola with slate fishscale siding crowns the roof, and triangular peaked casement windows fold around the corners of each bay. Beneath later asphalt siding, interlocking hexagonal wooden panels cover the walls. Carpenter Gothic and Italianate details include foliate brackets, a vergeboard and heavy molded trim. The lot was bought in 1871 by John and Archibald Scott. Archibald, an organ builder and carpenter, may have designed the house, which shows possible echoes of the octagon house fad and of church design. Many owners and tenants occupied it between 1874 and 1914. It is considered unique in Boston and reflects the development of streetcar suburbs on the former Boston and West Roxbury boundary. A porch added around 1957 is the only major addition.
Significance in brief: The house is presented as an architecturally unique dwelling in Boston, keeping much of its original Italianate and Carpenter Gothic appearance and unusual form. It is also tied to the rapid growth of Boston's streetcar suburbs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The nomination suggests organ builder and carpenter Archibald Scott may have designed it, possibly drawing on the mid-1800s octagon house movement and on church design.
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 87001398, listed November 20, 1987. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 17 Cranston St., Boston |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | November 20, 1987 |
| Reference number | 87001398 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1891-1925 |
| Architect / builder | Scott Archibald (Archibald Scott, possible designer/builder) |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian - Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as in good condition and still used as a single-family dwelling. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.32079, -71.10921 (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 87001398.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5914005
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.