Petterson, Lars-Silas Archer Three-Decker
Why it's listed
Built around 1920 at 80 Fairhaven Road in Worcester's Greendale neighborhood, this three-decker was first owned by Lars Petterson, a contractor who owned more than a dozen other buildings in the Greendale and Lincoln Street areas and who may have designed it. Silas Archer owned and lived in the house during the 1920s. The gable-roofed wood-frame building has clapboard siding with shingle bands between stories, a recessed three-tier porch with paired Tuscan columns, a three-story bay window, and a cornice with modillion blocks and dentils. Decorative geometric-pattern glass survives in the stairwells and front parlors. Greendale was subdivided in the early 1900s and filled with single- and multi-family homes for workers at the nearby Norton Company and for streetcar commuters. The house is valued as a representative example of that neighborhood growth and as a remarkably intact, finely detailed Colonial Revival three-decker. Early residents included a steamfitter, a foreman and a stenographer.
Significance in brief: It represents the suburban multi-family residential development of Greendale in the early 20th century, when working-class families came for jobs at the Norton Company and other factories. It is also an unusually well-preserved and well-detailed local example of Colonial Revival three-decker 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 89002359, listed February 9, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 80 Fairhaven Rd., Worcester |
|---|---|
| County | Worcester County |
| Listed | February 9, 1990 |
| Reference number | 89002359 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | possibly Lars Petterson |
| 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) | Recorded in excellent condition with no major alterations; present use is residential. |
| Acreage | 0.2 |
| Coordinates | 42.30906, -71.79406 (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 89002359.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6491692
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.