{"nrhp_refnum":"82004453","name":"Haffenreffer Brewery","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Germania St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.31463518900006,"lon":-71.10366527999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-05-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of sixteen brick brewery buildings on about 5 acres at Germania Street in Jamaica Plain, Boston, built between 1877 and the 1960s and operated first as the Boylston Brewery and then as Haffenreffer.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the complex illustrates almost 100 years of industrial architecture and the growth of the brewing industry and brewing process. It is described as unique in Boston for its campus-like layout, with buildings facing a quadrangle formed by two intersecting streets. It also reflects German immigration and the survival of a brewery through Prohibition.","narrative":"Sixteen brick buildings on about five acres in Jamaica Plain, Boston, make up the former Haffenreffer Brewery, built between 1877 and the 1960s. It began as the Boylston Brewery, and German-born Rudolf Haffenreffer had become its owner by 1880. The site was chosen for its railroad access, nearby main road and springs. The earliest buildings, three to six stories tall, suited the vertical brewing process, while later single-story additions reflected a shift to horizontal production. Most buildings show Classical Revival details. Their unusual arrangement around a quadrangle formed by Bismark and Germania Streets gives the complex a campus-like character, unique among Boston breweries. The brewery stayed independent until 1933, made soft drinks from 1926 to 1933 during Prohibition, and returned to beer afterward. It closed in 1964 because of competition and union demands. Many openings have been bricked in or altered, but the complex still illustrates nearly a century of industrial building and brewing practice.","period_of_significance":"1877-1960's","architect_builder":"Michael Meechan, James McMorrow, Frederick Riedell / M.W. FitzSimmons, Cleredon, Varney & Pike","architectural_style":"Mostly Classical Revival in form and details, with evidence of other styles","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as fair and altered; the form marks the property as occupied and in commercial use, with some buildings bricked-in, boarded up or fire-damaged.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.543162-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/2/7968/63796802/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82004453.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004453/0cf5ab4012-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004453/0cf5ab4012-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Haffenreffer-large.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Haffenreffer-large.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796802","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haffenreffer_Brewery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5638335"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/haffenreffer-brewery-82004453/"}