{"nrhp_refnum":"83000749","name":"Guenther & Handel's Block","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"7--9 Stockbridge St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Springfield","county":"Hampden County","state":"MA","lat":42.100773176000075,"lon":-72.58599115899995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-02-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story, four-bay brick commercial block at 7-9 Stockbridge Street in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, built in 1845 for Elam Stockbridge in vernacular Greek Revival style.","why_significant":"The block is one of only two remaining mid-nineteenth century commercial buildings in the area that keep their early form and features, and it is a rare representative of downtown Springfield's early commercial development. It is also a relatively intact local example of Greek Revival architecture. It has a long record of continuous commercial use, most notably as the home of the Guenther & Handel grocery.","narrative":"Built in 1845 at 7-9 Stockbridge Street, this three-story brick block in downtown Springfield has four bays, a large period storefront on the ground floor and a doorway with a broad stone lintel at the east end. Upper windows have plain stone lintels and sills, and a simple brick dentil band forms the cornice. Elam Stockbridge laid out the street in 1839 and then built a series of similar stores and rooms, keeping ownership and leasing to tenants such as a bootmaker in 1858. The ground floor later housed a grocery and delicatessen. In 1913 Emil Guenther and Richard Handel, who had come from Fitchburg, founded Guenther and Handel Co., known for fancy imported groceries. The shop stayed in family hands until 1972 and moved in 1973. Most neighboring blocks of the period were demolished or altered, so this building is one of only two mid-century commercial survivors to retain its early form. A 1977 renovation to offices preserved the facade's character.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival (vernacular)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Sensitively renovated to offices in 1977; present use is offices.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.752125-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/15/7903/63790315/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000749.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000749/c08476946f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000749/c08476946f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"TM01001","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guenther_%26_Handel%27s_Block_-_Springfield,_MA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">TM01001</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:Guenther_%26_Handel%27s_Block_-_Springfield,_MA.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790315","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guenther_%26_Handel%27s_Block","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5614836"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampden-county/guenther-and-handels-block-83000749/"}