Draft letter for Hotel Bridge
(Date)
Secretary of the Commonwealth
Massachusetts Historical Commission
220 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125-3314
Dear Secretary Galvin,
At the regularly scheduled meeting of the Northampton Historical Commission held ______________, the Commission voted to support the nomination of the Hotel Bridge to be included in
the listing of the National Register of Historic Places. We appreciate your consideration of our request and look forward to initiating the nomination process.
The Hotel Bridge, one of the most iconic landmarks of Leeds, is a reminder of our community’s rich history as an industrial center of the silk industry in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The bridge was constructed in 1880 by the Wrought Iron Bridge Co. of Canton, Ohio and features ornate arabesque cresting atop unique latticed portals. Originally constructed following
the Mill River freshet of 1878 in which all legal paths leading from a group of tenement homes to the town were obstructed, the Hotel Bridge is an integral and lasting relic of our community’s
past.
The Commission asserts that the Hotel Bridge’s architectural significance and importance to local history justify its place in the listing of the National Register of Historic Places,
and we look forward to continuing the application process. If you have any questions, or if the Commission can provide you with additional information about the property, please contact
me at ___________.
Respectfully,
__________ , Chair
Northampton Historical Commission
Encl.
Massachusetts Historic Bridge Inventory, Hotel Bridge, Inventory No. NTH.901