View source for Francis B. Austin House

{{short description|Historic house in Massachusetts, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox NRHP
| name         = Francis B. Austin House
| nrhp_type    =
| image        = Francis B. Austin House Boston MA 01.jpg
| caption      =
| location     = 58 High St., [[Boston, Massachusetts]] 02129
| coordinates  = {{coord|42|22|35.5|N|71|3|50.5|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin     = Boston#Massachusetts#USA
| built        = 1832
| architecture = Second Empire
| added        = October 21, 1988
| area         = less than one acre
| refnum       = 87001478<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>
}}
The '''Francis B. Austin House''' is a historic house at 58 High Street in the [[Charlestown, Massachusetts|Charlestown]] neighborhood of [[Boston, Massachusetts]].  Built about 1832 and restyled in the 1860s, it is a good local example of Second Empire architecture.  The Austins, for whom it was built, were prominent local landowners and businessmen.  The house, converted into multiunit housing in the 20th century, was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1988.<ref name="nris"/>

==Description and history==
The Francis B. Austin House stands in a densely built residential area of Charlestown, at the southwest corner of High and Wood Streets, west of [[Monument Square Historic District (Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts)|Monument Square]].  It is a {{frac|2|1|2}}-story wood-frame structure, with a clapboarded exterior and a [[mansard roof]] providing space for a full attic level.  A rear ell is two stories in height, with a gabled roof.  The house stands on a stone foundation. Its front facade is five bays wide, with windows framed by shouldered moulding.  The mansard roof is pierced by three dormers with rounded tops.  The main entrance is at the center, sheltered by a projecting with paired square columns that have chamfered corners and paneled bases.  The interior of the building has been extensively altered over the years.<ref name=NRHP>{{cite web|url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796704|title=NRHP nomination for Francis B. Austin House|publisher=National Archive|accessdate=2017-09-30}}</ref>

The house was built about 1832 by [[William Austin (American writer)|William Austin]], a prominent local landowner, as a duplex he shared with a ship's captain until his death in 1841.  Originally covered by a gable roof, it was extensively altered about 1865 by Austin's son Francis, creating the mansard roof and giving it its [[Second Empire style|Second Empire]] exterior.  William Austin served Charlestown in the state legislature, and Francis was a local merchant, dealing in wholesale dry goods and also in iron and steel.  For much of the 20th century the house was used as a rooming house, prior to its conversion into apartments.<ref name=NRHP/>

==Gallery==
{{Gallery
|File:Francis B. Austin House Boston MA 02.jpg|
|File:Francis B. Austin House Boston MA 03.jpg|
}}

==See also==
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Boston, Massachusetts]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{commons category|Francis B. Austin House}}

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts}}

[[Category:Houses in Boston]]
[[Category:Second Empire architecture in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Houses completed in 1832]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Boston]]
[[Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Suffolk County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Charlestown, Boston]]