{"nrhp_refnum":"80000480","name":"Webster Street Firehouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"40 Webster St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worcester","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.24398948100003,"lon":-71.83287921199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-03-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick fire station at 40 Webster Street in Worcester, Massachusetts, built in 1893 for the City of Worcester and designed by Elbridge Boyden & Son.","why_significant":"The firehouse is significant for its architecture and its role in community development. It has fanciful, eclectic ornament combining 1890s classical terracotta motifs with Victorian Gothic holdovers. It is a characteristic firehouse of its period and served the New Worcester industrial and residential district.","narrative":"Built in 1893 at 40 Webster Street in Worcester, this firehouse was designed by the local firm Elbridge Boyden & Son and constructed by Eli Belisle for $16,000. It was built to house Steamer Company #5 and later also Hook and Ladder Company #4, serving the industrial and residential district known locally as New Worcester. The facade is faced in yellow brick and yellow terracotta, with paired entries for fire engines, a central date panel flanked by brick pilasters with stylized foliate capitals, and a high arched window beneath a tower with iron cresting. The tower rises to an open belfry, and a one-storey wing on the south side leads to the stairway. Some terracotta tiles carry classical motifs typical of the 1890s, while the cresting, capitals and hexagonal slatework recall Victorian Gothic design. The building remains unaltered and is still used as a fire station, making it an intact example of its period.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Elbridge Boyden & Son (architect); Eli Belisle (builder)","architectural_style":"Eclectic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in service as a fire station and described as unaltered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.371182-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/17/7929/63792917/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000480.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792917","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster_Street_Firehouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7978961"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/webster-street-firehouse-80000480/"}