{"nrhp_refnum":"68000018","name":"American Antiquarian Society","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"185 Salisbury St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worcester","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.27722169850006,"lon":-71.81038006678565,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1968-11-24","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1968-11-24","areas_of_significance":["Education"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2-story Georgian Revival brick library and research building with marble trim at 185 Salisbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts, built 1909-1910 as the third home of the American Antiquarian Society. Winslow, Bigelow & Wadsworth designed it.","why_significant":"The Society, founded in 1812, is the third oldest historical society in the United States and the first national in purpose and collecting scope. Its library holds close to three million items, the largest single collection of printed source material on the first 250 years of what is now the United States. Its newspaper files and early imprints are described as unmatched.","narrative":"Located on Salisbury Street in Worcester, this Georgian Revival building of brick with marble trim was erected in 1909-1910 as a research library for the American Antiquarian Society. Winslow, Bigelow & Wadsworth won a competition for the design, and R. Clipston Sturgis supervised construction. An octagonal core with a low dome holds the reading room, with a stack wing attached at the rear and a Doric portico marking the entrance. Additions in 1924, 1950 and 1972 expanded storage and offices while matching the original materials or staying largely below ground. The Society was founded in 1812 by printer Isaiah Thomas and ranks as the third oldest historical society in the country and the first national in scope. Its nearly three million books, newspapers, manuscripts and other items form the largest single body of printed source material on early American history, which is the basis for its designation as a National Historic Landmark.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899, 1900-","architect_builder":"Winslow, Bigelow & Wadsworth","architectural_style":"Georgian Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied by the owner, the American Antiquarian Society; condition listed as excellent and altered, with additions in 1924, 1950 and 1972.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.362225-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/9/7939/63793909/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/68000018_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/68000018/fa646e9540-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/68000018/fa646e9540-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WorcesterMA_AntiquarianSociety_2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WorcesterMA_AntiquarianSociety_2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793909","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55737040"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/american-antiquarian-society-68000018/"}