National Register of Historic Places

Morton Road Historic District

Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Listed
February 16, 1990
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
90000010

About this property

The Morton Road Historic District encompasses an example of a small residential subdivision in Newton, Massachusetts that was attractively designed in 1915. The architect-designed subdivision filled in an area otherwise surrounded by roads that had been developed earlier, and was built out between 1915 and 1928, with a fairly uniform use of Craftsman and Tudor Revival styling. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Morton Road is a short L-shaped roadway in a quiet residential area just north of Commonwealth Avenue in central Newton. It joins Morton Street on the east with Royce Road on the north. The district includes six contributing houses that are either Tudor or Craftsman in their styling, giving a cohesive appearance to the area. The other two, a Colonial Revival house at 12 Morton Road, and a Four Square at 20 Morton Road, are smaller than the other houses, and are not jarring intrusions to this cohesion. The district is a good example of a small residential subdivision, executed in the early decades of the 20th century. In the late 19th century the entire area was part of a proposed park, which had Bulloughs Pond (located a short way to the west) as its centerpiece. Cost and other factors resulted in the abandonment of this proposal, and the area only slowly developed residentially until the mid-1910s. Morton Road was developed in 1915, with plans developed by Gilbert Miles Ramsey, an architect about whom little is known. Ramsey is credited with designing two of the houses, with Dow, Harlow & Kimball also designing two. John V. Pearn designed one, and Harold Ramsay (no known relation to Ramsey) also designed one. Ramsay was one of Newton's most prolific architects of the first half of the 20th century, and lived nearby. National Register of Historic Places listings in Newton, Massachusetts

Location

Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
42.33927, -71.20169

Categories

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTARCHITECTURE
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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Native Heritage
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Nearby Historic Sites

Parsons, Edward, House
Industrial
0.2 mi
Goodbar, Lafayette, House
Industrial
0.2 mi
Pierce, F. Lincoln, Houses
Industrial
0.2 mi
Richards, James Lorin, House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Newton City Hall and War Memorial
Industrial
0.3 mi

Nearby Battles

Siege of Boston – Roxbury Lines
1775Revolutionary War
5.2 mi
Siege of Boston – Cambridge Lines
1775Revolutionary War
5.3 mi
Skirmish at Menotomy (Arlington)
1775Revolutionary War
5.7 mi

Questions about this property

When was Morton Road Historic District listed on the National Register?

Morton Road Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 16, 1990.

What type of historic resource is Morton Road Historic District?

Morton Road Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Morton Road Historic District?

The period of significance for Morton Road Historic District is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Morton Road Historic District?

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