Common District (Wakefield, Massachusetts)

Common District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Wakefield Common
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Location	Wakefield, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°30′23″N 71°4′23″W / 42.50639°N 71.07306°W / 42.50639; -71.07306
Area	25 acres (10 ha)
Architect	Multiple
Architectural style	Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Late Victorian
MPS	Wakefield MRA
NRHP reference No.	89000754 [1]
Added to NRHP	March 2, 1990

The bandstand on the Common (top); the Common District as viewed from Lake Quannapowitt (bottom).

The Common District encompasses the main civic center of Wakefield, Massachusetts. It is centered on the historic town common, just south of Lake Quannapowitt, which was laid in 1644, when it became the heart of Old Reading. The area was separated from Reading as South Reading in 1818, and renamed Wakefield in 1868.^[2] The 25 acre district includes the buildings that line the common on Common Street and Main Street, which include the town hall, public library, YMCA, post office, and several churches.^[2] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.^[1]