View source for Building at 38–48 Richardson Avenue

{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Building at 38–48 Richardson Avenue
| nrhp_type =
| image = Building at 38-48 Richardson Avenue, Wakefield MA.jpg
| caption =
| location = 38–48 Richardson Ave.,<br/>[[Wakefield, Massachusetts]]
| coordinates = {{coord|42|30|5|N|71|4|30|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Massachusetts#USA
| area =
| built = 1912
| architect =
| architecture =
| added = July 6, 1989
| mpsub = Wakefield MRA
| refnum = 89000709<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2008a}}</ref>
}}
The building at '''38–48 Richardson Avenue''' is a historic residential rowhouse in [[Wakefield, Massachusetts]].  Built c. 1912, is believed to be one of the oldest rowhouses in the town.  They were built by Solon O. Richardson, Jr., on a portion of his family's estate.  The building was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1989.<ref name="nris"/>
==Description and history==
The rowhouse is set on the south side of Richardson Avenue, at its western corner with North Street.  The building is a {{frac|2|1|2}}-story wood-frame structure, with six units in a mix of architectural styles.  Its porches are typical Colonial Revival porches, the gable ends are decorated with Tudor Revival strapping, and the deep eaves have exposed purlins, a Rational Revival feature.  The units are organized in three mirror-image pairs, with the inner pair styled differently than the outer pairs.  The outer pairs have a hip-roofed porch over the two entrances, with a band of nine-pane square windows above.  The central pair have a flat-roof porch over the entrances, with flanking single-story oriel windows, which have gabled wall-dormers above.<ref name=NRHP>{{cite web|url=https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wak.218|title=NRHP nomination for Building at 38–48 Richardson Avenue|publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts|access-date=2014-01-30}}</ref>
The area of Richardson Avenue was part of the estate of Dr. Nathan Richardson, who developed and sold a product called Sherry Wine Bitters.  This business was continued by his son and grandson (both named Solon), the last of whom sold the business in 1891.  Observing a shortage of housing in Wakefield center, the grandson moved the mansion house away from Main Street, and laid out Richardson Street for development.<ref name=NRHP-2>{{cite web|url=https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=wak.219|title=NRHP nomination for Buildings at 35–37 Richardson Avenue|publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts|access-date=2014-01-30}}</ref>  This rowhouse was built about 1912, around the same time that Richardson had the rowhouses at [[Buildings at 35–37 Richardson Avenue|35–37 Richardson]] built.<ref name=NRHP/>
==See also==
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Wakefield, Massachusetts]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County, Massachusetts]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{WakefieldMA}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Building At 38-48 Richardson Avenue}}
[[Category:Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Wakefield, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Wakefield, Massachusetts]]