{"nrhp_refnum":"02001039","name":"Paine Furniture Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"75-81 Arlington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.35116675300003,"lon":-71.07076822599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-09-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce","Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A ten-story Classical Revival commercial building at 75-81 Arlington Street in Boston's Park Square area, built in 1914 to house the showroom, offices and manufacturing operations of the Paine Furniture Company.","why_significant":"It is significant for its association with the Paine Furniture Company, once the largest furniture manufacturer and dealer in New England, which ran its entire operation under one roof. It is also a work of the Boston firm Densmore & LeClear. It was the first building developed on the former railroad yards, helping start a new business district.","narrative":"Rising ten stories between St. James Avenue and Stuart Street, this Classical Revival building at 75-81 Arlington Street in Boston was completed in 1914 for the Paine Furniture Company. Designed by Densmore & LeClear, it has a steel frame encased in concrete, limestone and buff brick facades, and a terra cotta cornice. A large metal canopy with a medallion honoring company founder Leonard Baker Shearer marks the main entrance. Inside, a sweeping cast metal and marble staircase survives. The building held Paine's offices, showrooms, repair shops and factory floors together, an arrangement that let the firm sell furniture at lower prices; it was reported to be the world's largest furniture store at its opening. It was also the first building constructed on the former railroad yards west of Park Square, which started the area's growth as a business district. Today it holds shops, a school and offices.","period_of_significance":"1914-1952","architect_builder":"Densmore & LeClear (Edward Densmore and Gifford LeClear)","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Currently used for retail on the first floor, an art school on the second floor and basement, and offices on floors 3-10; renovated alongside the adjoining 10 St. James Avenue building in 2001.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.238912-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/0/7968/63796800/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/02001039.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001039/f1a5fec3ef-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001039/f1a5fec3ef-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jameslwoodward","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paine_Furniture_Building_Boston_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jameslwoodward</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:Paine_Furniture_Building_Boston_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796800","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paine_Furniture_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7124864"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/paine-furniture-building-02001039/"}