National Register of Historic Places

Building at 38-48 Richardson Avenue

Wakefield, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Listed
July 5, 1989
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
89000709

About this property

The building at 38–48 Richardson Avenue is a historic residential rowhouse in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Built c. 1912, is believed to be one of the oldest rowhouses in the town. They were built by Solon O. Richardson, Jr., on a portion of his family's estate. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The rowhouse is set on the south side of Richardson Avenue, at its western corner with North Street. The building is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with six units in a mix of architectural styles. Its porches are typical Colonial Revival porches, the gable ends are decorated with Tudor Revival strapping, and the deep eaves have exposed purlins, a Rational Revival feature. The units are organized in three mirror-image pairs, with the inner pair styled differently than the outer pairs. The outer pairs have a hip-roofed porch over the two entrances, with a band of nine-pane square windows above. The central pair have a flat-roof porch over the entrances, with flanking single-story oriel windows, which have gabled wall-dormers above. The area of Richardson Avenue was part of the estate of Dr. Nathan Richardson, who developed and sold a product called Sherry Wine Bitters. This business was continued by his son and grandson (both named Solon), the last of whom sold the business in 1891. Observing a shortage of housing in Wakefield center, the grandson moved the mansion house away from Main Street, and laid out Richardson Street for development. This rowhouse was built about 1912, around the same time that Richardson had the rowhouses at 35–37 Richardson built. National Register of Historic Places listings in Wakefield, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Location

38--48 Richardson Ave.
Wakefield, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
42.50140, -71.07438

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Wakefield Upper Depot
Industrial
0.1 mi
Buildings at 35-37 Richardson Avenue
Industrial
0.1 mi
House at 21 Chestnut Street
Industrial
0.2 mi
House at 15 Chestnut Street
Industrial
0.2 mi
House at 12 West Water Street
Industrial
0.2 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Lancaster (King Philip's War)
1676Colonial
6.2 mi
Battle of Menotomy
1775Revolutionary War
7.3 mi
Skirmish at Menotomy (Arlington)
1775Revolutionary War
7.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Building at 38-48 Richardson Avenue listed on the National Register?

Building at 38-48 Richardson Avenue was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1989.

What type of historic resource is Building at 38-48 Richardson Avenue?

Building at 38-48 Richardson Avenue is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Building at 38-48 Richardson Avenue?

The period of significance for Building at 38-48 Richardson Avenue is recorded as the industrial era.

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