Architect Unknown MPS Wakefield MRA Address Wakefield, MA 01880, USA Added to NRHP 6 July 1989 | Architectural style Late Victorian NRHP Reference # 89000756 Area 8,094 m² | |
 | ||
Location 16-25 Yale Ave., Wakefield, Massachusetts Similar Sullivan Memorial Park, Wakefield Recreation Departme, Breakheart Reservati, Round Park, Church‑L Streets Historic D | ||
The Yale Avenue Historic District is a residential historic district near the center of Wakefield, Massachusetts. It encompasses eight residential properties, all but one of which were developed in the 1860s and 1870s, after the arrival of the railroad in town. These properties were built primarily for Boston businessmen, and mark the start of Wakefield's transition to a suburb.
The district, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, consists of five houses (16-24) on the south side of Yale Street, and three (21-25) directly opposite on the north side. Five are Italianate in style, one is Second Empire, one is Queen Anne, and the newest house in the district, 22 Yale Avenue, was built c. 1896 in the Colonial Revival Style.
Although the houses are nominally in one style, most exhibit features that are reminiscent of a different style. The house at 20 Yale Avenue, for instance, follows a somewhat typical Italianate L-shaped plan, but its porch is more elaborately decorated with what might be considered Queen Anne features. The house at 23 Yale Avenue, built c. 1863, marks a shift from the Italianate to the Second Empire with the addition of a mansard-style roof with fish scale shingles.