{"nrhp_refnum":"83000590","name":"YMCA","other_names":["Hp-5"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"284-296 Essex St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Salem","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.52156906500005,"lon":-70.89816520099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-07-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick and limestone YMCA building at 284-296 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts, designed by Walter J. Paine of Beverly and built in 1898 in the Classical Revival style.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the finest local example of Classical Revival architecture from the late 19th century. It also anchors the western end of Essex Street, Salem's major commercial corridor, and reflects the YMCA's prominent community role when it was built. It is judged to meet criteria A and C.","narrative":"Brick and limestone make up the YMCA building at 284-296 Essex Street in Salem, designed by Walter J. Paine of Beverly and built in 1898. Its Classical Revival design includes a monumental entry, a pilastered facade and a frieze with swags. The ground floor is treated as an English basement holding storefronts and the central entrance frontispiece, with limestone trim. The building combined commercial space and a theater with the YMCA's recreational and residential facilities. The Salem YMCA was organized in 1858 and bought its first building on Central Street in 1884. The rooftop portico was removed in the late 1950s because of structural problems, and a rear addition was built for a pool. In 1979-1980 part of the upper floors became fourteen units of elderly housing. The building is regarded as Salem's finest local example of Classical Revival style, and it anchors the western end of Essex Street, the city's main commercial corridor.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Walter J. Paine of Beverly","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in institutional use as a YMCA. The rooftop granite portico/trellis was removed in the late 1950s and a rear brick addition now houses the indoor pool. Part of the upper floors was converted to elderly housing around 1979-1980.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.664153-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/63/7899/63789963/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000590.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000590/d1bfb15c89-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000590/d1bfb15c89-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Fletcher6","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salem_YMCA_(wide_view).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Fletcher6</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:Salem_YMCA_(wide_view).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789963","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YMCA_(Salem,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8045926"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/ymca-83000590/"}