{"nrhp_refnum":"86001913","name":"Second Brazer Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"25--29 State St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.35843291300006,"lon":-71.05734688799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-07-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An eleven-story steel-frame Beaux Arts office building at 25-29 State Street in Boston, Massachusetts, built in 1896 and designed by Cass Gilbert. It is clad in limestone and terra cotta.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is an intact, early steel-frame skyscraper and a fine example of architectural terra cotta. It is Boston's only work by Cass Gilbert, an architect of national significance. It has long been associated with the city's financial community.","narrative":"Rising eleven stories at 25-29 State Street in Boston's financial district, this 1896 office building was designed by Cass Gilbert and is his only work in the city. Its steel frame is clad in limestone on the lower floors and glazed terra cotta above, topped by an ornate cap with eagles and iron cresting. The building was one of Boston's earliest steel-framed skyscrapers, following the Winthrop and Worthington buildings, and it reflects the influence of New York's American Surety Building. It is regarded as one of the city's finest uses of architectural terra cotta, supplied by a Chicago firm. The site once held Boston's first meeting house and later an 1842 granite building by Isaiah Rogers. From the start the building housed brokers, bankers and bond traders. Today shops and a bank occupy the ground floor, offices fill the upper stories, and masonry stabilization is under way.","period_of_significance":"1896","architect_builder":"Cass Gilbert; contractor George A. Fuller Company; terra cotta by Northwestern Terra Cotta Company","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Ground floor houses a savings bank, a liquor store and a snack bar, with offices above; masonry stabilization under way and exterior restoration planned.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.675132-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/70/7966/63796670/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001913.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001913/952b0a21ae-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001913/952b0a21ae-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pmcyclist","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Second_Brazer_Building_2009.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Pmcyclist</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Second_Brazer_Building_2009.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796670","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Brazer_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7443136"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/second-brazer-building-86001913/"}