{"nrhp_refnum":"03000685","name":"Spencer Town Center Historic District (Boundary Increase)","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"10-29 Grove, 1-51 High,9-85 Mechanic,13-72 Pleasant, 5-62 Wall Sts., and parts of Prouty, Lincoln, Cherry and Jones St","address_restricted":false,"city":"Spencer","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.243772076000056,"lon":-71.99667252163911,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-07-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Industry","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2003 boundary increase to the Spencer Town Center Historic District in Spencer, Massachusetts, adding residential and commercial streets west, north and south of the existing district. It includes 129 contributing buildings, 2 contributing objects and 22 noncontributing resources, mostly built from the 1870s to the 1890s.","why_significant":"The added area contains residential streets that housed industrialists, businessmen and workers during the town's industrial boom, plus the depot, factories and stores that supported them. It has a broad range of 19th-century architectural styles, with Italianate the best represented. The boot and shoe industry, along with wire and spinning mills, drove its development.","narrative":"This boundary increase enlarges the Spencer Town Center Historic District in Worcester County, Massachusetts, adding parts of Pleasant, High, Prouty, Grove, Mechanic, Cherry, Wall and West Main Streets. The residential streets developed during the industrial boom of the 1870s to 1890s and are lined with frame houses set back under mature street trees. Surviving houses include a Federal-era former inn at 1 High Street, Greek Revival and Gothic Revival homes, and many Italianate examples. Hills drew residential building, while a bowl-shaped, stream-fed area to the south became the site of industry. Cherry, Wall and Mechanic Streets hold a mix of light industrial and commercial buildings, many with original or early storefronts and uses. Boot and shoe making, begun by Josiah Green and Isaac Prouty, along with spinning and wire mills, supported the neighborhood's growth. The area has 131 contributing resources, and the high level of preservation, especially the general absence of artificial siding, helped justify its inclusion.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italian Villa, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Bungalow, Moderne","criteria":[],"status_note":"Houses are in moderate to good condition; the commercial streets are moderately well preserved, with only two apparently vacant buildings and the rest occupied.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.55368-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/32/7974/63797432/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/03000685.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000685/ff61f93bb2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000685/ff61f93bb2-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spencer_Center.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spencer_Center.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797432","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Town_Center_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5328912"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/spencer-town-center-historic-district-boundary-increase-03000685/"}