{"nrhp_refnum":"06000816","name":"Pratt Historic Building","other_names":["Paul Pratt Memorial Library","Cohasset Free Public Library"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"106-110 South Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cohasset","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.23849492100004,"lon":-70.79948115299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-09-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture","Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-story buff brick Colonial Revival library building at 106 South Main Street, Cohasset, Massachusetts, designed by local architect Edward Nichols and built in 1902-03 as the Paul Pratt Memorial Library.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the building as a well-preserved example of an early 20th-century Colonial Revival library, with intact interior woodwork, plaster detail and a fireproofed bookstack that reflects library building technology of its time. It also served for a century as Cohasset's library and holds four historical murals of the town painted by MacIvor Reddie in 1946.","narrative":"Built in 1902-03 at 106 South Main Street in Cohasset, this buff brick library was designed by local architect Edward Nichols as the Paul Pratt Memorial Library. It follows a modified Greek cross plan, with a hipped slate roof, a pedimented portico with four Ionic columns, and a wooden tower topped by an octagonal lantern. The lantern lights a central rotunda holding four murals of Cohasset history, painted by Boston artist MacIvor Reddie and completed in 1946. Inside, the ground floor keeps its original layout, woodwork, molded plaster cornices and a fireplace. A four-story fireproofed bookstack with Luxfer prism glass transoms shows early library design. A two-story brick addition was built in 1963-64. The building served as the town library for about a century until a new library opened in a former school on Ripley Road. In 2003 the Cohasset Historical Society bought it for its headquarters and added two basement apartments in 2004.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Edward Nichols (architect)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Colonial Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the Cohasset Historical Society since 2003 as its headquarters; the basement holds two apartments and storage. The building is described as generally in good condition and little altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.915813-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/7964/63796434/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/06000816.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000816/f89bdccd78-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000816/f89bdccd78-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Wwoods","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pratt_Historic_Building;2009-08-21.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Wwoods</a>, <a href=\"http://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:Pratt_Historic_Building;2009-08-21.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796434","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_Historic_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7238759"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/pratt-historic-building-06000816/"}