{"nrhp_refnum":"85001120","name":"Swampscott Fish House","other_names":["Fish House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Humphrey St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Swampscott","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.467705471000045,"lon":-70.90967189399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-05-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1 1/2-story Shingle style municipal fish house on Humphrey Street in Swampscott, Massachusetts, built in 1896 beside Blaney (Fishermen's) Beach and designed by Henry W. Rogers of Lynn.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the only known municipally built fish house in Massachusetts and has been in continuous use as a commercial fish house. It also reflects Swampscott's long fishing industry. Its Colonial Revival and Shingle style design echoes the high-style summer cottages of the resort era.","narrative":"Built in 1896 on Humphrey Street beside Blaney Beach, also called Fishermen's Beach, this large shingled building was erected by the Town of Swampscott to replace a scatter of small, informal fish houses that residents considered eyesores. Henry W. Rogers of Lynn designed it with a symmetrical Colonial Revival form, a two-story central pavilion and a skin of wood shingles, so that it resembled the summer houses of the resort era. Inside, sixteen rental lockers on the ground floor served fishermen, with a meeting room and common storage above and a sail loft on the top level. The nomination calls it the only known municipally built fish house in Massachusetts. It has been used continuously by the local fleet, now chiefly lobstermen. Later changes include a 1930 south dormer, new roofing in 1972 and a dark red stain applied since 1961. The town has funded repairs and restoration.","period_of_significance":"1896","architect_builder":"Henry W. Rogers (architect); Peleg Gardner (principal contractor)","architectural_style":"Shingle style with Colonial Revival influences","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"In continuous use since construction; all sixteen lockers rented in 1985, and town funds were appropriated for repair and restoration. Condition listed as fair and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.463026-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/84/7947/63794784/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/85001120.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001120/d228b0bf12-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001120/d228b0bf12-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Swampscott_Fish_House,_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:Swampscott_Fish_House,_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794784","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swampscott_Fish_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7653392"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/swampscott-fish-house-85001120/"}