{"nrhp_refnum":"84002811","name":"Reading Municipal Light and Power Station","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"226 Ash St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.51811930300005,"lon":-71.10086714899995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-07-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small hipped-roof brick municipal power station at 226 Ash Street in Reading, Massachusetts, completed in 1894 and designed by architect George E. Abbott. It began operating on September 26, 1895.","why_significant":"It is significant for its role in the electrification of Reading and as one of the town's few examples of Romanesque architecture. It reflects the town's decision, after a 1891 state act, to build its own municipal electric plant rather than buy a franchise.","narrative":"Reading's municipal light and power station on Ash Street is a small hipped-roof brick building with a slate roof, completed in 1894 and put into operation on September 26, 1895. It was designed by George E. Abbott, an architect who lived in Reading. Simple columns mark interior functions, while large windows with relieving arches and granite lintels form the main decoration, and the central door is faced in granite. The plant followed a 1891 Massachusetts act allowing cities and towns to build gas and electric plants. Reading formed study committees, chose to build rather than buy a franchise, voted a bond issue, and elected a Municipal Light and Power Board. The board built a larger building with more capable equipment than the $50,000 bond issue first covered. The plant first showed a profit on incandescent lighting in 1903 and by 1912 served North Reading, Lynnfield and Wakefield. It generated power until 1925 and now serves as an operating and switching center.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"George E. Abbott","architectural_style":"Romanesque","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Originally generated electricity until 1925; now used as an operating center and switching station. Alterations include removal of the stack, bricked-up windows (1978) and removal of railway sidings.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.043005-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/11/7922/63792211/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002811.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002811/8d780b0271-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002811/8d780b0271-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ReadingMA_ReadingMunicipalLightAndPowerStation.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ReadingMA_ReadingMunicipalLightAndPowerStation.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792211","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Municipal_Light_and_Power_Station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7300530"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/reading-municipal-light-and-power-station-84002811/"}