Northampton Downtown Historic District | |
![]() Main Street | |
Location | Northampton, Massachusetts |
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Coordinates | 42°19′15″N72°37′45″W / 42.32083°N 72.62917°W |
Area | 82.4 acres (33.3 ha) |
Architectural style | Classical Revival, Late Victorian |
NRHP reference No. | 76000270 (original) 85001464 [1] (increase) |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | May 17, 1976 |
Boundary increase | July 3, 1985 |
The Northampton Downtown Historic District encompasses most of the central business district of Northampton, Massachusetts. This area, which has been a center of commerce and industry in the area since colonial days, extends from the railroad tracks on the east side of the downtown, and west along Main Street to its junction with West Street and Elm Street. When the district was first listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it ended at the railroad tracks, and included properties on a number of other downtown streets; this was extended in 1985 to include a few properties just east of the railroad tracks on and near Bridge Street. The district includes such notable buildings as the 1891 Academy of Music Theatre, [2] and Northampton's castle-like City Hall. [3]
Northampton was settled (and incorporated as a town) in 1653, and was reincorporated as a city in 1883. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially a rural market town, which also served as the county seat of Hampshire County. Main Street was from the start its center of civic and economic affairs, even as industrialization and changes in transportation brought economic development. The downtown's first major period of growth was after the American Civil War, spurred by the arrival of railroads and by the development of industry along the Mill River. A fire in 1870 destroyed surviving wood-frame commercial buildings on Main Street, and most subsequent commercial growth was in masonry. A second period of growth in the 1890s eliminated most of the remaining residences on Main Street west of the railroad. [4]
The Ashburnham Center Historic District is a historic district encompassing the core of the village center of Ashburnham, Massachusetts in the United States. It is a well-preserved industrial village that experienced its most significant period of growth in the mid-19th century. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The Ayer Main Street Historic District encompasses most of the historic central business district of Ayer, Massachusetts. It extends along Main Street between Park and Columbia Streets, and was mostly developed between 1872 and 1898 as a hub of railroad and roadway-based economic activity. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
The Shumway Block is a historic commercial building in Webster, Massachusetts. Built in 1887, it is a well-preserved local example of late Victorian commercial brick architecture, and has played a prominent role in the business economy of the Webster downtown's west end. The block was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Main Street Historic District encompasses the civic core of Greenfield, Massachusetts, the county seat of Franklin County, Massachusetts. The district includes several blocks of Main Street extending roughly from Chapman Street in the west to Franklin Street in the east, as well as a number of properties facing the common along Bank Row, south of Main Street, and is architecture reflective of the city's 19th-century growth as a major crossroads and county seat. The district includes the town hall, county courthouse, several 19th century bank buildings, and three properties previously listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Garden Theater Block, the Leavitt-Hovey House, and the 1915 Post Office building. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The Building at 8–22 Graves Avenue is a historic rowhouse just outside the downtown area of Northampton, Massachusetts. The Queen Anne style brick rowhouse was built in 1887 for Doctor Silas R. Cooley. The property is unusual because brick was not then a common building material for housing in the Connecticut River valley, and because the rowhouse style of construction was also rare in the area. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The Calvin Coolidge House is a historic house located at 19-21 Massasoit Street in Northampton, Massachusetts. Built in 1901, it is most historically significant as the home of the 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge between 1906 and 1930, the height of his political career. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 12, 1976.
Church Street Historic District is a historic district roughly on Church Street between Park Ave. and Highland St. in Ware, Massachusetts. This mainly residential area includes some of Ware's finest late 19th century houses and a well-preserved collection of Greek Revival houses. The area was developed primarily in response to the growth of industry to the south. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Fort Hill Historic District is a historic district roughly on South Street between Lyman to Monroe in Northampton, Massachusetts.
The East Village Historic District is a historic district encompassing the center of the East Village of Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It includes properties on Main Street, North East Street, and South East Street. The village was one of Amherst's principal civic and commercial centers until the arrival of the railroad in Amherst Center in 1853, and remained a primarily residential area thereafter. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
The Williamsburg Center Historic District is a historic district on Massachusetts Route 9 in Williamsburg, Massachusetts. It encompasses the traditional center of the town, which was settled in the 18th century and grew to prosperity in the mid-19th century. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Lincoln–Sunset Historic District is a residential historic district located west of the downtown area of Amherst, Massachusetts. Colloquially known as Millionaire's Row, the district extends along Lincoln and Sunset Avenues between Northampton Street and the campus of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. This area was one of Amherst's first planned residential subdivisions, and features a large number of high-quality houses, built by merchants, businessmen, and academics. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
The Main Street Historic District of Easthampton, Massachusetts encompasses the historic heart of the town, running along Main Street between Northampton and Center Streets. The area has been the civic and economic heart of the town since incorporation in 1785. Most of the commercial buildings date from the 1840s to the 1880s, and are built in an Italianate style. The housing stock of the district also includes Italianate styling, but there are also a number of Greek Revival structures. The major civic structures of the town are in the district, including the town hall, public library, and the First Congregational Church, which is the second for the congregation, a brick Romanesque Revival building dating to 1851. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
The Prospect—Gaylord Historic District is a historic district encompassing a residential area built up mostly in the late 19th century just outside the central business district of Amherst, Massachusetts. Contributing properties include most of the houses on Prospect Street, which parallels Pleasant Street, as well as properties on Gaylord and Amity Streets running west from Prospect. These houses are generally in late Victorian styles such as Queen Anne, although some, for example a workman's house at 24 Gaylord Street, are in a more vernacular style. A central element of the district is the Hope Community Church, a historically African American church built in 1912 for a congregation whose history dates to 1869. Funds for its construction were raised in part through the efforts of W.E.B. Du Bois. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
The Acton Center Historic District encompasses the historic heart of the once-rural, now suburban, town of Acton, Massachusetts. The district includes properties on Main Street, Wood and Woodbury Lanes, Newtown, Concord, and Nagog Hill Roads, and has been the town's civic heart since its establishment in the 1730s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Munroe Street Historic District encompasses some of the few commercial buildings to survive in downtown Lynn, Massachusetts from the mid 19th century. The district includes properties on Munroe Street between Market and Washington Streets, which was spared by the 1889 fire that destroyed much of Lynn's downtown area. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
The Natick Center Historic District is a historic district on North Ave., Main, Central, and Summer Streets in Natick, Massachusetts, encompassing the 19th century civic and economic heart of the town. Natick's early colonial center, dating to 1651, was in South Natick, and the area that is now its center was a parcel of land set aside for the minister. It achieved significant prominence with the construction of a meeting house in 1799, and the land was sold off for development in 1812. The Boston and Worcester Railroad was extended through the town center in 1835, spurring economic growth. After a fire in 1874 destroyed most of the central business district, the present collection of brick Gothic and Romanesque buildings was constructed.
The Downtown Concord Historic District encompasses most of the commercial heart of downtown Concord, New Hampshire, United States. Incorporated in 1734, Concord became the state capital in 1808 and the seat of Merrimack County in 1823. Economic growth followed, due in part to these government institutions and also to the rise of industry along the Merrimack River, which flows through the city east of the downtown area, and the arrival in the 1840s of the railroad. The New Hampshire State House was built in 1819 south of the traditional center of the city, and the commercial heart of the city began to take shape along the First New Hampshire Turnpike south of the State House. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
The Winchendon Village Historic District encompasses the 19th-century commercial center of Winchendon, Massachusetts. It extends along Front and School Streets from School Square to Spring Street, and continues north on Central Street as far as Summer Street. This area was developed primarily because of industrialization that took place along Miller's River beginning in the late 18th century and extending into the 1830s, and then expanded further with the arrival of the railroad in the area in the 1840s. This growth caused the area to eclipse the town's colonial town center. The area had risen to sufficient prominence by 1850 that the town hall was built there, which would be followed by other municipal buildings, including the 1913 Beals Memorial Library. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
The Pomeroy Terrace Historic District is a historic district on the east side of downtown Northampton, Massachusetts. Located south of Bridge Street east of the main railroad right-of-way, it was one of the city's most desirable residential neighborhoods of the 19th century, retaining many fine examples of residential architecture from that period. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.
The Main and Franklin Streets Historic District is an historic district encompassing most of two city blocks in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. Roughly bounded by Main, Franklin, Federal, Portland, and Salem Streets, the district includes a well-preserved concentration of commercial buildings constructed during Worcester's economic height in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.