{"nrhp_refnum":"83004097","name":"Codman Building","other_names":["10 Liberty Square Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"55 Kilby St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.357785345000025,"lon":-71.05579582399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-10-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 6-story red brick commercial building at 55 Kilby Street (10 Liberty Square) in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, designed by John Hubbard Sturgis and Charles Brigham and built in 1873-74, with two upper floors added later.","why_significant":"The final nomination argues the building meets criterion C as an early example of the work of the Boston firm Sturgis and Brigham and as one of only two commercial buildings by the firm still standing in Boston. It argues that the added upper floors were probably designed by the same firm. It also describes the building as a transitional design between the firm's restrained classical work and its High Victorian Gothic work.","narrative":"Located at Liberty Square in downtown Boston, 55 Kilby Street is a six-story, flat-roofed commercial building faced in pressed red brick with tan freestone trim and a granite foundation. It was designed by John Hubbard Sturgis and Charles Brigham and built in 1873-74 for the Codman family, with T.J. Whidden as builder. The original four-story structure gained two more floors in the 1880s, and the nomination argues the addition was probably by the same firm. Details include Tudor-arched entrances, carved stone lintels, brick corbelling, and carved stone drain pipe supports. Inside, some oak panelling, eight fireplace mantels, and a brick vault on each floor remain. The nomination presents it as one of only two surviving commercial buildings by Sturgis and Brigham in Boston and as a transitional work between their classical and High Victorian Gothic designs. It also notes the building's place in Liberty Square, a site tied to Boston's commercial and political history.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"John Hubbard Sturgis & Charles Brigham; Builder: T.J. Whidden","architectural_style":"High Victorian Gothic and Romanesque Revival elements combined (earlier draft); Gothic ornamentation on a classically proportioned form (final draft)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The building is occupied and in commercial use. The nomination states that it was recently rehabilitated and that surviving interior features were retained.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.499305-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/87/7966/63796687/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83004097.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83004097/f40a71e393-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83004097/f40a71e393-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:10_Liberty_Square.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:10_Liberty_Square.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796687","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codman_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5140310"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/codman-building-83004097/"}