{"nrhp_refnum":"90001756","name":"Needham Town Hall Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Great Plain Ave. between Highland Ave. and Chapel St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Needham","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.28083500000005,"lon":-71.23643673517671,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-11-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A civic district of about one acre in the center of Needham, Massachusetts, made up of the brick Georgian Revival Town Hall (cornerstone laid 1902) and the adjoining Town Common, bounded by Great Plain Avenue, Highland Avenue and Chapel Street.","why_significant":"The district illustrates an early twentieth century civic center around which Needham's downtown commercial area developed, shaped by the arrival of the railroad. The Town Hall and Common together retain architectural and historical integrity. It meets Criteria A and C at the local level, with significance in architecture, community planning and development, and politics/government.","narrative":"Needham's civic center sits on about one acre where Great Plain Avenue, Highland Avenue and Chapel Street meet. It combines a large Georgian Revival Town Hall with the open Town Common to its south. The two-and-a-half-story brick hall has a granite foundation, slate roof, stone stringcourses, an arcaded entrance loggia, large round-headed second-story windows and a clock-bearing cupola. Winslow & Bigelow and builder Henry F. Bigelow are named, and the cornerstone was laid in 1902. The town bought the Common land, formerly part of the Davis farm, in 1884, and monuments and markers were added through 1930. The center shifted here after railroad lines crossed nearby in the 1850s, and the downtown commercial district grew around it. The hall still houses municipal offices, though the old second-floor assembly room has been divided into offices. A flagpole and memorial wall were added later. The district was recognized for its architecture and its role in the town's planning and government.","period_of_significance":"1884-1930","architect_builder":"Winslow & Bigelow; Bigelow, Henry F.","architectural_style":"Late 19th Century Revivals/Georgian Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The Town Hall and Common continue to serve as municipal offices and open space; the second-floor auditorium has been subdivided into offices.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.539459-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/7962/63796298/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90001756.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001756/af4126d435-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001756/af4126d435-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NeedhamMA_TownHall.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:NeedhamMA_TownHall.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796298","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needham_Town_Hall_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6986557"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/needham-town-hall-historic-district-90001756/"}