Nomination for Harriswood Crescent

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (3-82) OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries - complete applicable sections 1. Name For NPS use only received FEB | 2 1986 date entered MAR 1 3 1986 Harriswood- Crescent historic and or common 2. Location Same street & number Harold Street, 60-88 inclusive N/A not for publication city, town Boston (Roxbury) n/a vicinity of state Massachusetts code 025 county Suffolk 025 code 3.

Classification Category district X building(s) structure site object Ownership - public X private both Public Acquisition n/ain process being considered Status - occupied _ unoccupied - work in progress Acgessible yes: restricted - yes: unrestricted no Present Use agriculture commercial educational entertainment - government industrial . military museum park X private residence religious scientific transportation other: 4. Owner of Property name multiple, see continuation sheet street & number city, town - vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Suffolk County Registry of Deeds street & number Pemberton Square city, town Boston state Massachusetts 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of Historic Assets of title the Commonwealth of Massachusetthas this property been determined eligible?

- yes- X no date 1981 form # 37, Roxbury _ federal X - state county - _ local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission city, town Boston Massachusetts state 7. Description Condition excellent X good fair - deteriorated ruins unexposed Harriswood Crescent, Boston (Roxbury) Massachusetts Check one - unaltered X altered Cpeck one original site moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

Harriswood Crescent is a row of fifteen attached masonry houses located on Harold Street between Townsend and Munroe Streets in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. They were built as single family residences and are so used today. The group was designed in the Old English style of the English Domestic Revival, also referred to as Queen Anne Revival and built in 1890. Horatio Harris Park, directly opposite the Crescent, provides a landscaped setting for the houses which occupy small individual plots of land. This area of Roxbury is generally characterized by two- and three-family wood frame detached suburban residences in Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles, built from around 1890 to 1910. Each house consists of three stories above a raised stone foundation. Flights of stone and cement steps lead up from the sidewalk to the front entrances.

The principal facades are designed to give the illusion of several independent suburban villas rather than a row of identical units. Entrances to individual units are for the most part paired and recessed behind porches or deep arches. A series of set-backs and projections break up the facade, while gables, crenellated bay windows, and prominent chimneys provide a picturesque variety and irregularity to the roof-line. Materials that contrast in color and texture, such as brick, stucco, and rough-hewn stone are used to contribute further to the variety that is characteristic of this style. The overall composition of the row is symmetrical, although it appears irregular. The end units (60 and 88 Harold St.) are of brick with a crenellated bay window at the corner and an enclosed porch wrapping around the side.

The next two units in the row (62 and 86 Harold St.) have a doubled-gabled facade that is brick on the first floor and half-timbered in cream-colored stucco on the upper portion. The next two units (64 and 84 Harold St.) are set back slightly, and have a single gable with vertical half-timbering painted white against grey-brown stucco. This facade is connected to the double-gable facade by a recessed section of brick, containing two entrances, a second-floor balcony and an oval window. Another brick facade fronts the sixth and seventh units (70, 72, 76, and 78 Harold St.) from the corner. These two units are set back further than their immediate neighbors, though a balcony on one and a bay window on the other project slightly. The central unit of the row (74 Harold St.) is a single-gabled half-timbered facade using the same cream-colored stucco and dark wood as the double- gabled units.

The overall streetscape reads as seven distinct houses of substantial size, instead of the 15 actual units. The houses overlook Horatio Harris Park, a rectangular plot of approximately 110,000 square feet. A massive outcropping of rock dominates the southeast corner of the park. These rocks combine with several large old trees and winding paths to create the naturalistic landscaping of the park. A low wall of Roxbury puddingstone encloses the space. No major alterations have been made to the houses and they are in good condition. They retain their original interior plans and their fine walnut woodwork is intact.

NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Harriswood Crescent Continuation sheet Boston (Roxbury), Massachusetftem number 2,4 HARRISWOOD CRESCENT DISTRICT DATA SHEET OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use only received date entered Page 1 Address 60 Harold St./90 Munroe 62 Harold Street 64 Harold Street 66 Harold Street 68 Harold Street 70 Harold Street 72 Harold Street 74 Harold Street 76 Harold Street 78 Harold Street 80 Harold Street 82 Harold Street 84 Harold Street 86 Harold Street 88 Harold/124 Townsend Parcel# (all Ward 12) 3460 3459 3458 3457 3456 3455 3454 3453 3452 3451 3450 3449 3448 3447 3446 Owner Name James E. Jackson Richard I. Taylor, Et al Larry J. Johnson, et al Mary T. Mitchell, Et al Phyllis A. Mayo John J. Miller Thomas R. Ross, et al John E.

Miller Richard L. Arrington, Et al Melvin B. Miller William B. Markham, et al John G. Bynoe, Et al Michael L. Long Dennis Neighbors, Et al Frederick C. Saunders, Jr. 88 Harold Street Note: all properties are owner-occupied; mailing addresses are in Roxbury, MA 02119 8.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Harriswood Crescent, Boston (Roxbury), Massachusetts Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 X- 1800-1899 1900- Areas of Significance - Check and justify below archeology-prehistoric community planning archeology-historic conservation agriculture economics architecture education art engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications .industry _invention landscape architecture law literature military music philosophy politics/government Builder/Architect J. Williams Beal religion science sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation other (specify) Specific dates 1890 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Harriswood Crescent, built in 1890, is a well-preserved, unusual example of a Queen Anne style suburban Terrace, significant as a work by J. Williams Beal, an architect of statewide importance. It is evidence of the development of Roxbury as a suburban community, and as such retains its original surburban characteristics. The residential grouping retains integrity of design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association and as such meets criteria A and C of the National Register on the local level. Harriswood Crescent was built in 1890 at the height of Roxbury's development as a streetcar suburb. The area of Roxbury in which the Crescent is located, known at the time as Boston Highlands due to its rocky terrain and steep grades, was an extremely desirable residential location. Its popularity and its topography made plots small and land values high.

The steep grades and the creation of Franklin Park to the south prevented any major thoroughfares from being cut through the area, and thus kept it relatively isolated and free of commercial development. The houses of Harriswood Crescent were built on speculation by the Estate of Horatio Harris, who died in 1876 and whose home stood south of the corner of Townsend and Walnut Streets. Harris was in business as Horatio Harris and Co., auctioneers and commission merchants (18 India, Boston). The extensive Harris estate in 1874 included all of the land now occupied by the Crescent, with a total area of 1,117,813 square feet. The houses were designed by J. Williams Beal, and built by the firm of Holmes Brothers at a cost of $8,000 each. They were sold upon completion at prices from $12,000 and up. Although the development was called Harriswood Crescent, it is not actually crescent-shaped.

The name was probably chosen for its historical associations with Boston's Iontine Crescent and the great Georgian crescents of London and Bath. Horatio Harris Park, across Harold St. from the Crescent, originally called Fountain Square, was donated to the town of Roxbury and dedicated in 1852. It was possibly the gift of the Monroe family, whose farm occupied 22 acres between Townsend and Munroe Streets (Francis Drake, The Town of Roxbury, p.227). The park was redesigned in 1907 by Pray, Hubbard and White, and again in 1912-13 by the Olmsted Brothers, at which time it was renamed Horatio Harris Park. Although no original plans are known to exist, it is unlikely that the design of the park has changed dramatically since much of the design is determined by the rocks and older trees. The park provided the developers of Harriswood Crescent with a cost-free landscape setting.

Because of the park's presence, the houses could be büilt on small lots in the manner of English terrace housing, and still appeal to people willing and able to pay a price comparable to that of a free-standing residence. The surburban atmosphere was reinforced by the style of the houses, which was tfse houses, whitch was aeoctasted with eneroeheno English countyside. Continued 9.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Major Bibliographical References Harriswood Crescent see continuation sheet 10. Geographical Data less than one Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name Boston South UT M References AL9 Zone 1327250 Easting 46870,00 Northing Quadrangle scale 1"=25,000' LILLILILL Easting Northing DLL LLILLL LILL FLUJ LLILELJ HLULLILLU LLLLLL Verbal boundary description and justification Nominated properties conform to Assessor's Parcel Numbers 3446, 3447, 3448, 3449, 3450, 3451, 3452, 3453, 3454, 3455, 3456, 3457, 3458, 3459, 3460. (Ward 12). Please see attached assessors map. List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state n/a code n/a county n/a code n/a state code county code 11. Form Prepared By Sarah Zimmerman, Director of Preservation Planning, Massachusetts Historical Comm.

name/title with Katherine Boonin, Edward Tl Johnson, Michael Long, Boston Landmarks Commission organizationMassachusetts Historical Commission date December, 1985 street & number 80 Boylston Street telephone (617) 727-8470 city or town Boston state 02116 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national . State local As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service.

State Historic Preservation Officer signature Valenie An /dlmage Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission titleState Historic Preservation Officer date 23.80 For NPS use only I hereby certity that this property is included in the National Régister Wital lelares Keeper of the National Register yur Natioml Jegiston date 3-13-86 Attest: Chief of Registration date - U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1983 0 - 419-311 NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Harriswood Crescent Continuation sheetBoston (Roxbury) MassachusettsItem number For NPS use only received date entered 8 Page 1 Harriswood Crescent is one of the earliest suburban terraces in the Boston area, and the only one in Roxbury.

Other examples can be found in Brookline, such as the Beaconsfield Terraces, designed by Fehmer and Page in the late 1880's; Kilsyth Terrace, designed by Beal for the National Home Association in 1892, and a group of attached houses on Corey Road designed in 1896 in the shingle style. None of these terraces (including that designed by Beal) display the variety and picturesque guality of Harriswood Crescent, nor do they give the impression of larger individual houses. This quality is not found in the English prototypes of terrace housing, which were seldom built in the Queen Anne revival style.

Harriswood Crescent is an unusual Boston example of row housing designed to 1ook not like a series of repetitive units, nor like a single unified block, but rather like a group of varied houses, similar to the other free-standing houses in the area, and meant to appeal to a class of people who might not otherwise have lived in row houses. The architect of Harriswood Crescent, J. Williams Beal, was born in 1855 and studied architecture at M.I.T. After receiving his degree, he went to New York, where he worked in the offices of Richard Morris Hunt and McKim, Mead and White. He spent some time travelling and studying in Europe, and returned to Boston in 1888, when he formed a partnership with his two sons.

Harriswood Crescent, begun in 1889, was one of his earliest commissions, dating from the same approximate time as his work on All Souls Unitarian Church, also in Roxbury, and also in ,bo tin an hodseer ire sreokiine, an English vernacular style. Beal went on to design a number of single-family houses in Brookline, Roxbury and Dorchester, as well as Kilsyth Terrace and the Huntington Avenue Theater. In later years he designed public buildings in Plymouth, Brockton, and throughout Massachusetts. At the time of his death in 1919 he was described by his obituaries as having a state- wide reputation as a prominent architect. Beal was influenced in his early designs by Richard Morris Hunt, Charles Mckim and Stanford White, all of whom had experimented with English vernacular styles.

Beal may also have seen some of the British sources for their designs firsthand in the course of his travels, although it is not known if he actually visited England. The English Domestic or Queen Anne Revival not only popularized elements of Elizabethan and Queen Anne vernacular architecture, but put forth the idea of a return to a simpler, more wholesome life in rural surroundings. Harriswood Crescent shows evidence of both aspects of the Revival; in its half-timbering and brick crenellations and in its location in a semi-rural or suburban setting. Variety, spaciousness, and privacy, all hallmarks of the Domestic Revival which would seem incompatible with row housing are incorporated into Harriswood Crescent by Beal through ingenious planning, a judicious use of architectural details, and the fortunate circumstance of the setting.

Later works by Beal also show the influence of English sources, but none a more imaginative use of them than found in this project. These houses are among the finest and most highly-developed examples of this style to be found in the Boston area. NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Harriswood Crescent Continuation sheet Boston (Roxbury) Massachusettftem number 9 OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use only received date entered Page 1 American Architect. American Architect and Building News. Boston Landmarks Commission. Building Information Form No. 37; Harold St. Building Inspector Reports, City of Boston. Vol. 36, p. 134. Building Permits, City of Boston. Drake, Francis. The Town of Roxbury- Published by the author at 131 Warren St., Boston, October, 1878.

Tucci, Douglas Shand. Built_in Boston: New York Graphic Society. 1978. City and Suburb 1800-1950. Boston: Warner, Sam Bass. STreetcar Suburbs: The Process_of Growth in Boston 1870-1900. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1962. Withey, Henry F. A_Biographical Dictionary of American Architects_ (Deceased) - Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls. 1970 (facsimile edition).

5° REET 287 8723 5382 5975 6432 8851 A VEN 8480 2820 3052 3155 2952 5366 730 5228 2225 1200> V 135 11186 7000 2960 2662 3334 3333 3400 33333333|333313334 3059 ?THY 2523 2320 69 STREET 4320 3.559 1807 57 8322 5907 10,884 6038 4302 2524 4050 107 MUNROE 3505 3959 2962 3959 355/ 3959 3952 4C 3958| 394 HORATIO HARRIS PARK 290, 2988 235> 235> _2357 [2357 2357 2195 2357 2357 2357 2357 2357 2486 3616 5427 5500 5545 13785 8750 5490 248 HV-1 119.34 11,950 162% 1310 199, 2001 1og STREET 29,036 6955 827> 19,309 2382 2269 9370 5692 1608 7970 |4I27 7300 13214 Boston Assessor's Map, #18N-20E (BRA) 512215 ladiyozd. (Map source: Harriswood Crescent 60-88 Harold St.

Boston, MA (South Quad) UTM References: 19/327250/4687000 Scale: 1" = 100' 35 North 6912 WASO Form - 177 ("R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE nej.#86000375 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Harriswood Crescent Suffolk County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: Lsample -request FEB Working No. 12 1986 Fed. Reg. Date: 23 Date Due: _ 3/63/86 =3/29/86 Action: -ACCEPT_ 3-13-86 Entoced ia the -_RETURN Sat1ona1 Rogt Federal Agency: REJECT_ Lappeal NR decision Recom./Criteria Reviewer Discipline Date _ see continuation sheet Nomination returned for: technical corrections cited below _substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Category Ownership Public Acquisition 4. Owner of Property 5.

Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? yes no 7. Description Condition excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one J unaltered altered Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection Status Accessible Present Use Check one -original site moved date 8. Significance Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Builder/Architect Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10.

Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: _national state local State Historic Preservation Officer signature date title 13. Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to _ Signed - Date Phone: GPO 918-450 Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet Harriswood Crescent 60-88 Harold St. Roxbury (Boston), Massachusetts Carol Kennedy, 1985 Negative on file at Boston Landmarks Commission Photograph number 1 of 4 Oblique view of Harold St. facades; (88 Harold St. on right); camera facing northeast Harriswood Crescent 60-88 Harold St.

Roxbury (Boston) , Massachusetts Carol Kennedy, 1985 Negative on file at Boston Landmarks Commission Photograph number 2 of 4 Oblique view; (88 Harold St. on right); Camera facing northeast from intersection of Harold and Townsend Streets Harriswood Crescent 60-88 Harold St. Roxbury (Boston), Massachusetts Carol Kennedy, 1985 Negative on file at Boston Landmarks Commission Photograph number 3 of 4 Oblique view; (66-68 Harold St. on Camera facing south left); Harriswood Crescent 60-88 Harold St. Roxbury (Boston), Massachusetts Carol Kennedy, 1985 Negative on file at Boston Landmarks Commission Photograph number 4 of 4 Oblique view of Harold St. facades; Townsend St. intersection at far right; camera facing south P284880608 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary of State Michael Joseph Connolly, Secretary Massachusetts Historical Commission Valerie A.

Talmage Executive Director State Historic Preservation Officer Reid :0o 12 February 4, 1986 Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places Department of Interior, National Park Service P.O. Box 37127 Washington, DC 20013-7127 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: Boston (Roxbury), HARRISWOOD CRESCENT, 60-88 Harold Street (inclusive), 15 properties. Boston (Charlestown), MONUMENT SQUARE HISTORIC DISTRICI, 1-50 Monument Square, 47 properties, HPCA #0641-85-MA-85-0651, denied, appeal pending. Foxboro, CARY, OTIS HOUSE, 242 South Street. Marblehead, STORY GRAMMAR SCHOOL, 140 Elm Street, HPCA pending #0621-84-MA-84-0624. All have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer.

Owners were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30-75 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to conment. Conments re- ceived to date are attached to the nomination forms. Sincerely, seran J. Zimmeron Sarah J. Zinmerman Director, Preservation Planning Massachusetts Historical Cormission SJZ/dr Enclosures 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470