{"nrhp_refnum":"79000323","name":"Brick Block","other_names":["Post Office Block"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Main St. and Chatham Bars Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chatham","county":"Barnstable County","state":"MA","lat":41.67959925800005,"lon":-69.95603254199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story, L-shaped Tudor Revival brick commercial block on a prominent corner lot at Main Street and Chatham Bars Road in downtown Chatham, Massachusetts, built in 1914.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a unique and interesting example of masonry construction and an important local landmark. Its inventive brickwork, especially in the gables, was laid freehand by master mason Joseph Nickerson. It was also a major commercial building in a town of small wood-frame structures, and it originally housed the Chatham Post Office.","narrative":"Standing on a corner lot in the heart of Chatham's small downtown, the Brick Block is an L-shaped, 2½-story Tudor Revival building completed in 1914. A group of local businessmen, the Chatham Associates, commissioned it to hold shops on the ground floor and apartments above, and it still serves that purpose. Early tenants included an ice cream parlor, a meat market and a billiard parlor, and the building took its historic name from the Chatham Post Office it once housed. Boston architect Harvey Bailey Alden designed it, and Worcester native Joseph Nickerson, a master mason who had competed in national bricklaying contests, was given a free hand with the brickwork. The result includes a deeply projecting slate roof on curved brackets, jerkinhead gables with stickwork, and varied bonding patterns, with freeform brick designs in the gables. Its size and masonry set it apart from the wood-frame buildings around it, making it a recognized local landmark and commercial anchor.","period_of_significance":"1914","architect_builder":"Architect Harvey Baily Alden (Bailey in the text) of Boston; builder/master mason Joseph Nickerson; construction supervised by William Cox","architectural_style":"Tudor Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still serves its original purpose, with shops on the ground floor and apartments above; condition listed as good and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.287888-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/72/7939/63793972/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/79000323.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000323/efc985ea07-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000323/efc985ea07-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Thomas Kelley","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brick_Block.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Thomas Kelley</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brick_Block.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793972","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_Block","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4965884"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/barnstable-county/brick-block-79000323/"}