{"nrhp_refnum":"86001248","name":"US Post Office-Waltham Main","other_names":["Waltham Main Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"774 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Waltham","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.37596355100004,"lon":-71.24131883899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-05-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A red brick and limestone-trimmed post office at 774 Main Street, Waltham, Massachusetts, built in 1935 and dedicated March 14, 1936, from the office of the U.S. Supervising Architect with Boston architects Wadsworth, Hubbard & Smith.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building represents Public Works Administration construction and design policies of the Depression, emphasizing economy, standardization and functionalism. Its style blends simplified classicism with a streamlined modern approach, described as \"starved classicism\". Its form, local brick and six-area plan allowed an eight-month construction schedule. The reviewer accepted it under Criterion C as a relatively intact local example of the style.","narrative":"Waltham's main post office, at 774 Main Street, is a compact T-shaped building of red brick laid in English bond, with a granite base and limestone trim. Its cornerstone was laid on August 7, 1935, and it was dedicated on March 14, 1936. The design came from the office of Supervising Architect Louis A. Simon, with the Boston firm Wadsworth, Hubbard & Smith as local architects. The building reflects Public Works Administration policies of the Depression era, which favored economy, standardization and functionalism. Its simplified classical form, locally made brick, minimal ornament and six-area plan allowed construction in about eight months. Inside, a two-story public lobby has green marble wainscot and checkerboard terrazzo flooring. The original appropriation of $70,000 was later raised to $120,000, and construction provided jobs to Waltham residents during hard economic times. The building stands on a former stretch of the Old Boston Post Road, in an area now dominated by small retail businesses.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Wadsworth, Hubbard & Smith, Boston, Architects; Leighton & Mitchell Co., Boston, Builders; Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect","architectural_style":"Simplified classicism blended with a modern, streamlined approach (\"starved classicism\")","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Overall the building and its corner property are in good condition; the form marks the property as occupied and altered, with replacement aluminum and glass entrance doors.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:00.630281-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/92/7955/63795592/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001248.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001248/6cfdcc355c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001248/6cfdcc355c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tim Pierce","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Post_Office-Waltham_Main.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tim Pierce</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:US_Post_Office-Waltham_Main.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795592","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office%E2%80%93Waltham_Main","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7891178"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/us-post-office-waltham-main-86001248/"}