{"nrhp_refnum":"82004960","name":"Fire Barn","other_names":["Falls Fire Station No. 2"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Commonwealth Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"North Attleborough","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.97142240200003,"lon":-71.31401908499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-01-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1893 wood-frame fire station on Commonwealth Avenue in the village of Attleborough Falls, North Attleborough, Massachusetts, also known as Falls Fire Station No. 2.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an unusually monumental wood-frame design and a locally important example of classically inspired architecture. It also represents the civic improvements that followed North Attleborough's incorporation and the town's modern fire protection system. It meets criteria A and C.","narrative":"Built in 1893 on Commonwealth Avenue in Attleborough Falls, this wood-frame fire station housed a horse-drawn wagon and ladder truck for the municipal fire district created the year before. It has a gable-roofed main block and a four-story corner tower serving as stairwell and bell tower, topped by an open belfry with Tuscan columns. The facade is its showpiece: vertical panelling, Doric pilasters, a wide entablature, two large arched apparatus doors and three round-arched windows with lancet tracery. Later changes include asphalt siding, modern garage doors and an enclosed stairway. The building reflects the civic improvements that followed North Attleborough's incorporation in 1887, including water service and a Gamewell fire alarm network. It is one of few surviving late 19th-century municipal buildings in the town and the only one in Attleborough Falls. Vacant since 1977, it remains a local landmark, and the town hopes to restore it as a fire-fighting museum.","period_of_significance":"1893","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Eclectic Classical design combining Renaissance-inspired and Doric/Tuscan motifs in a vernacular composition","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Vacant since 1977; the town hopes to restore it as a fire-fighting museum.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:55.065542-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/48/7945/63794548/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82004960.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004960/31e4afcdef-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004960/31e4afcdef-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Falls_Fire_Barn,_Attleborough_Falls_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Falls_Fire_Barn,_Attleborough_Falls_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794548","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falls_Fire_Barn_Museum","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5432477"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/fire-barn-82004960/"}