{"nrhp_refnum":"89001274","name":"Central Library","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"79 Highland Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Somerville","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.385865573000046,"lon":-71.09401797099997,"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 two-story yellow brick public library at 79 Highland Avenue on Central Hill in Somerville, Massachusetts, built in 1914 and designed by architect Edward Lippincott Tilton.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a finely proportioned Second Renaissance Revival building that shows the influence of McKim, Mead and White on its architect. Its 1914 construction was part of a 50-year municipal building program reflecting the city's rapid growth and its provision of urban amenities. It retains integrity and meets Criteria A and C at the local level.","narrative":"Central Library at 79 Highland Avenue is a two-story yellow brick public library built in 1914 on Central Hill in Somerville. Architect Edward L. Tilton, who had worked for McKim, Mead and White, gave it a Second Renaissance Revival design related to the Boston Public Library. The nine-bay building has a truncated hipped roof of green pan tiles, large round-arched second-story windows, terra cotta panels, and limestone surrounds, stringcourses and quoins. A shallow Doric-columned porch at the center entry supports an elaborate terracotta shield. The site once held the city's first engine house, a Victorian Gothic building of 1871 by Shepard S. Woodcock, which was demolished to make way for the library. Central Hill has long held civic and religious buildings. The library was part of a 50-year municipal building program that reflected Somerville's growth around 1900 and its concern for residents' amenities. It still serves as a library and keeps its original location, setting and materials, with some 1970s alterations.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Edward Lippincott Tilton","architectural_style":"Second Renaissance Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is a library; condition listed as excellent, with 1970s renovations including some entry and interior alterations.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.479023-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/97/7918/63791897/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89001274.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001274/8d37f0a0b5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001274/8d37f0a0b5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Mangostar","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Somerville_library_1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Mangostar</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:Somerville_library_1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791897","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Library_(Somerville,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5061361"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/central-library-89001274/"}