{"nrhp_refnum":"89000581","name":"House at 70-72 Main Street","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"70--72 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Southbridge","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.07335995100004,"lon":-72.02824032399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-06-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-family Colonial Revival residence at 70-72 Main Street in Southbridge, Massachusetts, built between 1898 and 1904. It stands on a lot of 5,375 square feet and is clad in synthetic siding.","why_significant":"It is an example of multi-family housing built during the growth of the town's eastern section in the late 19th century. Its gambrel-end form, broad dormers and fine ornament set it apart from typical three-deckers. It may also relate to American Optical Company employee housing, though the form says too little is known to confirm this for the early years.","narrative":"Built between 1898 and 1904, this three-family house at 70-72 Main Street in Southbridge shows how multi-family housing was shaped as the town's eastern section grew. Its Colonial Revival design places the gambrel end toward the street, with a generous roof and broad dormers that create living space on the third floor. The profile reads more like a large single-family house than a typical three-decker, and fine stained ornament lifts it above ordinary working-class tenements. Through most of the 19th century this part of Main Street was a suburban estate district, later divided into smaller lots as the nearby American Optical Company factory prospered. The house and its neighbor to the east appear to have been built by company president George W. Wells. The house is known to have served as employee housing in the 1930s and 1940s, and it may have been built for that purpose. It remains a multi-family residence in good condition.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect unknown; apparently built by American Optical Company president George W. Wells","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Condition is good; present use is multi-family residential. A porch in the gable was closed in the mid-20th century.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.435639-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/49/7934/63793449/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89000581.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000581/53ec1e2817-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000581/53ec1e2817-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:70-72_Main_Street,_Southbridge_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:70-72_Main_Street,_Southbridge_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793449","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_at_70%E2%80%9372_Main_Street","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5914454"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/house-at-70-72-main-street-89000581/"}