{"nrhp_refnum":"12000499","name":"Howard, Frank, Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"124-132 Fenn St., 67-71 Federal St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsfield","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.449572503,"lon":-73.250954372,"geom_source":"wikidata"},"listed_date":"2012-08-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story red-brick and limestone commercial building at 124-132 Fenn Street and 67-71 Federal Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, built in 1916 and designed by Joseph McArthur Vance for Frank Howard's hardware and seed business.","why_significant":"The building is an intact example of an early 20th-century Classical Revival commercial structure and one of the least altered works of architect Joseph McArthur Vance in Pittsfield. It is also tied to the Frank Howard hardware, seed and agricultural supply business, which operated there from 1916 until 1960.","narrative":"Located two blocks east of North Street in downtown Pittsfield, this three-story commercial block was built in 1916 for Frank Howard's hardware and seed business. Architect Joseph McArthur Vance gave it a Classical Revival design in red brick and limestone, with the first story serving as a base, the upper floors as a shaft and the parapet as a capital. Inside, heavy timber slow-burning construction rests on cast-iron columns, and the second floor keeps glass-and-wood office partitions and marble-trimmed stairs. Frank Howard, Inc. sold hardware, seeds and farm and garden supplies from the building until 1960, and later generations of the family published a seed catalogue noted for its scientific content. Alterations were limited mainly to storefront bases, entry doors and windows, so the building remains one of the best-preserved of Vance's Pittsfield works. Its architecture and its long role in the city's commerce are the reasons for its recognition.","period_of_significance":"1916-1960","architect_builder":"Joseph McArthur Vance (architect)","architectural_style":"Late 19th- & 20th-Century Revival/Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Mixed office and retail use; the former hardware space on the east side and the third floor became vacant after the business closed in 1960, and one storefront was temporarily boarded in.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:10:51.647454-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/88/7941/63794188/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/12000499.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000499/78116c28a2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000499/78116c28a2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PittsfieldMA_FrankHowardBuilding.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Magicpiano</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:PittsfieldMA_FrankHowardBuilding.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794188","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Howard_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16891430"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/howard-frank-building-12000499/"}