{"nrhp_refnum":"83000573","name":"Bowker Place","other_names":["Hp-2"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"144-156 Essex St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Salem","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.52211377000003,"lon":-70.89245987199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-07-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Commercial building at 144-156 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts, known as Bowker Place or the Bowker Block. It was built around 1830 by William Manning in the Greek Revival style.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant architecturally as a distinguished Greek Revival commercial block. It is also significant for its association with Salem's commercial development, housing banks, a police court, insurance and military tenants, and early retail businesses of later department-store founders. It is said to meet criteria A and C.","narrative":"Bowker Place, also called the Bowker Block, is a three-story brick commercial building at 144-156 Essex Street in Salem. William Manning built it around 1830 in the Greek Revival style, and it was sold in 1844 after his bankruptcy to Joel Bowker, a leading local merchant. The building is divided into three four-bay units, with twin chimneys at each party wall, a pitched slate roof with two dormers per unit, and six-over-six windows trimmed in brownstone. Ground-floor storefronts are framed by granite piers and lintels. Early tenants included the Merchants Bank, the Naumkeag Bank and the Salem Police Court, followed later by the Salem Marine Insurance Company and the Second Corps Cadets. Retailers James F. Almy, David Conrad and William Filene all began their businesses here. Altered storefronts were restored toward their original appearance in 1974. The building was listed for its architecture and its role in Salem's commercial life.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"William Manning (original owner and builder of the block; architect unknown)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is commercial; storefronts were altered in 1974 when a clothing store bought the building and replaced mixed storefronts with granite piers and lintels approximating the original look.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.788474-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/93/7898/63789893/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000573.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000573/78fe67ebf8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000573/78fe67ebf8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bowker_Place,_Salem_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:Bowker_Place,_Salem_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789893","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowker_Place","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4951037"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/bowker-place-83000573/"}