{"nrhp_refnum":"82004951","name":"Simmons Block","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"86--90 Park St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Adams","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.62363289100006,"lon":-73.11996820699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-04-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half story wood frame building at 86-90 Park Street in Adams, Massachusetts, just south of McKinley Square. It was built between about 1885 and 1889 and was once a residence with a funeral parlor on the ground floor.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an unusually ornate example of Queen Anne architecture and the town's most complex and idiosyncratic one. Its wood-frame construction and domestic scale set it apart from the brick blocks typical of Park Street in that period. It retains integrity of location, design, materials and workmanship.","narrative":"Simmons Block is a two-and-one-half story wood frame building on the west side of Park Street in Adams, immediately south of McKinley Square. It rests on a stone foundation, is clad in clapboards and is covered by a straight-sided mansard roof. An asymmetrical facade includes a projecting tower with a high hip roof and decorative cresting, and the side elevations have oriel windows, recessed porches with turned posts, scalloped aprons and sash with colored and geometric glazing. Built between about 1885 and 1889, it was listed in the town's first directory as the residence of Albert H. Simmons, a furniture dealer and undertaker. The first story may have served as a funeral parlor, a use that continued into the 1970s. Its wood construction and domestic scale differ from the brick blocks common on Park Street, though it shares details with the 1890 Park Street Firehouse. Alterations, including a ca. 1960 entry and a rear porch addition, have not affected the overall design.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1885-1889","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Queen Anne","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Occupied; condition listed as excellent and altered, with a funeral parlor on the first story until the 1970s and a private residence use checked.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.847516-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/66/7941/63794166/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82004951.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004951/79ab8a1b5f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004951/79ab8a1b5f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:86_Park_Street,_Adams_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</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:86_Park_Street,_Adams_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794166","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simmons_Block","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7517993"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/simmons-block-82004951/"}