Washington Square Historic District (Lowell, Massachusetts) facts for kids
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Washington Square Historic District
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Nesmith Street (Rt. 38) near Kittredge Park
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Lowell, Massachusetts |
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| Built | 1831 |
| Architect | Wadsworth, Alexander |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Second Empire, Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 82001995 (original) 99001307 (increase) |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | August 11, 1982 |
| Boundary increase | November 12, 1999 |
The Washington Square Historic District in Lowell, Massachusetts is a special neighborhood with a long history. It was first planned way back in 1832. The main part of this area is a lovely green space called Kittridge Park. This park was part of the original plan for the neighborhood.
Washington Square was the very first large neighborhood in Lowell designed for wealthier families. A famous landscape designer named Alexander Wadsworth helped create its layout. Because of its historical importance, the district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It was made a little bit bigger in 1999.
Discovering Washington Square: A Historic Neighborhood
Where is Washington Square?
The Washington Square district is located east of downtown Lowell. It sits across the Concord River and is not far south of the Merrimack River. The main crossroad in the neighborhood is Andover Street, which runs east-west, and Nesmith Street, which runs north-south. Kittridge Park is right at the northeast corner of this intersection.
The district stretches out from the park in different directions. It goes north, west, and south for about one block. The houses here are not huge, and they sit on fairly small pieces of land, usually around 5,000 square feet.
How Washington Square Began
This historic area started as a planned neighborhood in 1831. Two brothers, John and Thomas Nesmith, bought 150 acres of land to create it. They hired Alexander Wadsworth to design Kittridge Park and the streets and lots around it.
When people bought land here to build houses, their deeds (the legal papers) often required them to plant trees along the street. This helped make the neighborhood beautiful from the start!
The very first houses built in Washington Square were in the Federal and Greek Revival styles. But most of the homes, built in the 1840s and 1850s, show the Italianate style. People who bought houses in this area included important workers from Lowell's mills, like supervisors. Other residents were professionals and local business owners. Even a couple of mill owners lived here, like C. P. Talbot and John Holt.
A few houses were built after 1860, but very few were added after 1900. The district today looks much like the original planned area. Its boundaries are mostly East Merrimack Street to the north, Park Street to the east, and Andover Street to the south (except for one block of Nesmith Street). High Street forms the western edge, but houses on High Street are not part of the district.
