{"nrhp_refnum":"82000488","name":"Gillon Block","other_names":["Ring &amp","Welch Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"189 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Milford","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.14061451400005,"lon":-71.52031578899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-10-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story, flat-roofed red brick commercial block at 189 Main Street in downtown Milford, Massachusetts, built in 1888 for Patrick Gillon and designed by local architect Rinaldo V. Carey.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the block is Milford's most outstanding example of eclectic, late Victorian commercial architecture and is closely tied to the town's late 19th century prosperity. Its largely intact interiors are described as a rare survivor of the period. It also gained note in the 1930s and 40s as a jazz and big band venue and rehearsal site known as \"the Jazz Building.\"","narrative":"Rising four stories along Main Street in downtown Milford, this red brick commercial block was built in 1888 for Patrick Gillon, who made his fortune in the liquor business. Architect Rinaldo V. Carey designed a symmetrical seven-bay facade with a central pavilion, a curved mansard roof and an onion-shaped dome. Local materials feature prominently: Milford granite, Longmeadow brownstone, terra cotta panels and brick corbelling. Inside, two large third-floor meeting halls, first known as Temperance Hall and Red Men's Hall, kept their original woodwork and much of their stencilled decoration. Fraternal groups met there, and in the 1920s the halls became dance rooms. The Blue Room drew big band and jazz acts, and the building earned the nickname \"the Jazz Building\" among musicians in southern New England. Its architecture, its intact interiors and its link to Milford's granite and shoe-manufacturing prosperity underpin its listing.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Rinaldo V. Carey","architectural_style":"Eclectic, late Victorian commercial","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Occupied; first-floor stores and a barroom, with offices on the upper floors. All first-floor storefronts were remodelled in the twentieth century.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.60939-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/74/7972/63797274/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82000488.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82000488/6d4d07f73c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82000488/6d4d07f73c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PGillon_block.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PGillon_block.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797274","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillon_Block","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5562417"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/gillon-block-82000488/"}