{"nrhp_refnum":"83000775","name":"Walker Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1228-1244 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Springfield","county":"Hampden County","state":"MA","lat":42.10098872400005,"lon":-72.58767596999996,"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 commercial building at 1228-1244 Main Street in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, built in 1890 for T.M. Walker and designed by the Worcester firm of Fuller & Delano.","why_significant":"It is cited as one of the best downtown examples of the Richardsonian Romanesque style, even though its top floor has been removed. It also represents the intensive commercial development of downtown Springfield around the turn of the century, led by enterprising local merchants.","narrative":"Built in 1890 at a cost of $75,000, this brick commercial block at 1228-1244 Main Street in Springfield was designed by the Worcester firm of Fuller and Delano for local merchant T.M. Walker. It replaced the old Exchange Hotel, built in 1820 as the city's first brick hotel. The building was planned with four shops at street level and 14 offices on each upper floor. Its facade combines Springfield brick with ornamental freestone trim at windows, piers and spandrels, a typical treatment of the Richardsonian Romanesque style, which was popular in the late nineteenth century. Although the fifth story was later removed, most of the original surface treatment remains, and the building fits well with its neighbors in scale, massing and materials. Walker, who arrived in Springfield in 1842, built a leading woodwork and builder's supply company. His block reflects how local businessmen shaped downtown growth in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The building is still in commercial use.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Fuller & Delano (Worcester)","architectural_style":"Richardsonian Romanesque","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is commercial; the top (fifth) floor has been removed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.203515-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/31/7903/63790331/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000775.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000775/0ae27e1cf0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000775/0ae27e1cf0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walker_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:Walker_Building,_Springfield_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790331","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_Building_(Springfield,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7962228"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampden-county/walker-building-83000775/"}