{"nrhp_refnum":"86001247","name":"US Post Office-Somerville Main","other_names":["Somerville Main Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"237 Washington St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Somerville","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.37975000200004,"lon":-71.09357163399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-05-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick Colonial Revival post office at 237 Washington Street in Somerville, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, near the foot of Prospect Hill. It was built in 1935-1936 with groundbreaking on September 3, 1935 and dedication on May 16, 1936.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building reflects 1930s Public Works Administration policy of modest, practical post offices, with a compact form, brick facing and a standardized plan. The Colonial Revival style was probably chosen to recall a nearby Revolutionary War skirmish, and local brick was used to support the local economy. It also holds a mural by Ross Moffitt in the lobby.","narrative":"Built in 1935-1936 at 237 Washington Street, Somerville's main post office sits at the foot of Prospect Hill in Union Square. It is a steel-framed building faced in Flemish-bond brick, with a granite base, limestone quoins, a slate hipped roof and a projecting entrance bay topped by a broken pediment. Inside, a two-story lobby has a coffered plaster ceiling, terrazzo floor and white marble wainscot, and a large canvas mural depicts a skirmish between British troops and colonists near Somerville. The design reflects Public Works Administration efforts to provide modest, practical post offices, and the Colonial Revival style probably nods to a Revolutionary War skirmish near the site. Local brick was chosen to help the local economy. Louis A. Simon was supervising architect and Maurice P. Meade the local architect. Congressman Arthur D. Healy secured funding of $203,000, and construction employed more than 150 men.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect; Maurice P. Meade, Architect; Edmund J. Rappoli, Contractor","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as occupied, in use as a government post office, with the building and grounds in very good condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.401735-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/40/7956/63795640/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001247.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001247/202ceadae0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001247/202ceadae0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Swampyank me","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_square_post_office.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Swampyank me</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_square_post_office.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795640","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office%E2%80%93Somerville_Main","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7891173"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/us-post-office-somerville-main-86001247/"}