{"nrhp_refnum":"83000758","name":"Olmsted-Hixon-Albion Block","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1645-1659 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Springfield","county":"Hampden County","state":"MA","lat":42.10436138400007,"lon":-72.59389712599994,"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 five-story brick commercial block at 1645-1659 Main Street in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, made up of three buildings erected in 1862, 1866 and 1875 and interconnected in 1927.","why_significant":"The block is presented as a major Main Street block and an excellent example of downtown Springfield's long history of building and rebuilding. Its parts date from 1862 to 1927, coinciding with the city's major period of significance. It is said to retain integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship, and meets criteria A and C.","narrative":"Three commercial buildings at 1645-1659 Main Street in Springfield were joined in 1927 to form a single five-story brick block, though the original divisions remain visible on the exterior. The southern section, three bays wide, carries delicate Adamesque motifs on its piers and spandrels. The central section, six bays wide, is plainer, with a paneled brick cornice and an oriel on the second and third floors. The northern section, two bays wide, has a bracketed cornice and quoined corners from the 1927 remodeling. The sections date from 1862, 1866 and 1875. John Hixon built one for his boot and shoe business, later used by William Birnie's paper company after a 1892 fire and rebuilding. John Olmsted, a leading businessman and street railway president, built another as offices and warehouse. The third began as a boarding house and became the Albion Block in 1877. Architect Wallace Dibble designed the consolidation, which added a fifth floor to the Albion Block. The block represents downtown Springfield's continual rebuilding.","period_of_significance":"1862-1927","architect_builder":"Wallace Dibble (1927 consolidation); Jason Perkins (1892 plans for the 1653-1655 section)","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is retail/office.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.30052-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/1/7903/63790301/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000758.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000758/f8392507d2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000758/f8392507d2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olmsted-Hixon-Albion_Block,_Springfield_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</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:Olmsted-Hixon-Albion_Block,_Springfield_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790301","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olmsted-Hixon-Albion_Block","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7088430"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampden-county/olmsted-hixon-albion-block-83000758/"}