Crystal Lake and Pleasant Street Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Crystal Lake and Pleasant Street Historic District
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House on Webster Court
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Roughly bounded by Sudbury Aqueduct, Pleasant Ave., Lake Ave., and Crystal St. and Webster Ct., Newton, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 8.3 acres (3.4 ha) |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Late Victorian, Mansard |
| MPS | Newton MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 86001735 |
| Added to NRHP | September 04, 1986 |
The Crystal Lake and Pleasant Street Historic District is a special neighborhood in Newton, Massachusetts. It's like a time capsule of homes built between 1860 and 1895. This area became popular because a train line, now part of the MBTA Green Line, was extended nearby in the 1850s. This made it easy for people to live here and commute to Boston.
The district is a historic place because it shows how neighborhoods grew when streetcars and trains became common. It was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Contents
Exploring the Historic Homes
This district has 23 properties, each telling a story about the past. The oldest houses, built in the 1850s, are found on Pleasant Street.
Unique House Styles You Can See
Many homes here show off different architectural styles popular long ago.
Fancy Wooden Details
Some of the oldest houses on Pleasant Street are in a style called Carpenter Gothic. Imagine houses with really cool, fancy wooden decorations carved into the gables (the triangular parts of the roof), dormers (windows sticking out of the roof), and porches. These decorations look like they were cut with a scroll saw.
Other Interesting Designs
- At 21 Lake Avenue, there's a house from around 1858. It's an Italianate style home with special decorative brackets under the eaves.
- You can also spot a unique Second Empire style cottage at 112 Pleasant Street. It's a modest but interesting house.
Grand Victorian and Colonial Homes
Later homes in the district are also very impressive.
- 97 Lake Avenue is a beautiful Queen Anne Victorian house. It has a flared roof, a round tower, and a fancy covered entrance for carriages, called a porte cochere.
- A house at 908 Beacon Street shows off Stick styling, which means it has decorative wooden boards that look like a stick pattern.
- For a touch of elegance, check out 38 Lake Avenue. This Colonial Revival home was built around 1893 for David Andrews, a president of a bridge company. It has amazing views of Crystal Lake!
How This Neighborhood Grew
The story of this district began in the 1840s with a local businessman named Roswell Turner.
From Farmland to Neighborhood
Roswell Turner started buying up land in this area. He was important because he helped extend Beacon Street and created Lake Avenue, making it easier to get around. Many of the plots of land he divided were later developed by Charles Davis. Charles was a piano merchant from Boston who also became a real estate developer in Newton.
Crystal Lake: A Place for Fun
At the same time, Crystal Lake itself was developed as a place for people to relax and have fun. This made the area even more attractive for families looking for a new home.
