{"nrhp_refnum":"73000316","name":"City Hall","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"93 Washington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Salem","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.52203927000005,"lon":-70.89533070999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-04-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Salem's City Hall is a two-story late Greek Revival municipal building at 93 Washington Street in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, completed in 1838. It has a granite front facade and brick side and rear walls.","why_significant":"It was built in 1837-38 under Salem's first mayor, Leverett Saltonstall, using federal surplus Treasury revenue rather than local taxes. It has been the center of Salem's political decision-making, and several of its mayors went on to serve the state and nation. It is also regarded as an excellent Greek Revival design by an unknown architect.","narrative":"Salem's City Hall, on Washington Street in the city's main commercial thoroughfare, is a two-story late Greek Revival building completed in 1838. Its three-bay front is dressed granite with four giant pilasters, a carved laurel-wreath frieze, a partial pediment, and a gold-leafed eagle copied from a hurricane-damaged original by Samuel McIntire. The side and rear walls are plain brick. Inside, the second-floor Council Chamber retains ceiling rosettes matching those at Faneuil Hall Market in Boston. Salem became the second Massachusetts city to incorporate in 1836, and this building was erected under first mayor Leverett Saltonstall. It cost $22,878, paid from surplus United States Treasury revenue distributed to the states in 1837, so citizens were not taxed for it. Mayors who served here, including Charles W. Upham and George J. Bates, later held state and national office. The architect remains unknown. A rear extension added in 1878 did not change the street view. City offices still occupy the building.","period_of_significance":"1838 (19th century)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition and in government use; first floor holds city offices, and the Mayor's office and Council Chambers are on the second floor. Altered by a rear extension in 1878.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.697732-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/56/7949/63794956/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/73000316.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000316/7aa4418524-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000316/7aa4418524-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Fletcher","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salem_City_Hall.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Fletcher</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salem_City_Hall.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794956","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Hall_(Salem,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5123197"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/city-hall-73000316/"}