Mount Vernon Street Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Mt. Vernon Street Historic District
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Mount Vernon Street
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Somerville, Massachusetts |
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| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Second Empire, Federal |
| MPS | Somerville MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 89001223 |
| Added to NRHP | September 18, 1989 |
The Mount Vernon Street Historic District is a special area in Somerville, Massachusetts. It's called a historic district because it protects a group of old houses that are important to history. This district includes the houses from numbers 8 to 24 on Mount Vernon Street. These homes show how building styles changed over the 1800s.
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Exploring Mount Vernon Street's Historic Homes
The houses in this district are great examples of different building styles from the 19th century. You can see how homes looked during different time periods.
A Look at the Houses
Four of the houses, at numbers 8, 12, 16, and 20 Mount Vernon, are built in the Greek Revival style. This style was popular around the 1850s. These homes are one-and-a-half stories tall and have a side hall layout, meaning the main entrance is on the side. The house at number 12 has had some modern siding added, but it still keeps its historic shape. Number 16 has kept many of its original details, which is really cool! The house at number 20 is special because it uses "flushboard siding." This makes the house look like it's built from large, smooth stone blocks.
Older and Newer Styles
Behind the house at number 12, there's an even older home. It has some Greek Revival touches, but its main design is more like the Federal period, which was an earlier style. This house has five windows across the front and a main entrance in the middle. We know it was built before the house in front of it.
Then there's a duplex (a building with two homes) at 22-24 Mount Vernon. This building shows the Second Empire style, which became popular later in the 1800s. You can tell it's Second Empire by its special "mansard roof," which has slopes on all four sides. This duplex was likely built around 1880.
How Mount Vernon Street Grew
Mount Vernon Street was first planned out in 1845. It was close to the railroad line, which had been built in 1835. Before this, the area was mostly countryside. But with the railroad, it became easier for people to travel to Boston. This made Mount Vernon Street one of the first areas in what became Somerville to develop into a more suburban neighborhood.
National Recognition
Because of its important history and well-preserved homes, the Mount Vernon Street Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. This list helps protect important historical places across the United States.
