{"nrhp_refnum":"83000777","name":"Wells Block","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"250-264 Worthington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Springfield","county":"Hampden County","state":"MA","lat":42.105237153000076,"lon":-72.59271510899998,"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 four-story Italianate mixed-use commercial and residential brick building at 250-264 Worthington Street, facing Stearns Square in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. It was built in 1876 for Abner B. Abbey; the architect is unknown.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship. Its combined commercial and residential use reflects the transition downtown was undergoing in 1876, and it is a well-preserved example of the local commercial Italianate style. It is also described as the remaining example of its building type, tied to the North Blocks development east of Main Street.","narrative":"Built in 1876 for Abner B. Abbey on the site of his former lumber yard, this four-story Italianate building at 250-264 Worthington Street combined two ground-floor storefronts with tenement housing above. Financial problems led to its sale at public auction to Jerome Wells in 1877. The upper floors later became a boarding house and, in 1916, the Avon Hotel, until a 1946 fire destroyed most of the interior. The red brick south facade has a decorative metal cornice, metal eyebrow window heads and brownstone sills, and the building retains its original appearance above the first floor. The storefronts housed trade and service businesses, including frame makers and a Grand Union Tea Company store, which supported the North Blocks district as commerce and manufacturing moved east of Main Street toward the railroad. The building is considered notable for its scale, detail and quality of workmanship, and as a surviving example of its type.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Upper floors have been essentially unoccupied since a 1946 fire; the building was restored in 1981 and its present use is commercial.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.66685-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/21/7903/63790321/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000777.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000777/830fce4c8e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000777/830fce4c8e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wells_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:Wells_Block,_Springfield_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63790321","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Block","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7981627"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampden-county/wells-block-83000777/"}