{"nrhp_refnum":"08001284","name":"Compton Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"159, 161-175 Devonshire St., 18-20 Arch St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.356083037000076,"lon":-71.05781654799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-12-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An eleven-story, seven-bay Classical Revival steel-frame office building at 159-175 Devonshire Street and 18-20 Arch Street in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, designed in 1902-1903 and running the full depth of the block between Devonshire and Arch Streets.","why_significant":"It is significant under Criterion C as the work of the prominent Boston firm Winslow and Bigelow and as an example of the turn-of-the-century steel-frame skyscraper in Boston. Under Criterion A it reflects the growth of the Financial District as it shifted from a small-scale, mixed-use downtown to a district of tall office buildings. It retains its integrity despite window replacement and added marquees.","narrative":"Rising eleven stories between Devonshire and Arch Streets in Boston's Financial District, this Classical Revival office building was designed in 1902-1903 by the firm Winslow and Bigelow. Its buff brick and light stone facade follows the tripartite pattern common to early skyscrapers, with a two-story base, a seven-story midsection and a decorated two-story top. A steel frame supports the structure. Contemporary reports said 65 percent of its office space was reserved before construction began, and early tenants included lawyers, insurance agents and real estate agents. Later occupants included manufacturers, consulates and a secretarial school, and the ground floor gained shops by the 1930s. A connector building added in 1979-1981 now joins it to the neighboring International Trust Building. Today it holds a hotel and a ground-floor pub. It was listed for its architecture as an intact example of a Classical Revival tall office building, and for its link to the growth of the Financial District after the 1872 Great Fire.","period_of_significance":"1902/3 - 1958","architect_builder":"Winslow and Bigelow","architectural_style":"Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revival: Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Upper floors are now hotel rooms, and the ground floor holds a pub restaurant; a 1979-1981 connector building links it to the International Trust Building.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.632311-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/29/7968/63796829/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/08001284.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001284/b2802dce8b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001284/b2802dce8b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jameslwoodward","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Compton_Building_Boston_MA_02.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:Compton_Building_Boston_MA_02.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796829","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compton_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5157146"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/compton-building-08001284/"}