{"nrhp_refnum":"86002243","name":"US Post Office-Williamstown Main","other_names":["Williamstown Main Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"56 Spring St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Williamstown","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.71070289100004,"lon":-73.20355321999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-07-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick post office building at 63 Spring Street (later recorded as 56 Spring Street) in Williamstown, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, constructed in 1932 under Acting Supervising Architect James A. Wetmore.","why_significant":"Built in the early years of the Depression when post office construction increased, the building is unusual for the attention given to its exterior. Its abundant architectural detail on a standard plan makes it an important building in the community. It also serves as a common place of business and interaction for the town and its diverse college community.","narrative":"Built in 1932, this post office on Spring Street in Williamstown sits in the town's commercial section, among two and three story buildings from the mid to late 19th century. The building is brick laid in Flemish bond on a granite base with a marble stringcourse. Broad granite steps lead to a pedimented portico whose columns are each cut from a single piece of veined marble. Marble also appears in the window trim, the entrance surround and the parapet rail. Inside, the lobby keeps its quarry tile floor with marble borders, grey veined marble wainscot, classical cornice and marble basement staircase with wrought iron balusters. Only the vestibule, entrance doors and ceiling lights are new. The building was constructed as post office construction expanded during the early Depression years. It was recognized for the unusual amount of architectural detail applied to a standard plan, and for its role as a daily meeting place for the town and its college community.","period_of_significance":"1932","architect_builder":"James A. Wetmore, Acting Supervising Architect","architectural_style":"Georgian style (Neo-Georgian) Federal architecture, per reviewer comments","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in excellent or good condition and still in public use as a post office; the lobby remains largely original apart from a new vestibule, entrance doors and light fixtures.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:00.952519-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/70/7941/63794170/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86002243.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002243/6ef237537f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002243/6ef237537f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Post_Office,_Williamstown_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:US_Post_Office,_Williamstown_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794170","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office%E2%80%93Williamstown_Main","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7891182"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/us-post-office-williamstown-main-86002243/"}