{"nrhp_refnum":"87001774","name":"US Post Office-Middleborough Main","other_names":["Middleborough Main Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"90 Center St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Middleborough","county":"Plymouth County","state":"MA","lat":41.892661615000065,"lon":-70.91062941599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-10-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Classical Revival post office at 90 Center Street in Middleborough, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, built in 1932 on the former site of the Pierce Academy. It is a red brick building about 96 by 54 feet with a hipped roof.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the post office reflects the Federal building programs of the 1920s and 1930s, including the Public Works Act of 1926 as amended in 1931, which met postal space needs and created work for the construction trades during the Depression. It is also presented as a product of the Federal Government's effort to establish a strong local image, and as a good example of Classical Revival design that retains integrity.","narrative":"Built in 1932 at 90 Center Street, the Middleborough post office is a red brick Classical Revival building in the old commercial district, one block from the town's main intersection. It occupies the former site of the Pierce Academy, founded in 1808, which the Central Baptist Society sold to the Federal Government despite local opposition. Treasury architects designed it in 1931, with James A. Wetmore as acting Supervising Architect, and R. W. Smythe & Co. built it. The five-bay facade has a quoined central pavilion with arched, fanlighted openings, marble trim, Flemish bond brickwork and a marble-capped parapet. Inside, the lobby keeps its marble wainscoting and tile floor. The building was listed for its association with Depression-era Federal construction programs, which addressed postal space needs and gave work to the struggling local building trades, and for its architecture. Its monumental form contrasts with the colonial, Gothic and Victorian buildings around it.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"James A. Wetmore, Sup. Arch't. (Treasury Department); R. W. Smythe & Co., Contrs.","architectural_style":"Classical Revival (also described as Late Renaissance Revival)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Described as unaltered, with a very well maintained site; the lobby is unaltered except for newer fluorescent lighting and the entrance doors are newer aluminum. The form marks it 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 02:13:00.686156-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/95/7964/63796495/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/87001774.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001774/a37b982344-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001774/a37b982344-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Post_Office,_Middleborough_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</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:Post_Office,_Middleborough_MA.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"00000685","name":"Middleborough Center Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/middleborough-center-historic-district-00000685/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796495","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office%E2%80%93Middleborough_Main","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7891160"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/plymouth-county/us-post-office-middleborough-main-87001774/"}