{"nrhp_refnum":"00000981","name":"Brewster Building","other_names":["Oddfellows Hall","Sawyer Building","Galt Mercantile"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"201 Fourth St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Galt","county":"Sacramento County","state":"CA","lat":38.25355029800005,"lon":-121.36264393699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-08-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick commercial and lodge building at the southeast corner of Fourth and B Streets in downtown Galt, Sacramento County, California, built in 1882 for merchant John Brewster and designed by architect William H. Hamilton.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the best and oldest remaining example of nineteenth-century commercial architecture in Galt, with strong design quality and physical integrity. It is a good representative of Italianate commercial buildings with classical influences and of decorative nineteenth-century brickwork. It also served as a major retail source and a community gathering place for Masonic and later I.O.O.F. activities.","narrative":"Standing at the southeast corner of Fourth and B Streets in downtown Galt, this two-story brick building was completed in April 1882 for John Brewster, a local merchant and postmaster. Sacramento architect William H. Hamilton designed it in a commercial Italianate manner with classical influences. The ground floor held Brewster's general store, with cast-iron columns framing large show windows, while the basement served for storage. The second floor housed a Masonic hall and later an Odd Fellows hall. Brick corbels, arched windows, projecting belt courses and a metal cornice give the facade and north side their decorative character. Alterations include a 1919 interior stair, a later kitchen, and removal of the original exterior wooden stairs. The building is regarded as the best and oldest surviving nineteenth-century commercial building in Galt. It served as a retail center and meeting place for the town and the surrounding farming and ranching area. It is currently vacant and in good condition.","period_of_significance":"1882","architect_builder":"Hamilton, William H.","architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The form lists current function as vacant and describes the building as in good condition; exterior wood stairs were removed to secure the building.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:26.929726-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/00000981.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000981/6cc6218446-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000981/6cc6218446-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Publichall","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brewster_Building_-_Galt,_CA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Publichall</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brewster_Building_-_Galt,_CA.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860545","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewster_Building_(Galt,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4962740"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/sacramento-county/brewster-building-00000981/"}