{"nrhp_refnum":"80000497","name":"Bliss Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"26 Old Lincoln St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worcester","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.272857929000054,"lon":-71.79779762499999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-03-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-storey brick apartment block at 26 Old Lincoln Street in Worcester, Massachusetts, built in 1888 to designs by Barker & Nourse for developer William H. Bliss.","why_significant":"The building is an intact example of the brick apartment houses that once formed an early district around Lincoln Square, built largely in the 1880s. Highway construction, urban renewal and residential decline have since demolished virtually all other buildings of this type in the area. It also reflects the work of the Bliss family, real estate developers in Lincoln Square and downtown Worcester.","narrative":"Located just north of Lincoln Square in Worcester, this four-storey brick apartment block at 26 Old Lincoln Street dates from 1888, as shown by a date plaque on its facade. Barker & Nourse designed it for William H. Bliss, son of Harrison Bliss; both men were real estate developers in the Lincoln Square and downtown areas. The symmetrical east facade rises from a rock-faced sandstone foundation to a brick and sandstone parapet with a name plaque. Brick piers divide the wall into three sections and end in terracotta ventilators, while square channeled columns with rosettes frame the center entry. Its style combines Victorian Gothic and Queen Anne elements. The building was once part of a district of brick apartment houses built mostly in the 1880s. Highway construction, urban renewal and neighborhood decline have removed nearly all comparable buildings around the square, leaving this one in original condition and still used as housing.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Barker & Nourse","architectural_style":"Victorian Gothic & Queen Anne","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as currently in original condition and not significantly altered; present use is residential.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.263735-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/73/7929/63792973/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000497.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000497/90a97a6c61-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000497/90a97a6c61-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WorcesterMA_BlissBuilding.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:WorcesterMA_BlissBuilding.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792973","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bliss_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4926853"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/bliss-building-80000497/"}