The Central Street District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

encompassing the traditional heart of

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

prior to the development in the later 19th century of the current town center. It consists mainly of residential and religious properties along Central Street, from Phillips Street in the south to Essex Street in the north. All of the listed properties have frontage on Central Street, even if their addresses are on one of the adjacent streets. By the late 18th century, Central Street was already an important thoroughfare, connecting

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

to Haverhill and the traditional center of Andover, now

North Andover North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915. History Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...

. The South Church, the first church of present-day Andover, was built along the road in 1709. The current building is a Romanesque Revival structure, built in 1861. The architectural styles of the houses in the district represent a cross section of styles from Federal to Colonial Revival, with none in particular predominating. The houses are generally of high quality construction, and represent their architectural styles well. In addition to the South Church, the district has two other churches. The oldest of the three is the brick Greek Revival First Baptist Church, built in 1834 by locally noted builder Jacob Chickering. The youngest is the Methodist Church building, a fine Richardsonian Romanesque structure designed by

Hartwell and Richardson Hartwell and Richardson was a Boston, Massachusetts architectural firm established in 1881, by Henry Walker Hartwell (1833–1919) and William Cummings Richardson (1854–1935). The firm contributed significantly to the current building stock and ...

for a congregation established in 1835. The district was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1982.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Andover, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Andover, Massachusetts

See also

References