Myrtle Baptist Church Neighborhood Historic District
November 30, 2023
The Myrtle Baptist Church Neighborhood Historic District encompasses a historic center of the African-American community in West Newton, Massachusetts. The district includes all of Curve Street, where the Myrtle Baptist Church is located, as well as a few properties on adjacent Auburn and Prospect Streets.[2] The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.[1]
Myrtle Baptist Church Neighborhood Historic District
Curve Street, and adjacent areas that were razed to make way for the adjacent Massachusetts Turnpike, has been a center of Newton's African-American community since about 1870, and is the only such area to retain any sort of historic integrity in the city. The focus of the neighborhood became the Myrtle Baptist Church, a wood-frame structure built in 1875 and rebuilt in 1898 after a fire, and nearby railroad yards provided a source of jobs for laborers who lived in the neighborhood. Houses along densely packed Curve Street have in some cases remained in the ownership of the same families since the area was first settled.[2]
The district contains one church, one commercial building, and twenty-two residential houses. Most of the houses were built between the 1880s and 1929, and are set on small relatively near the street. Most are single-family residences, although there is one large Second Empire house that has been converted to condominiums, and there are a few duplexes and one triple-decker. Stylistically they are diverse, typically done in vernacular versions of popular revival styles of the period. The most unusual house in the district is 15-29 Prospect Street, the converted Second Empire house, which was moved into the area sometime in the 19th century, and had been divided into apartments by the early 20th century. It retains many of its original architectural features, including a bracketed cornice, segmented-arch dormers in the mansard roof, and an elaborate cupola.[2]
^ abc"NRHP nomination for Myrtle Baptist Church Neighborhood Historic District". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
November 30, 2023
myrtle, baptist, church, neighborhood, historic, district, encompasses, historic, center, african, american, community, west, newton, massachusetts, district, includes, curve, street, where, myrtle, baptist, church, located, well, properties, adjacent, auburn,. The Myrtle Baptist Church Neighborhood Historic District encompasses a historic center of the African American community in West Newton Massachusetts The district includes all of Curve Street where the Myrtle Baptist Church is located as well as a few properties on adjacent Auburn and Prospect Streets 2 The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 1 Myrtle Baptist Church Neighborhood Historic DistrictU S National Register of Historic PlacesU S Historic districtThe Myrtle Baptist Church on Curve St Show map of MassachusettsShow map of the United StatesLocationRoughly Curve St and Prospect St Newton MassachusettsCoordinates42 20 48 N 71 14 5 W 42 34667 N 71 23472 W 42 34667 71 23472Area6 5 acres 2 6 ha Built1874ArchitectSpence George W McGraw J G Architectural styleItalianate Second Empire Queen AnneMPSNewton MRA AD NRHP reference No 08001178 1 Added to NRHPDecember 11 2008Description and history editCurve Street and adjacent areas that were razed to make way for the adjacent Massachusetts Turnpike has been a center of Newton s African American community since about 1870 and is the only such area to retain any sort of historic integrity in the city The focus of the neighborhood became the Myrtle Baptist Church a wood frame structure built in 1875 and rebuilt in 1898 after a fire and nearby railroad yards provided a source of jobs for laborers who lived in the neighborhood Houses along densely packed Curve Street have in some cases remained in the ownership of the same families since the area was first settled 2 The district contains one church one commercial building and twenty two residential houses Most of the houses were built between the 1880s and 1929 and are set on small relatively near the street Most are single family residences although there is one large Second Empire house that has been converted to condominiums and there are a few duplexes and one triple decker Stylistically they are diverse typically done in vernacular versions of popular revival styles of the period The most unusual house in the district is 15 29 Prospect Street the converted Second Empire house which was moved into the area sometime in the 19th century and had been divided into apartments by the early 20th century It retains many of its original architectural features including a bracketed cornice segmented arch dormers in the mansard roof and an elaborate cupola 2 See also editNational Register of Historic Places listings in Newton MassachusettsReferences edit a b National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service March 13 2009 a b c NRHP nomination for Myrtle Baptist Church Neighborhood Historic District Commonwealth of Massachusetts Retrieved April 17 2014 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Myrtle Baptist Church Neighborhood Historic District amp oldid 1169257127, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
