{"nrhp_refnum":"85002015","name":"Building at 138-142 Portland Street","other_names":["85 Merrimac St."],"category":"building","location":{"address":"138--142 Portland St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.36421216200006,"lon":-71.06148224399993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-09-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-story brick commercial building with Beaux-Arts ornamentation at 138-142 Portland Street (also 85 Merrimac Street) in Boston's Bulfinch Triangle, near North Station, completed in 1896.","why_significant":"The nomination cites Criterion A because the building housed the Boston branch of the National Casket Company during the formative years of that nationally important firm. It cites Criterion C because the building is an excellent, early example of commercial Beaux-Arts design and one of only two such buildings in the North Station area.","narrative":"Standing at the junction of Portland, Traverse and Merrimac Streets in Boston's Bulfinch Triangle, this five-story brick building was completed in 1896 to designs by architect Stephen R. H. Codman. Its trapezoidal plan, rounded corners, bracketed cornice, ox-eye windows, carved cartouches and ornamented brick spandrels set it apart from the plainer woodworking and furniture buildings nearby. It was listed for two reasons. First, it was the Boston branch home of the National Casket Company, which moved in soon after completion and used the second-floor sales room and upper-floor storage. The branch grew into New England's largest casket supplier, and its manager, P.B. Heintz, later became company president. Second, the building is an early, excellent example of commercial Beaux-Arts design, one of only two in the North Station area. A 1950s aluminum facade was removed during a 1983-84 rehabilitation, and most original exterior fabric survives.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 and 1900- (specific date 1896)","architect_builder":"Stephen R. H. Codman","architectural_style":"Beaux-Arts","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Rehabilitated and restored in 1983-84 with tax-incentive funding; upper floors serve as offices and the ground floor is commercial. The form lists the property as occupied.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.302941-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/46/7967/63796746/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/85002015.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002015/cb4d43506d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002015/cb4d43506d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Marcbela","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:138_Portland_Street_Boston.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Marcbela</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:138_Portland_Street_Boston.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"86000274","name":"Bulfinch Triangle Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/bulfinch-triangle-historic-district-86000274/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796746","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_at_138%E2%80%93142_Portland_Street","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4986541"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/building-at-138-142-portland-street-85002015/"}