{"nrhp_refnum":"79000349","name":"Wason-Springfield Steam Power Blocks","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"27-43 Lyman St. and 26-50 Taylor St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Springfield","county":"Hampden County","state":"MA","lat":42.10479736900004,"lon":-72.59321549199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-06-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A group of three brick industrial blocks at 27-43 Lyman Street and 26-50 Taylor Street in the North Blocks manufacturing district of Springfield, Massachusetts, built between 1873 and 1889 and designed by local architects including Perkins and Gardner.","why_significant":"The blocks are significant for their role in developing the North Blocks as a manufacturing and commercial district in the 1870s and 80s. They were built by the J. W. Wason Car Company and the Springfield Steam Power Company to house established firms and young businesses. They are also surviving examples of the brick manufacturing blocks typical of the area.","narrative":"Three brick blocks on Lyman and Taylor Streets in Springfield, Massachusetts, recall the city's North Blocks manufacturing district, which grew up beside the railroad depot. The Powers Block (1873, enlarged 1881) began as a five-story paper warehouse and factory designed by Perkins and Gardner. The Taylor Street Block (1875) was designed by Jason Perkins and divided into 50-foot sections for separate tenants, including makers of tools, wire products and car fittings. The Bryan Block (1889) housed the publisher Clark W. Bryan, whose titles included Good Housekeeping. The buildings were developed by the J. W. Wason Car Company and then the Springfield Steam Power Company, which supplied central steam power to nearby manufacturers. They are listed as remaining examples of the brick factory blocks that once filled the district, with granite trim and cast-iron storefronts on Lyman Street. Apart from storefront changes and a 1930 shortening of the Taylor Street block, they retain their original design.","period_of_significance":"1873-81, 1875, 1889","architect_builder":"Perkins and Gardner","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition and undergoing adaptive reuse as an in-town housing development at the time of nomination.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.176445-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/19/7952/63795219/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/79000349.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000349/9a76251948-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000349/9a76251948-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wason-Springfield_Steam_Power_Blocks,_Springfield_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wason-Springfield_Steam_Power_Blocks,_Springfield_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795219","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wason-Springfield_Steam_Power_Blocks","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7972704"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampden-county/wason-springfield-steam-power-blocks-79000349/"}