{"nrhp_refnum":"89001248","name":"West Somerville Branch Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"40 College Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Somerville","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.39803920700007,"lon":-71.12248940699999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-09-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small granite branch library at 40 College Avenue near Davis Square in West Somerville, Massachusetts, built in 1909 to designs by McLean and Wright of Boston.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it Somerville's most intact example of the Neo-classical style, with its design, materials and workmanship still preserved. It is also tied to the city's municipal building program and the rapid growth of Somerville at the turn of the century. It is significant at the local level.","narrative":"Built in 1909 at 40 College Avenue, this small granite library serves the Davis Square area of West Somerville and continues to operate as a library. Boston architects McLean and Wright designed it in the Neo-classical style. The building is one and a half stories tall and three bays wide, faced in smooth-cut granite and capped by a shallow hipped roof. Its entrance portico has a triangular pediment carried by Ionic columns and broad pilasters, finished with urns and acroteria, and a modillioned cornice wraps around the structure. The branch began in a store in Davis Square and opened in its own building during the tenure of librarian Samuel Walter Foss, a poet known for \"The House By the Side of the Road.\" Funding came from a $25,000 Carnegie gift plus city appropriations. It was listed for its association with Somerville's municipal building program and growth, and as the city's best-preserved Neo-classical example, since similar buildings elsewhere in the city have been altered.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"McLean and Wright, Boston","architectural_style":"Neoclassical","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as a library; condition described as excellent with no major alterations.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:12:59.751377-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/5/7918/63791805/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89001248.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001248/30ab61e059-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001248/30ab61e059-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SomervilleMA_WestSomervilleBranchLibrary.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SomervilleMA_WestSomervilleBranchLibrary.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791805","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Somerville_Branch_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7986557"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/west-somerville-branch-library-89001248/"}