{"nrhp_refnum":"85001021","name":"Arlington Gaslight Company","other_names":["Gas Works"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Grove St. Town Yard","address_restricted":false,"city":"Arlington","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.42130741400007,"lon":-71.16873219699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-04-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of brick and concrete buildings at the Grove Street Town Yard in Arlington, Massachusetts, built in 1914 as the works of the Arlington Gas Light Company. The largest building is the former power station at the rear of the property.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the power station is a well-preserved Romanesque industrial building and one of Arlington's few industrial structures. It also marks the town's first gas company, which supplied gas for light and fuel to a growing community. The complex retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship.","narrative":"Grove Street Town Yard in Arlington, Massachusetts, began as the works of the Arlington Gas Light Company, the town's first gas company. The present buildings date from 1914 and were built after a 1913 fire on the site of the Welch and Griffith saw factory, dating from about 1830 and described as the first saw manufactory in the United States. The largest building, the former power station at the rear, is Romanesque in style, with corbelled brick decorating its cornices and smokestack. It is one of Arlington's few industrial buildings and is well preserved. The company made gas for light and fuel for an expanding community. A gas storage tank added in 1923 carried a large painted 'ARLINGTON' and a north-pointing arrow, described as New England's first marker for aerial navigation; the tower was taken down in 1975. The complex now serves as the town's Department of Public Works headquarters and was listed for its historical and architectural value.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Romanesque","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Now used as the headquarters of the Arlington Department of Public Works; a gas storage tower built in 1923 was demolished in 1975.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.857411-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/13/7922/63792213/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/85001021.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001021/d5bae287b5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001021/d5bae287b5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arlington_Gaslight_Company,_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:Arlington_Gaslight_Company,_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792213","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_Gaslight_Company","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4792318"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/arlington-gaslight-company-85001021/"}