{"nrhp_refnum":"81000620","name":"Fields Corner Municipal Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1 Arcadia St., 195 Adams St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.30209712800007,"lon":-71.06018064799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-11-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story brick municipal building at 1 Arcadia Street (corner of Adams Street) in the Fields Corner section of Dorchester, Boston, erected in 1874 and most probably designed by City Architect George A. Clough.","why_significant":"It is presented as a fine and unique example of High Victorian Gothic architecture in the Dorchester area and as work of Boston's first City Architect. It is also significant for its role in Dorchester's civic and community development, housing a police station and a branch library.","narrative":"Built in 1874 at the corner of Adams and Arcadia Streets in Dorchester, this H-shaped brick building has gabled wings, limestone trim, pointed arch windows, parapeted dormers, a slate roof and a cupola with its original weathervane. A cast iron fence follows the lot and climbs the stairs to the entrance. It is most probably the work of George A. Clough, who became Boston's first City Architect in 1873, although the building records no longer exist. The building replaced the old District 11 Police Station on Hancock Street. The eastern wing held the new station, with jail cells still in the basement, and the rear wing housed the Dorchester branch of the Boston Public Library, part of the first branch library system in the United States. It also served for a time as a district court. It was listed for its High Victorian Gothic design, which is unique in the Dorchester area, and for its civic role in the neighborhood.","period_of_significance":"1874-1875","architect_builder":"George A. Clough (?)","architectural_style":"High Victorian Gothic","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as unoccupied and vacant, in fair condition and unaltered; the City of Boston sees its preservation as key to revitalizing Fields Corner.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.5537-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/67/7969/63796967/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/81000620.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000620/7d7b301be6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000620/7d7b301be6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jameslwoodward","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fields_Corner_Municipal_Building_Boston_MA_01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jameslwoodward</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:Fields_Corner_Municipal_Building_Boston_MA_01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796967","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fields_Corner_Municipal_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5447199"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/fields-corner-municipal-building-81000620/"}