{"nrhp_refnum":"80000611","name":"Babcock Block","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"600 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worcester","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.26053929100004,"lon":-71.80440483599995,"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 commercial block at 600 Main Street, Worcester, Massachusetts, built about 1860-1870 with a granite post-and-lintel facade. It faces Main and Austin Streets.","why_significant":"The form calls it a rare local example of granite construction, with a trabeated granite facade unique in Worcester. Apart from a modernized storefront and some replaced second-story sash, the block is largely intact. It was likely built for Chester Babcock, a building mover, around the same time as the neighboring Colton Block.","narrative":"Rising five stories at 600 Main Street in Worcester, this commercial block was built around 1860-1870 and carries a granite post-and-lintel facade that the local survey describes as unique in the city. Its elevations face Main and Austin Streets. The upper-story windows hold double-hung sash with arched muntins in their top halves, while the Austin Street side is faced in pressed brick and studded with star-pattern tie-rod plates. The ground-floor storefront was modernized in the 1960s and some second-floor sash has been replaced, but the building is otherwise intact. It was probably put up around the same time as the neighboring Colton Block for Chester Babcock, a building mover who lived at 2 Austin Street. The earliest known occupant was J.R. Emery & Co., grocers. Granite construction of this kind is rare in Worcester, which is the main reason the building was recorded as significant.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Granite post and lintel facade","criteria":[],"status_note":"Present use listed as commercial/vacant; storefront altered in the 1960s.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.412889-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/33/7928/63792833/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000611.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000611/93a6fd217b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000611/93a6fd217b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WorcesterMA_BabcockBlock.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">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_BabcockBlock.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792833","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babcock_Block","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4837615"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/babcock-block-80000611/"}