81 Henshaw Avenue
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
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
31B-66 Easthampton NTH. 605
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Address: 81 Henshaw Avenue
Historic Name: Charles E. Childs House
Uses: Present: Two-family residence
Original: Single-family residence
Date of Construction: 1890-1895
Source: Registry of Deeds & Atlas
Style/Form: Colonial Revival
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: rusticated granite blocks
Wall/Trim: clapboards, shingles
Roof: slate
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Garage
Major Alterations (with dates):
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.312 acres
Setting: This house occupies a corner lot in a
neighborhood of late 19th early 20th century houses.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [81 HENSHAW AVENUE]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH. 605
_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.
The contrast between this house and its neighbor at 77 Henshaw Avenue illustrates the difference between the picturesque and
complex Queen Anne style and the more regular, symmetrical and classical Colonial Revival style. The Charles Childs house is
two-and-a-half stories under a hipped roof with cross-gable bays on north and south and a simple cross-gable on the west, yet it
is basically rectangular in plan. The main block of the house is three bays wide and the entry on the west façade is composed of
an enclosed portico under a segmentally arched pediment. All of the eaves make full returns in gable ends to create pediments
and there is a full-width porch on the south elevation that rests on Doric columns. It has turned baluster railings. The house is
clapboard sided on the first story and shingle-sided on the upper stories and a broad paneled beltcourse separates first and
second stories while a relatively narrow watertable and stringcourse ornament the first story. A principal Colonial Revival
feature is the Palladian window composition in the west façade’s gable field. Windows in the house are a combination of 1/1
sash on the first story and modified Queen Anne multiple light sash on the second story. As the lot slopes down on the east
elevation, the house’s sturdy granite foundations are exposed a full story. This is a well-built and well-preserved house.
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: “In 1890, Charles Childs bought this parcel of land from Henry Hinckley. This was part of the western end
of Mr. Hinckley’s homestead which was being cut through for an extension of Henshaw Avenue and the beginning of Crescent
Street. Crescent Street wrapped around the middle slopes of Round Hill, providing spectacular views of the Connecticut Valley
to the east and north. It quickly became one of the most fashionable streets in the city.”
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.
Registry of Deeds: Bk. 435- P. 469
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [81 HENSHAW AVENUE]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 2
NTH. 605
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 Childs 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 Childs House is a fine example of the Colonial Revival
style. This potential historic district has integrity of workmanship, feeling, setting, design and materials.