{"nrhp_refnum":"12001162","name":"Commonwealth Pier Five","other_names":["Commonwealth Pier"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"165 Northern Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.34951267000008,"lon":-71.04104890899998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-10-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce","Military","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Commonwealth Pier Five is a large pier complex at 165 Northern Avenue in South Boston, Massachusetts, completed in 1914. It covers the entire 400 by 1500 foot pier and consists of a Beaux Arts head house and three sheds.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as the world's largest pier when built and the first construction project in the commercial development of the South Boston Flats. Its head house is described as one of Boston's major examples of Beaux Arts architecture. The pier also helped revive Boston's maritime interests in the early twentieth century.","narrative":"Commonwealth Pier Five, at 165 Northern Avenue in South Boston, was completed in 1914 and covers an entire pier measuring 400 by 1500 feet. It has a steel and concrete head house, faced in cast stone, with a monumental Beaux Arts facade built around a triumphal arch and Tuscan columns. Behind it sit three steel-truss and concrete sheds, since joined into one large interior space. The pier was planned to combine rail, marine and vehicle traffic in one facility, with a viaduct linking the head house to nearby South Station. When built, it was the world's largest pier and the first project in the commercial development of the South Boston Flats. It became a center of the American wool trade and a port of entry for immigrants, and served as a Naval Supply Station in both world wars. H.P. Converse and Company built it for the Directors of the Port of Boston. Today it hosts expositions, offices and warehousing.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"H.P. Converse and Company (builder), under the supervision of Frank W. Hodgdon, City Engineer","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned and operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority; used for large expositions, offices and short-term warehousing, and as Boston's only passenger ship terminal for limited steamship activity. Condition listed as good.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.382636-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/8/7968/63796808/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/12001162.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796808","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/commonwealth-pier-five-12001162/"}