Pleasant Street 111.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: Jayne Bernhard-Armington Organization: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Date
(month /year): June, 2010 Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number 32C-056 Easthampton NTH.935 Town: Northampton Place: (neighborhood or village) Address: 111 Pleasant Street
Historic Name: Sylvester Graham House Uses: Present: Commercial /Restaurant Original: Residence Date of Construction: c. 1800 Source: Registry of Deeds Style/Form: French Second Empire
and Colonial Revival Architect/Builder: Exterior Material: Foundation: Granite Wall/Trim: Brick Roof: Slate and Asphalt Outbuildings/Secondary Structures: Major Alterations (with dates):
Residence converted to commercial use and two wings added, ca. 1920. Condition: Good Moved: no | | yes | | Date Acreage: 0.113 acres Setting: Building sits very close to the street in
the busy Central Business District.
INVENTORY FORMB CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [111 PLEASANT STREET] MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation
sheet 1 NTH.935 ___ 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 main block of the Graham building is two-and-a-half stories in height under a mansard roof
in which there are open-pedimented dormers on each elevation. Attached to the south elevation of the main block are a two-story connector and a two-story wing, both with flat roofs.
The main block has a commercial storefront on the first floor of its east façade with wood-framed glass storefronts flanking a recessed center entry. It is approximately eight bays deep
and there is a secondary entry on the north elevation for a long rectangular plan. The connector is set back slightly from the plane of the façade of the main block. It is one bay wide
and contains an entry beneath a Colonial Revival style porch topped by a balustrade. The connector has a dentil row at its cornice, an arched window at the second floor and a pair of
doors at the first story level. In the same plane of the main block is the wing of the building. It is two stories and two bays wide. A row of dentils links it to the connector building
on its north elevation. This is an additive building that has seen many changes. Not clearly visible or identifiable is an 1836 section. 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:
“Dr. Sylvester Graham (1794-1851) was a scientist, food faddist and lecturer, vegetarian, follower of the Temperance movement, and fresh air addict. Graham recommend that people eat
whole wheat bread, avoid meat, and take cold showers. His invention of the Graham Cracker won him national fame in spite of the many who disputed his views. The cracker inventor bought
this house in 1836 and lived there until his death in 1851. He was quite an eccentric about town, taking an early morning dip in the Mill River, followed by a stroll down Main Street
in his dressing gown. Dr. Graham died in 1851 and is buried at the Bridge Street Cemetery. A plain thick sandstone shaft marks the gravesite of this “benefactor of mankind.” Graham purchased
“all the land forming the homestead of Eli P. Ashman” from George and Lewis Ashman according to Registry of Deeds document 78.141. 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. Registry of Deeds 78.141