{"nrhp_refnum":"74000392","name":"Winthrop Building","other_names":["Carter Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"7 Water St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.357527438000034,"lon":-71.05762087599999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-04-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A nine-story yellow brick and terra cotta office building at 1-17 Water Street and 276-8 Washington Street in Boston, Massachusetts, designed in 1894 and also known as the Carter Building.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it was the first structure in Boston to use a steel skeleton frame, and it was completely fireproof when built. Its steel columns, rigid framing and metal-lath partitions departed from earlier Boston building types. It also stands on ground tied to Governor John Winthrop's last dwelling and the Great Spring.","narrative":"Rising nine stories on an irregular, narrow lot bounded by Washington, Water and Devonshire Streets and Spring Lane in Boston, this office building was designed in 1894 by Blackall and Newton and built by Woodbury and Leighton. It is credited as the first building in Boston to use a steel skeleton frame, with brick and terra cotta serving only as a skin. Z-section steel columns, rigidly joined by beams and trusses, gave the structure strength against wind and vibration, and metal-lath partitions plastered with cement made it fireproof. Its facades combine yellow brick with terra cotta courses, Beaux Arts swags and a projecting copper cornice, while a neo-classical stone entrance marks the Water Street side. Storefronts added from 1938 altered the ground level. The building was renamed in 1899 to recall Governor John Winthrop's last house, built in 1644 nearby, and the ancient Great Spring that lay along Spring Lane to the rear.","period_of_significance":"1894","architect_builder":"Blackall and Newton (architects); Woodbury and Leighton (builders)","architectural_style":"Neo-classical entrance inspired by Beaux Arts tradition; steel-frame skeleton construction with brick and terra cotta skin","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition, altered, occupied, on its original site; storefronts added from 1938, and the Devonshire Street end has a subbasement used as a subway entrance.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.345001-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/25/7969/63796925/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/74000392.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000392/481e1fca02-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000392/481e1fca02-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Biruitorul","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WinthropBldg.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Biruitorul</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WinthropBldg.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796925","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winthrop_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8026558"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/winthrop-building-74000392/"}