Newton City Hall and War Memorial

Last updated
Newton City Hall and War Memorial
Newton City Hall, Massachusetts.jpg
Newton City Hall and War Memorial
USA Massachusetts location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location1000 Commonwealth Avenue,
Newton, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°20′15″N71°12′32″W / 42.3374°N 71.2088°W / 42.3374; -71.2088 Coordinates: 42°20′15″N71°12′32″W / 42.3374°N 71.2088°W / 42.3374; -71.2088
Built1932
Architect Allen and Collens; Olmsted Brothers
Architectural style Colonial Revival
MPS Newton MRA
NRHP reference No. 90000020 [1]
Added to NRHPFebruary 16, 1990

The Newton City Hall and War Memorial is a historic city hall and war memorial building located in the village of Newton Centre in Newton, Massachusetts. Built in 1932 in the Colonial Revival style, the building was designed by Allen and Collens, with landscaping by the renowned Olmsted Brothers. The building's purpose was to serve as a new city hall, and as a memorial to the city's soldiers of the First World War. [2] On February 16, 1990, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. [1]

Contents

Description and history

Newton City Hall is located in central Newton, and occupies a large triangular lot bounded on the north by Commonwealth Avenue, on the southwest by Homer Street, and on the east by Walnut Street. Walnut Street and Commonwealth Avenue are major roadways providing access to other parts of the city, and Homer Street is a largely residential street that roughly parallels Commonwealth Avenue. The Newton Free Library is located across Homer Street to the south.

The building is a monumental brick Georgian Revival structure, two stories in height, with a central north-south section, flanking wings that project forward (to the east) at either end, and a rear wing extending from the center to the west. Classical features are found all across the building, including two-story brick pilasters demarcating parts of the building, corner quoining in stone, and a Greek temple-style portico supported by four Corinthian columns. The western portion of the building, which serves as the war memorial, is crowned by an elaborate steeple. [2]

Newton was incorporated as a city (having previously been a town) in 1873, and adapted its then-existing town hall for use as city hall. This building was constructed in 1931, having a dedication of the war memorial on Armistice Day (November 11), 1931, and a dedication of the combined functions on the same day the following year. The building was designed by the noted Boston architects Allen and Collens, who had designed many university buildings as well as Second Church in Newton (1916), Lindsey Chapel in Boston (1919) and the Riverside Church in New York City (1928–1930) and who later designed The Cloisters in New York City. [3] The triangular parcel was landscaped by the Olmsted Brothers, specifically to soften the large scale of the building. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Commonwealth Avenue (Boston)

Commonwealth Avenue is a major street in the cities of Boston and Newton, Massachusetts. It begins at the western edge of the Boston Public Garden, and continues west through the neighborhoods of the Back Bay, Kenmore Square, Boston University, Allston, Brighton and Chestnut Hill. It continues as part of Route 30 through Newton until it crosses the Charles River at the border of the town of Weston.

West Newton Village Center Historic District United States historic place

The West Newton Village Center Historic District encompasses the heart of the village of West Newton, in the city of Newton, Massachusetts in the United States. It extends along Washington Street between Lucas Court in the west and Davis Court in the east, and includes a few properties on immediately adjacent side streets, including Watertown Street and Waltham Street. The village is the second-largest of Newton's commercial centers and is the best-preserved of its late 19th and early 20th century village centers. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Second Church in Newton United States historic place

The Second Church in Newton, United Church of Christ, is located at 60 Highland Street in West Newton, a village of Newton, Massachusetts. This church is rooted in the Congregational denomination, does not require uniformity of belief, and welcomes all visitors. Its present church building, a Gothic Victorian structure designed by architects Allen & Collens and completed in 1916, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

First Unitarian Society in Newton Historic church in Newton, Massachusetts, US

The First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton occupies a prominent location at 1326 Washington Street in the heart of the village of West Newton in Newton, Massachusetts. Architect Ralph Adams Cram designed the church, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. designed the grounds, the cornerstone was laid in 1905, and it was dedicated in 1906; it is one of the village's oldest buildings. The church is in Cram's signature Gothic Revival style, with buttressed walls and a blocky square tower with crenellations and spires. An enclosed courtyard is formed by an office wing, banquet hall, and parish house, which are built to resemble Elizabethan architecture with brick first floor and half-timbered upper level.

Central Library (Somerville, Massachusetts) United States historic place

The Central Library is the main branch of the Somerville, Massachusetts, public library system. It is located at 79 Highland Avenue, in an architecturally distinguished Renaissance Revival brick building designed by Edward Lippincott Tilton and built in 1914 with funding assistance from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

First Parish Church (Waltham, Massachusetts) United States historic place

The First Parish Church is a historic church at 50 Church Street in Waltham, Massachusetts, whose Unitarian Universalist congregation has a history dating to c. 1696. The current meeting house was built in 1933 after a fire destroyed the previous building on the same site. It is a Classical Revival structure designed by the nationally known Boston firm of Allen & Collens. The church building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

Needham Town Hall Historic District United States historic place

The Needham Town Hall Historic District is a historic district on Great Plain Avenue between Highland Avenue and Chapel Street in Needham, Massachusetts. It encompasses Needham Town Hall, a Georgian Revival structure built in 1902 to a design by Winslow & Bigelow, and the grassy public park in front of it, which was established in 1884. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Memorial Square District United States historic place

The Memorial Square District encompasses the historic heart of the Memorial Square neighborhood of Springfield, Massachusetts. Arrayed around the Memorial Square at the junction of Main and Plainfield Streets are seven buildings of architectural and/or historic significance, including the Memorial Church, and the former Memorial Square Branch Library, now a Greek cultural center. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Marlborough Center Historic District United States historic place

The Marlborough Center Historic District is a historic district encompassing the civic and commercial heart of Marlborough, Massachusetts. It is centered on a stretch of Main Street between Lincoln Street in the west and Bolton Street in the east, and includes properties on adjacent streets. The center is reflective of the city's prosperity as an industrial center from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Arlington Center Historic District United States historic place

The Arlington Center Historic District includes the civic and commercial heart of Arlington, Massachusetts. It runs along the town's main commercial district, Massachusetts Avenue, from Jason Street to Franklin Street, and includes adjacent 19th- and early 20th-century residential areas roughly bounded by Jason Street, Pleasant Street, and Gray Street. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Central Square Historic District (Waltham, Massachusetts) United States historic place

The Central Square Historic District is a historic district encompassing the central town common of the city of Waltham, Massachusetts, and several commercial buildings facing the common or in its immediate vicinity. The common is bounded by Carter, Moody, Main, and Elm Streets; the district includes fourteen buildings, which are located on Main, Elm, Lexington, and Church Streets, on the north and east side of the common. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

Commonwealth Avenue Historic District (Newton, Massachusetts) United States historic place

The Commonwealth Avenue Historic District of Newton, Massachusetts, encompasses roughly the eastern half of Commonwealth Avenue, extending from Waban Hill Road, near the city line with Boston, westward to Walnut Street. The roadway was laid out in 1894 and completed in 1895. Its design was influenced in part by the local residents, who were willing to give land for some of the route, and the design of Boston portions of the road, in which Frederick Law Olmsted was involved. Construction of the roadway was followed by the construction of fashionably large residences along its route, which took place mostly between the road's construction and about 1920. The district includes 188 residential properties, which are mainly built in the revival styles popular in the early 20th century. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Newton Centre Branch Library United States historic place

The Newton Centre Branch Library is a historic library building at 1294 Centre Street in Newton, Massachusetts. The building now houses municipal offices. The 1 1/2 story brick building was designed by Newton resident James Ritchie of Ritchie, Parsons & Tyler, and was built in 1928. It was one of five branch libraries paid for by subscription of Newton citizens and built between 1926 and 1939. The building is basically Tudor Revival in its styling, although its entry has a Colonial Revival segmented arch surround.

Old Chestnut Hill Historic District United States historic place

The Old Chestnut Hill Historic District encompasses the historic residential heart of the Newton portion of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. When first listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, the district extended along Hammond Street, between Beacon Street and the MBTA Green Line right-of-way, and along Chestnut Hill Road between Hammond and Essex, including properties along a few adjacent streets. The district was expanded in 1990 to include more of Chestnut Hill Road and Essex Road, Suffolk Road and the roads between it and Hammond, and a small section south of the Green Line including properties on Hammond Street, Longwood Road, and Middlesex Road. A further expansion in 1999 added a single property on Suffolk Road.

Union Street Historic District (Newton, Massachusetts) United States historic place

The Union Street Historic District is a historic district on Union Street between Langley Road and Herrick Road, and at 17–31 Herrick Road in Newton, Massachusetts. It encompasses the city's only significant cluster of 19th century commercial buildings. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Loren Towle Estate United States historic place

The Loren Towle Estate is a historic estate at 785 Centre Street in Newton, Massachusetts, USA.

Hartwell and Richardson

Hartwell and Richardson was a Boston, Massachusetts architectural firm established in 1881, by Henry Walker Hartwell (1833–1919) and William Cummings Richardson (1854–1935). The firm contributed significantly to the current building stock and architecture of the greater Boston area. Many of its buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Beaman Memorial Public Library United States historic place

The Beaman Memorial Public Library is the public library of West Boylston, Massachusetts. It is located near the town common, at 8 Newton Street, in an architecturally distinguished Colonial Revival building constructed in 1912 to a design by Worcester architect Lucius Briggs. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

Allen & Collens

Allen & Collens was an architectural partnership between Francis Richmond Allen and Charles Collens that was active from 1904 to 1931. Allen had previously worked in the Boston-based partnerships Allen & Kenway (1878–91) and Allen & Vance (1896-98), which executed Lathrop House (1901) and Davison House (1902) at Vassar College. The firm was known for its Gothic Revival design work.

Cheshire Town Hall Complex United States historic place

The Cheshire Town Hall Complex is a three-building set of municipal structures at the junction of Church and Depot Streets in Cheshire, Massachusetts. Built in 1898, the town hall is a prominent local example of Colonial Revival architecture, and the assemblage form an imposing civic statement in the village center. The buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 "NRHP nomination for Newton City Hall and War Memorial". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
  3. Lindsey Chapel: Its History & Architecture