{"nrhp_refnum":"84002810","name":"Reading Municipal Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"49 Pleasant St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.52387020000003,"lon":-71.10154701999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick, brownstone, wood and granite municipal building at 49 Pleasant Street in Reading, Massachusetts, built in 1883 to a design by Horace G. Wadlin. It originally held town offices, the fire department and a jail.","why_significant":"It was the first building Reading erected to house its official business, and it records the development of town government and the fire department. Its eclectic design by local architect Horace Wadlin combines Renaissance Revival, Italianate, Romanesque, Queen Anne and Stick style elements. The most notable feature is a Stick/Queen Anne tower.","narrative":"Built in 1883 at 49 Pleasant Street, this brick building was the first one Reading put up specifically to house its official business. Before that, the town had rented space from a private owner in 1864-65. It combined town offices, a jail and a fire station. By 1918 the town needed more room and built a new Town Hall facing the Common, and the Fire Department kept this building, which still serves as a fire station. Architect Horace G. Wadlin, a local man, mixed several styles. The main block is Renaissance Revival, with corbeled brick cornices and belt courses, while the window details recall Italianate and Queen Anne work. The original round-arched west doorways had a Romanesque character before the 1940s changed them into two flat-arched openings. The standout feature is the Stick style and Queen Anne tower, with fish-scale shingles, decorative stickwork and a high gable roof with an ornate weathervane. It was listed for its role in local government and for its design.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Horace G. Wadlin","architectural_style":"Renaissance Revival and Stick","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is as a fire station; the Fire Department retains the building. The engine entrance was remodeled in the 1940s.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.288115-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/68/7918/63791868/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002810.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002810/541b8946e5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002810/541b8946e5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reading_Municipal_Building,_Reading_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reading_Municipal_Building,_Reading_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791868","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Municipal_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7300529"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/reading-municipal-building-84002810/"}