Railroad Hotel

The Railroad Hotel (Seth Davis Tavern) is a building that served as an historic hotel at the triangular lot where Washington Street joins Watertown Street (Route 16) in the West Newton section of Newton, Massachusetts. Built in 1831, it is the only early building still standing in West Newton's village center. The Railroad Hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a contributing property to the West Newton Village Center Historic District.

Railroad Hotel
Railroad Hotel
Location1273–1279 Washington Street
West Newton, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°20′58.4″N 71°13′31.3″W
Built1831
Architectural styleGreek Revival, Federal
Part ofWest Newton Village Center Historic District (ID90000017)
MPSNewton MRA
NRHP reference No.86001868[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 4, 1986
Designated CPMarch 16, 1990

History
The Railroad Hotel in the 1890s

The hotel was built in 1831 in a Greek Revival/Federal style by Seth Davis to serve at first as a lodging stop along a stagecoach line that ran from Boston to Worcester.[2] Mr Davis was a teacher, an entrepreneur and a developer who had a big influence on the early community of West Newton. The Seth Davis House. located nearby on Eden Avenue, is also on the National Register.

When the Boston and Worcester Railroad reached West Newton in April 1834, the hotel served as the line's first terminal, and as a transfer point to stagecoaches until the railroad was extended to Worcester the next year.[3] It was known as the Railroad Hotel and Terminal Hotel thereafter, even after the B&W built a dedicated station nearby.[2]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[1] The building currently houses retail shops and no longer serves as a hotel. It is the only early building still standing in West Newton's village center.[2]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. Newton Planning and Development Department (July 2002). "Discover Historic West Newton". City of Newton.
  3. Harwood, Herbert H. (Spring 1992). "History Where You Don't Expect It: Some Surprising Survivors". Railroad History (166): 103–125. JSTOR 43523701.

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