{"nrhp_refnum":"78000470","name":"Fay Club","other_names":["Fay House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"658 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fitchburg","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.583334904000026,"lon":-71.80214943099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-01-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A High Victorian Gothic brick mansion at 658 Main Street in downtown Fitchburg, Worcester County, Massachusetts, built in 1883 for railroad financier George F. Fay and designed by Richard Upjohn, with a rear carriage house.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant for its architecture, its owner and as the most imposing residential structure in Fitchburg. It is an excellent example of High Victorian Gothic design by a nationally prominent architect. George F. Fay was a leading citizen who built a fortune through railroad investments.","narrative":"Built in 1883 at 658 Main Street in downtown Fitchburg, this High Victorian Gothic residence was designed by Richard Upjohn for George F. Fay, a local railroad magnate. Fay began as a telegraph operator at the Fitchburg Depot in 1852 and later joined the firm of Crocker Burbank and Co., building a fortune through investments in Massachusetts railroads. The 2½ story brick house has sandstone trim, a steeply pitched slate roof, four tall corbelled chimneys, stained glass windows and a wooden Gothic tracery entrance porch. Inside, the first floor keeps its paneling, carving and frescoes. After Fay died in 1895, his daughter Lucy gave the home to the Park Club, of which he had been a charter member, on condition that it be renamed the Fay Club. The club still uses the house. Once part of a street lined with fine residences, it is one of the few single family buildings left on Main Street, and a brick carriage house survives to the rear.","period_of_significance":"1883","architect_builder":"Richard Upjohn","architectural_style":"High Victorian Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still used as the Fay Club; exterior and first floor interior unaltered, second floor remodeled into a dining room, and carriage house converted to a gymnasium.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.901218-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/46/7974/63797446/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/78000470.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000470/f816962e7d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000470/f816962e7d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FitchburgMA_FayClub.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:FitchburgMA_FayClub.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"78000478","name":"Monument Park Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/monument-park-historic-district-78000478/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797446","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Club","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5438905"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/fay-club-78000470/"}