Masonic Street 60.pdf
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form. FORM B − BUILDING MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Photograph Topographic or Assessor's Map Recorded by: Bonnie Parsons Organization: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Date (month /year):
March, 2011 Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number 31D-122 Easthampton NTH.769 Town: Northampton Place: (neighborhood or village) Address: 60 Masonic Street Historic Name: Fire
Station Uses: Present: commercial Original: fire station Date of Construction: 1872 and ca. 1890 Source: Daily Hampshire Gazette Style/Form: eclectic Architect/Builder: Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick Wall/Trim: brick, brownstone, steel Roof: asphalt shingles Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: Major Alterations (with dates): Converted from fire station to commercial
use, ca. 1990. Condition: good Moved: no | x | yes | | Date Acreage: 0.239 acres Setting: This building occupies a wide lot with adjacent parking.
INVENTORY FORMB CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [60MASONIC STREET] MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation
sheet 1 NTH.769 ___ 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 fire station is a two-story brick building five bays wide and five bays deep under a flat roof.
The main block is square in plan to which are attached two towers, a four-and-a-half story bell tower on its southwest corner and a three-story stair tower on its southeast corner. The
bell tower has a hipped roof on top of which is an open belfry and the stair tower has a flat roof. roof. The brick of the building has been laid in two different styles giving this
building an eclectic style. The bell tower has straight lintel windows of brownstone on the lower three stories and Italianate arched fourth story windows with brownstone springings
and keystones. A continuous stringcourse links the arches. The cornice of this tower has a filet below small pendants. The east façade of the main block and the stair tower are stylistically
linked as Queen Anne with corner quoins and bays separate by rusticated piers below a developed paneled attic and cornice. Three former vehicle bay openings have been enclosed with glass
storefronts beneath steel lintels for the new building use and an entry in the stair tower has been enlarged beneath a Cor-Ten steel lintel. The fire station character of this building
has not been lost during its rehabilitation. 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 history of organized fire fighting in Northampton began with two volunteer fire companies,
‘The Torrent’ and ‘The Deluge.’ Competitions between these fire companies were held on Main Street; the steeple of the old church served as the height standard against which streams
of water were measured. In 1857, the town fire department was organized. In about 1870, the core of the present stationhouse was constructed on Masonic Street, on land purchased from
Ansel Wright.” 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.