claim: Research is used to test the validity of instruments.
evidence: The Shapley Town House is a historic house at 454-456 Court Street in Portsmouth , New Hampshire .. This three-story brick double house was built c. 1815 by Captain Reuben Shapley , a ship 's captain and merchant .. Although it was one of a number of brick buildings built in the wake of an 1813 fire that devastated Portsmouth 's downtown area , its construction as a double house is distinctive .. From the outside it looks like a single-family residence except for its two entrances , an apparently deliberate decision .. The halves of the house are separated by a brick firewall extending the full depth and height of the house .. Window sills and other trim on one side are in marble , while these elements on the other side are of wood .. It is one of the city 's best-preserved Federal buildings .. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 .. National Register of Historic Places. National Register of Historic Places