{"nrhp_refnum":"82004448","name":"Roughan Hall","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"15-18 City Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.37231236100007,"lon":-71.06174737599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-04-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Engineering","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story buff brick commercial and hall building at 15-18 City Square in Charlestown, Boston, built in two stages in 1892 and 1896 and designed by Arthur H. Vinal.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is an outstanding example of mixed-use building design (retail, commercial and private halls) in the Boston area and a fine example of late Italian Renaissance Revival vernacular commercial architecture. It is one of the few remaining 19th century halls in Boston and the only remaining 19th century building fronting City Square. It is nominated under criterion C.","narrative":"Roughan Hall is a four-story, flat-roofed masonry building in City Square, the gateway to Charlestown. Built in 1892 with an addition in 1896, it was designed by Boston municipal architect Arthur H. Vinal and constructed by Donovan and Brock for Charlestown businessman and philanthropist Michael Roughan. Its buff brick walls show Renaissance Revival and Romanesque Revival influences, with limestone string courses, terra cotta window surrounds and cast iron columns at the storefronts. The building originally held shops on the ground floor, a bowling and billiard basement, offices and clubrooms, a society hall for the Knights of Columbus, and a large fourth-floor hall spanning nearly 50 feet thanks to a Howe truss roof. The hall opened with a charity ball and later hosted social groups, light manufacturing, taverns, a cinema and roller skating. It is the only surviving 19th century building in City Square and one of few remaining 19th century halls in Boston, which supported its listing for architectural merit.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Arthur H. Vinal, Architect; Donovan & Brock, Builders","architectural_style":"Late Italian Renaissance Revival vernacular commercial architecture, with Renaissance Revival and Romanesque Revival influences","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Listed as unoccupied and vacant; condition is described as good, and the fourth-floor hall is in disrepair though some moldings, mirror frames and plasterwork survive.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.704487-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/92/7967/63796792/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82004448.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004448/fdfd9b0a86-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004448/fdfd9b0a86-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jameslwoodward","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roughan_Hall_Boston_MA.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:Roughan_Hall_Boston_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796792","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roughan_Hall","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7370894"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/roughan-hall-82004448/"}