{"nrhp_refnum":"83000747","name":"Fitzgerald's Stearns Square Block","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"300-308 Bridge St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Springfield","county":"Hampden County","state":"MA","lat":42.10421435000006,"lon":-72.59118167299994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-02-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick commercial block at 300-308 Bridge Street on Stearns Square in downtown Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, built in 1871 for developer Patrick Fitzgerald and designed by Perkins and Gardner.","why_significant":"The nomination cites Criteria B and C. The block is tied to local developer Patrick Fitzgerald and is an important early work of architect E.C. Gardner. It is the earliest known commercial design by Perkins and Gardner and the only surviving example of Fitzgerald's five downtown blocks. It is also one of the few remaining early Panel Brick commercial blocks downtown.","narrative":"Built in 1871 at 300-308 Bridge Street on Stearns Square, this three-story brick block in downtown Springfield was commissioned by real estate developer Patrick Fitzgerald. Perkins and Gardner designed it in an Italianate, Panel Brick manner, with decorative brickwork forming window hoods and cornice details. Originally the upper floors held ten tenements above commercial space. Fitzgerald built five such blocks downtown in the early 1870s, and this is the only one that survives with its integrity intact. It is also the earliest known commercial work by Perkins and Gardner, whose E.C. Gardner later became the city's most prominent and prolific nineteenth-century architect. The building reflects the first phase of post-Civil War commercial growth, when downtown streets shifted from residential to commercial use. Mid-twentieth-century storefronts and newer signs have changed the ground level, but the upper masonry piers and lintels remain. It was listed for its association with Fitzgerald and its architectural importance.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Perkins and Gardner (architect)","architectural_style":"Italianate/Panel Brick","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Present use is commercial. Storefronts were altered in the mid 20th century, and newer signage has been attached without damage to the historic fabric beneath it.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.639921-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/91/7902/63790291/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000747.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000747/01be435277-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000747/01be435277-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FitzgeraldStearnsBlock.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FitzgeraldStearnsBlock.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790291","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitzgerald%27s_Stearns_Square_Block","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5455584"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampden-county/fitzgeralds-stearns-square-block-83000747/"}