226 Crescent Street
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
FORM B − BUILDING
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Photograph
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Topographic or Assessor's Map
Recorded by: Bonnie Parsons
Organization: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
Date (month / year): March, 2010
Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
31A-51 Easthampton NTH.474
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Address: 226 Crescent Street
Historic Name: James Abbott-Herbert Loomis House
Uses: Present: Single-family residence
Original: Two-family residence
Date of Construction: 1922-1930
Source: Street directories
Style/Form: Craftsman Bungalow
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: cement blocks
Wall/Trim: shingles
Roof: asphalt shingles
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates):
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.294 acres
Setting: This house occupies a corner lot at the
intersection of two residential streets.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [226 CRESCENT STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.474
_x__ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form.
Use as much space as necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community.
This is one of the rare examples of a house that was built as a two-family that was later converted to a single-family. It is a
Craftsman style bungalow two-and-a-half stories in height under a side-gable roof that extends on the west façade to create a
deep porch. A shed-roof dormer crosses most of the west roof, effectively creating a full second story. The three-bay porch has
been enclosed with windows in the two outer bays and a blind bay in the center. The bay openings to the porch were pointed
originally and have been retained although the bays have been enclosed. The house is wood shingle sided and on its north and
south elevations it has oriel windows off-center on its second story and slightly projecting bay windows on the first story. A pent
roof divides the second story from the attic level on both north and south elevations. A new window composition has been
installed in the south gable at attic level. Window sash in the house is 6/1. Due to its shingled depth and corner exposure, this
Craftsman bungalow has much of the appeal of the early Shingle Style houses.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE
Discuss the history of the building. Explain its associations with local (or state) history. Include uses of the building, and the role(s) the
owners/occupants played within the community.
From Form B of 1980: “Crescent Street was laid out in 1886 midway along the slopes of Round Hill. It quickly became one of
the most fashionable street to build upon in the city. Development was mostly during the first third of the 20th century. This
corner house was built during the mid 1920’s and is an interesting example of a double house within the Bungalow mode. In
1930, James Abbott, a salesman for Packard, Hudson and Essex Motor Cars at McGrannis Motor Sales on King Street, and
Herbert Loomis, director of Smith’s Agricultural School, were listed at this address.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Beers, F. W. County Atlas of Hampshire Massachusetts, New York, 1873.
Hales, John G. Plan of the Town or Northampton in the County of Hampshire, 1831.
Miller, D. L. Atlas of the City of Northampton and Town of Easthampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, 1895.
Walker, George H. and Company. Atlas of Northampton City, Massachusetts, Boston, 1884.
Walling, Henry F. Map of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, New York, 1860.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [226 CRESCENT STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 2
NTH.474
National Register of Historic Places Criteria Statement Form
Check all that apply:
Individually eligible Eligible only in an historic district
Contributing to a potential historic district Potential historic district
Criteria: A B C D
Criteria Considerations: A B C D E F G
Statement of Significance by _____Bonnie Parsons___________________
The criteria that are checked in the above sections must be justified here.
The Abbott-Loomis House would contribute to a potential historic district that extends north of Northampton’s
primary corridor, Elm Street, encircling and encompassing the primary feature of that landscape, Round Hill. The
potential historic district is significant for its 19th century development from a few gentlemen’s farms to a
neighborhood dense with the homes of its most prominent residents and educational institutions that shaped the
character of Northampton for several hundred years to the present.
Architecturally the potential historic district is significant for the mix of high style late Gothic Revival, Italianate, and
Queen Anne style houses, the Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival styles of the 20th century that were often architect-
designed by the region’s most well-known designers. The Abbott-Loomis House is a fine example of the Craftsman
style bungalow. This potential historic district has integrity of workmanship, feeling, setting, design and materials.