{"nrhp_refnum":"80000598","name":"Armsby Block","other_names":["Armsby Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"144-148 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worcester","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.268733001000044,"lon":-71.80076734799997,"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 five-story brick commercial and residential block at 144-148 Main Street in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts, built in 1885 and designed by architect Stephen C. Earle.","why_significant":"The nomination describes it as one of the most ornate and well-preserved examples of its period in downtown Worcester, combining Victorian Gothic design with Panel Brick architecture. It was designed by Stephen Earle, one of the city's most prominent architects, and built as an investment by the estate of George F. Armsby.","narrative":"Located at 144-148 Main Street in downtown Worcester, this five-story brick building dates to 1885 and combines Victorian Gothic design with the offshoot style known as Panel Brick. The symmetrical facade has an arched entry at street level flanked by a storefront on each side. Upper floors hold eight evenly spaced windows per story, trimmed with rock-faced sandstone lintels and sills and separated by panels of decorative brickwork. A slight corbelled cornice supports a paneled parapet topped at the center by a decorative gable and date stone. Stephen Earle, one of the city's most prominent architects, designed it, and C.A. Vaughan built it for $30,000. It originally held two street-level stores and a boarding house above. The estate of George F. Armsby, a former secretary of the Munroe Organ Reed Company, apparently built it as an investment. It is regarded as one of the most ornate and well-preserved buildings of its period downtown.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Stephen C. Earle (architect); C.A. Vaughan (builder)","architectural_style":"Victorian Gothic / Panel Brick","criteria":[],"status_note":"Present use is commercial/residential; storefronts were altered in the mid-20th century but reportedly cover original trim.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:55.088211-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/51/7928/63792851/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000598.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000598/479c464b45-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000598/479c464b45-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Mark Landon","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Armsby_Building,_Worcester,_MA,_by_Stephen_Earle_(1885)_01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Mark Landon</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Armsby_Building,_Worcester,_MA,_by_Stephen_Earle_(1885)_01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792851","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armsby_Block","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4793866"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/armsby-block-80000598/"}