50-58 Main Street
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
FORM B − BUILDING
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Photograph
Topographic or Assessor's Map
Recorded by: Bonnie Parsons
Organization: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
Date (month / year): March, 2010
Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
32A-141 Easthampton NTH.2061
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village) Northampton Center
Address: 50-58 Main Street
Historic Name: Sherwin Block
Uses: Present: Commercial space and 9 apartments
Original: Commercial and office space
Date of Construction: 1915
Source: Hampshire Gazette
Style/Form: Classical Revival
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: concrete
Wall/Trim: brick/metal
Roof: not visible
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates):
Storefronts repeatedly altered.
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.138 acres
Setting: This building occupies a corner lot with its
façade on Main Street in Northampton Center.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [50 Main Street]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.2271
___ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form.
Use as much space as necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:
Describe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community.
The Sherwin Block is a Classical Revival style building of three stories beneath a flat roof. The yellow brick building is six bays
wide on Main Street and eight bays deep on Pleasant Street and its bays are defined by brick piers that rise through the second
and third stories from limestone bases to limestone capitals. The piers support a molded metal cornice with “Sherwin Block” in
raised letters centered on the frieze. Each bay on the second floor has a three-part window of three lights beneath a metal
transom. At the third story the bays have paired windows of 1/1 sash separated by small brick piers with flat capitals. Each pair
of windows has a solid transom that appears to be a stucco material. Spandrels between the second and third stories are laid in
double panels. The brick within the panels is laid at a 45 degree angle to create a herringbone pattern. On the first story there
are two storefronts that were constructed within the last thirty years. They have metal frameworks with glass beneath a wooden
sign panel.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE
Discuss the history of the building. Explain its associations with local (or state) history. Include uses of the building, and the role(s) the
owners/occupants played within the community.
From Form B of 1975: “The brick blocks lining the main street of Northampton between Pleasant Street and Strong Avenue are
the earliest brick commercial structures in Northampton. In 1865, the block known as the Union Block was built at the corner of
Main and Pleasant Streets. This block collapsed in 1914 and was replaced by the 1915 Sherwin Block.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
Beers, F. W. County Atlas of Hampshire Massachusetts, New York, 1873.
Hales, John G. Plan of the Town or Northampton in the County of Hampshire, 1831.
Miller, D. L. Atlas of the City of Northampton and Town of Easthampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, 1895.
Walker, George H. and Company. Atlas of Northampton City, Massachusetts, Boston, 1884.
Walling, Henry F. Map of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, New York, 1860.