{"nrhp_refnum":"83003983","name":"United States Whip Company Complex","other_names":["United States Line Company Complex"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"24 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Westfield","county":"Hampden County","state":"MA","lat":42.12009174700003,"lon":-72.74779213685986,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-11-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Transportation","Architecture","Invention"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of seven masonry industrial buildings on the north side of Main Street in downtown Westfield, Massachusetts, built between 1855 and 1912 for the American Whip Company and its successor, the United States Whip Company.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is nationally significant in industry and invention, and indirectly transportation, as the home of the world's largest carriage whip manufacturer between 1855 and 1926. The company and its predecessors contributed to the design of driving whips and to the machinery used to make them. The form cites criteria A, B and C.","narrative":"Seven brick buildings along Main Street in Westfield, Massachusetts, make up the former United States Whip Company complex, built between 1855 and 1912. The oldest, Building One, dates to about 1855 and housed the principal whip-making machinery for the American Whip Company. It is a three-and-a-half-story Italianate mill with brick corbelling and an engaged tower. Later additions included an 1891 office and manufacturing wing, a boiler house, and storage and warehouse buildings. The company was incorporated in 1892 through the consolidation of the American Whip Company and several smaller local firms. Westfield was known as the Whip City of the World, and this firm was described as the largest and leading maker of carriage driving whips from 1855 to 1926. The complex is tied to patents and machines that shaped the industry. Alterations include a 1927 theater and storefront changes, and in 1982-83 the interiors were converted to apartments, with two new buildings added. Building Four and the courtyard infill building are considered non-contributing.","period_of_significance":"1855-1926","architect_builder":"American Whip Company; United States Whip Company; United States Line Company","architectural_style":"Italianate (simple ornamentation on Building Number One); utilitarian mill construction","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Interiors were adaptively reused as residential apartments in 1982-83 under a certified rehabilitation; two new non-contributing buildings were added in 1982-83, and Building Four is non-contributing.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.827527-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/95/7952/63795295/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83003983.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003983/c75eef56e8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003983/c75eef56e8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:24_Main_Street,_Westfield_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:24_Main_Street,_Westfield_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795295","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Whip_Company_Complex","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7892298"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampden-county/united-states-whip-company-complex-83003983/"}