1. Pleasant Street Historic District

Pleasant Street Historic District

In the seventeenth century, Pleasant Street was a well‐travelled route between Watertown and West Cambridge.  It bisected large tracts of farmland belonging to early families including the Wellingtons, Frosts and Hills.  These owners built farmhouses along the street, many of which still survive as symbols of Belmont’s agricultural economy in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.  These homes include the circa 1763 Georgian style Captain Stephen Frost House (467 Pleasant Street), the 1815 Federal style Isaac Locke, Sr. House (593 Pleasant Street), and the circa 1826 Federal style Samuel O. Mead House (504 Concord Avenue). As their farms prospered, some market farmers remodelled or built larger, more elaborate residences such as the 1808 Charles Wellington House (631 Pleasant Street) which was built in the Federal style and remodelled in the Greek Revival style, and the 1841 Greek Revival style Edwin Locke House (575 Pleasant Street).

With the opening of the Wellington Station of the Fitchburg Railroad in 1843, the character of the area began to change as Boston businessmen found the eastern slope of Belmont Hill to be an attractive site for summer retreats or year‐round residences.  Ambitious examples of Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, and Queen Anne style houses were built on substantial lots by the educators, inventors, and artists who quickly followed them to the area. Many of these newer residents joined the farmers in supporting the incorporation of the Town of Belmont in 1859.  Examples of their homes include the 1850 Greek Revival style John Locke Alexander House (592 Pleasant Street), the circa 1850 Italianate style Albert Higgins House (30 Somerset Street), the circa 1853 Second Empire style William Flagg Homer House (Belmont Woman’s Club, 661 Pleasant Street) and the 1896 Queen Anne style George M. D. Sargent House (548 Pleasant Street).

For a complete list of buildings located within the Pleasant Street Historic District or to view a map of the District, please use the following links:

Pleasant Street Historic District Buildings

Pleasant Street Historic District Map

If you're a property owner and would like to inquire about having your property added to the Pleasant Street Historic District, please contact the Office of Community Development.