Spring Hill Historic District (Somerville, Massachusetts) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Spring Hill Historic District
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View of Atherton Street, including Somerville's Round House
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Somerville, Massachusetts |
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| Architect | Loring, George A. |
| Architectural style | Mid 19th Century Revival, Queen Anne, Shingle Style |
| MPS | Somerville MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 89001222 |
| Added to NRHP | September 18, 1989 |
The Spring Hill Historic District is a special area in Somerville, Massachusetts. It's like a preserved neighborhood that shows how homes looked in the mid-1800s. You can find it roughly between Summer, Central, Atherton, and Spring Streets in the Spring Hill part of the city. This district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 because of its important history and beautiful old buildings.
Most of the houses here were built between the 1840s and the early 1900s. Spring Hill has many different styles of homes. You'll see Greek Revival houses, which look a bit like ancient Greek temples. There are also many Victorian homes, including Italianate (often with flat roofs and tall windows), Gothic Revival (with pointed arches), and Queen Anne (colorful and detailed) styles. Some large houses were built, along with smaller homes for workers. Later, in the early 1900s, triple-deckers (three-story apartment buildings) filled in the empty spaces.
Discovering Spring Hill's Past
Spring Hill is actually a natural hill called a drumlin. A drumlin is a long, oval hill made by glaciers. Its name comes from a spring that helped farmers in the 1600s.
How Spring Hill Grew
A big change happened in the 1840s when the Boston and Lowell Railroad was built. There was a train station at the bottom of the hill. This made it easy for people working in Charlestown and Boston to live here. So, many new homes were built.
A man named George Brastow bought a lot of land here. He was from Wrentham and later became Somerville's first mayor. George Brastow saw that the area was perfect for building houses. He hired Alexander Wadsworth to plan out the streets and house lots.
Exploring the District's Buildings
The historic district has a unique L-shape. It's bordered by Summer Street to the north and Spring Street to the west. To the south, it goes along Atherton Street to Beech Street. On the east, it follows Central Street (between Summer and Monmouth Streets) and Harvard Street (further south to Atherton).
This special area includes 69 buildings that are important to history. Most of these were built between 1845 and 1870. Later, from 1885 to 1910, more buildings were added. One of these is the Martin W. Carr School, built in 1898. It's the only building in the district that isn't a home.
Some of the oldest homes here are seven of the first eight houses built after George Brastow planned the area. These are all Greek Revival style homes designed for two families. The house at 46-48 Atherton Street is a great example that hasn't changed much.
You can also see the unique Round House. It was built in 1856 at Atherton and Beech Streets. It's still a local curiosity today! The person who built it, Enoch Robinson, also built the beautiful Italianate house at 47 Spring Street. This house is one of the best examples of the Italianate style in Somerville.
Most of the buildings in the district are made of wood. They usually have one to three living units. Many of these homes were not designed by famous architects. However, the house at 152 Summer Street was definitely designed by an architect. It was George Loring, a local architect who designed over 100 homes in the city. The Rymes House at 49 Spring Street, built around 1890, might also be one of his designs.
