House at 90 Prospect Street
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The House at 90 Prospect Street in
Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, incorporated in 1812 and located about north-northwest of Downtown Boston. Wakefield's population was 27,090 at the 2020 census. Wakefield offer ...
is one of three houses in the family compound of Elizabeth Boit. Built in 1913, the compound of which this house is a part is the only estate of one of Wakefield's major industrial figures to survive. The house 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 ...
in 1989.


Description and history

Elizabeth Boit, co-founder of the Harvard Knitting Mills, was one of the first highly placed female executive in the male-dominated management ranks of textile firms of the turn of the 20th century, and is believed to be the only woman in a top executive position in the United States textile industry in 1923. She pioneered worker conditions improvements, offering factory workers health care, and providing bonuses based on company profits. The compound she built at Chestnut and Prospect Streets, on the summit of Cowdry's Hill, is the only surviving estate of Wakefield's leading business executives. Boit's three houses were all designed by local architect Harland Perkins. They were set in an estate compound on the summit of Cowdry's Hill that included three residences, formal gardens, a playhouse, and a greenhouse. All three residences, 90 and 88 Prospect Street, and 127 Chestnut Street (1910-1913), were designed in the English Cottage style. The stucco structures have red tile roofs, recessed entries, exposed purlins, and irregular fenestration. This house is stories in height, with its entry set under a cross-gable roof section with a clipped gable. There are recessed porches on either side, supported by heavy columns.


See also

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National Register of Historic Places listings in Wakefield, Massachusetts This is a list of properties and historic districts in Wakefield, Massachusetts, that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The locations of National Register properties and districts (at least for all showing latitude and long ...
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National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County, Massachusetts This is a listing of places in Middlesex County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. With more than 1,300 listings, the county has more listings than any other county in the United Sta ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:House At 90 Prospect Street Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Wakefield, Massachusetts Houses completed in 1913 1913 establishments in Massachusetts