{"nrhp_refnum":"83000761","name":"Produce Exchange Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"194-206 Chestnut and 115-125 Lyman St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Springfield","county":"Hampden County","state":"MA","lat":42.107186383000055,"lon":-72.59119006499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-02-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story, L-shaped brick commercial block at 194-206 Chestnut Street and 115-125 Lyman Street in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, built in 1899 for Andrew Whitney.","why_significant":"The building is argued to meet criterion A for its role as the city's center of the wholesale produce and fruit trade, first called the Produce Exchange Building in 1908. Its location beside the railroad freight yards suited the grocery trade, which relied on rail service. It is also described as one of the largest and most intact blocks of its period downtown.","narrative":"Occupying a busy corner at Chestnut and Lyman Streets in downtown Springfield, this four-story L-shaped block of red brick was built in 1899 for Andrew Whitney. Yellow trim sets it apart, including the storefronts, beltcourses and a wide diamond-patterned entablature. Most of that look dates from 1925 and 1926, when about $15,000 was spent rebuilding the Chestnut and Lyman Street facades. By 1908 the building was being called the Produce Exchange Building, and it served as a center of the wholesale produce and fruit business, with many firms operating here over the years. The site beside the railroad freight yards and warehouses suited that trade, since the grocery business depended on regular rail service well into the twentieth century. The building is listed for its role in the city's commercial history and remains one of the largest and most intact blocks of its period downtown. It is still in commercial use.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"20th century Commercial Facade","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Present use is commercial; the facades were rebuilt in 1926 and the building is described as retaining integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:58.000964-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/68/7902/63790268/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000761.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000761/d1ddffe141-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000761/d1ddffe141-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Produce_Exchange_Building,_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:Produce_Exchange_Building,_Springfield_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790268","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Produce_Exchange_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7247682"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampden-county/produce-exchange-building-83000761/"}