Busiel, John W., House
a.k.a. St. Joseph Rectory
30 Church St., Laconia, NHThe John W. Busiel House qualifies for the National Register under Criterion C for the period 1865 (date of construction). This French Second Empire residence is the earliest and most representative in Laconia. It exemplifies the use of a mansard roof with dormer windows, molded curbs, and elaborated projecting cornices. Despite the loss of the carriage barn and cupola the building retains the integrity of location, design, workmanship, materials, feeling, and association. Its immediate setting differs somewhat from the 1860s in t buildings have replaced some that existed at the time, and infill construction has taken place in locations that were not then built upon.
In scale and exterior/interior architectural elements, even without the cupola and barn, the John W. Busiel House is the most distinguished one of the French Second Empire style in the city. Of the ten other such residences, only the one at 252 Pleasant Street has most of its original features intact. Interestingly, the building at 52 Church Street is also a part of the St. Joseph parish complex, having been moved from the site now occupied by Holy Trinity School; unfortunately, the structure has been inappropriately sided. The architectural integrity of the others has been impaired for the same reason or by alterations made during their conversions into multiple-family residences.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.