Magnuson, Charles, Three-Decker
Why it's listed
Built around 1912 at 56/58 Olga Avenue in Worcester, this three-decker sits at the eastern edge of the Belmont Street neighborhood, and its rear looks out on Green Hill Park. It reflects the final major wave of three-decker building in that part of the city. At the time, the area was dominated by Swedish, Swede-Finn and Finnish families, many of them skilled metal tradesmen employed at nearby American Steel and Wire or other metal fabricating firms. The first owner and occupant, Charles Magnuson, was a foreman at Worcester Metal Goods and lived here into the late 1920s, while early tenants included a machinist and a cabinet maker. Architecturally, the house has a side-hall plan, a gable roof, wood clapboard siding with shingled porch and bays, a three-tier porch on square posts, a three-story round bay, and bracketed cornice eaves. It remains unaltered and well preserved, which supports its local significance.
Significance in brief: It is associated with the last surge of 20th-century three-decker construction in the Belmont Street area, a mostly Scandinavian, working-class neighborhood. It is also an unusually well-preserved and well-detailed example of a popular local variation of Colonial Revival three-decker design. It is considered significant at the local level under criteria A and C.
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 89002434, listed February 9, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 56/58 Olga Ave., Worcester |
|---|---|
| County | Worcester County |
| Listed | February 9, 1990 |
| Reference number | 89002434 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival Three-Decker |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, European, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition described as very good, with no major alterations and present use as residential. |
| Acreage | 0.2 |
| Coordinates | 42.27429, -71.78355 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
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 89002434.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5080589
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.