Built 1848 NRHP Reference # 80000556 Added to NRHP 5 March 1980 | MPS Worcester MRA Opened 1848 | |
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Architectural style Greek Revival architecture Similar Wachusett Reservoir, DCU Center, Green Hill Park, Salisbury Mansion and Store, Elm Park | ||
The Draper Ruggles House is a historic house at 21 Catharine Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. Built about 1848, it is an important local example of Greek Revival architecture. It is further notable as the home of Draper Ruggles, owner of one of the city's major industrial firms, a plow manufacturer. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Description and history
The Ruggles House is set on the north side of Catharine Street, just north of the UMass Medical Center on Worcester's east side. It is a rare local example of hip-roofed Greek Revival house with a temple front; the Dowley-Taylor House is the only other city property that also has these characteristics. The facade has four full-height fluted columns, with a projecting entry at the center that has a Victorian hooded portico sheltering the entry, and paneled pilasters flanking the balcony entrance above. The two-story porch on the left side is also a later 19th-century addition.
The house was probably built around 1848, not long after residential development began in this part of the city. The building's style is distinctively influenced by the work of Elias Carter, a regionally notable architect of the period, and was at the time somewhat common. The fluting of the columns is a distinctive element of Carter's work, suggesting he may have been involved in the design of this building. The owner, Draper Ruggles, was a principal partner in a plow manufacturer, that he later sold to Oliver Ames. The house was moved a short distance on its lot in 1889-90 to facilitate the construction of 25 Catharine Street.