{"nrhp_refnum":"73000318","name":"Cyclorama Building","other_names":["See Also:South End District"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"543-547 Tremont St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.34449125000003,"lon":-71.07139870199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture","Social History","Invention"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick and concrete exhibition building at 543-545-547 Tremont Street in Boston's South End, built in 1884 to house a circular panoramic painting under a glass-domed rotunda.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a unique structure architecturally and a Victorian social document. It was built to exhibit the Battle of Gettysburg cyclorama by Paul Philippoteaux and later hosted other cycloramas, exhibitions, and the Boston wholesale flower market. It was also selected for reuse in the Boston Center for the Arts.","narrative":"Built in 1884 on Tremont Street in Boston's South End, the Cyclorama Building was designed by architects Charles A. Cummings and Willard T. Sears for Chicago merchant Charles F. Willoughby. It was made to display a huge circular painting, The Battle of Gettysburg, by French artist Paul Philippoteaux. The canvas was 400 feet around and 50 feet high, and the show drew large crowds after opening in December 1884. The site had earlier held the Moody and Sankey Tabernacle. Other cycloramas followed, including scenes of the Little Big Horn, Jerusalem and a Hawaiian volcano. As interest faded, the building served for exhibitions, roller skating, a bicycle arena and a garage, and the A.C. sparkplug was invented there in 1907. In 1922-23 the Boston Flower Exchange moved in, the facade was simplified and a glass dome replaced the tin one over the 50-foot brick rotunda. The building was then selected for reuse as part of the Boston Center for the Arts.","period_of_significance":"1884; 1922-23; 1929; 1949 (19th and 20th centuries)","architect_builder":"Charles A. Cummings and Willard T. Sears, Boston architects","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in fair condition and altered. The structure is basically sound, with about $500,000 of interior repairs estimated. Planned adaptive uses include a small theater, restaurant and arts center offices.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.207755-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/30/7967/63796730/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/73000318.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000318/a7e4c4c69d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000318/a7e4c4c69d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Biruitorul","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CycloramaB.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Biruitorul</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CycloramaB.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"73000324","name":"South End District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/south-end-district-73000324/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796730","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclorama_Building_(Boston)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5198994"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/cyclorama-building-73000318/"}