{"nrhp_refnum":"89000729","name":"Flanley's Block","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"349--353 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wakefield","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.50442486900005,"lon":-71.07156389199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-07-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick commercial building at 349-353 Main Street in downtown Wakefield, Massachusetts, built about 1895 for furniture dealer John Flanley. It sits on a corner lot facing east.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a well-preserved example of a simplified Italian Renaissance commercial block that is basically Italianate but foreshadows 20th-century commercial design through geometric, abstract detailing. It also reflects the continuing expansion of Wakefield's downtown commercial district in the late 19th century. It meets criterion C at the local level.","narrative":"Flanley's Block is a three-story brick commercial building on a downtown corner lot at 349-353 Main Street in Wakefield. Built around 1895 by John Flanley, a Wakefield-born furniture dealer who had taken over an earlier firm in 1884, it housed his store selling furniture, bedding, carpets and wallpaper. In 1918 the Odd Fellows dedicated the building to their organization. The flat-roofed, trapezoidal structure was shaped to fit its lot. Above largely original storefronts, the north and east facades each have five bays with triple shallow recessed arches, arched double windows, brick medallions and a heavy cornice that emphasizes horizontal lines. Though basically Italianate, its geometric, planar detailing anticipates twentieth-century commercial design. The block also records the northward growth of Wakefield's commercial district during the 1890s. It was listed as a well-preserved local example of its type, and a two-story addition from the 1930s extends the west side.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Renaissance Revival (basically Italianate)","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Condition is described as good; present use is commercial. A two-story addition on the west was made in the 1930s.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.852345-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/31/7912/63791231/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89000729.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000729/0ab328f56c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000729/0ab328f56c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flanley%27s_Block,_Wakefield_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:Flanley%27s_Block,_Wakefield_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791231","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanley%27s_Block","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5457398"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/flanleys-block-89000729/"}