{"nrhp_refnum":"96000133","name":"Brocton Arch","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Jct. of Main St. with Lake and Highland Aves.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brocton","county":"Chautauqua County","state":"NY","lat":42.38869202700005,"lon":-79.44100059399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-02-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A double-span, four-way steel welcome arch over the intersection of Main Street (US Route 20), Lake Avenue and Highland Avenue in the village of Brocton, Chautauqua County, New York, erected in 1913.","why_significant":"The arch is significant under Criterion A in community planning as an intact example of an early twentieth-century welcome arch, built to commemorate the town of Portland's centennial and to promote the town. Under Criterion C in engineering, it is a rare example of structural steel construction and one of only two known extant double-span four-way street arches in the United States. It is also the only surviving street arch in Chautauqua County.","narrative":"Spanning the intersection of Main Street, Lake Avenue and Highland Avenue in Brocton, New York, this double-span steel arch rises about three stories and carries traffic from four directions beneath it. It was built in 1913 for the centennial of the town of Portland, whose celebrations were centered in Brocton. Lester Skinner is credited with the double-span idea, and a local contractor, E.J. Bailey Construction Company, prepared the plans and supervised erection. The beams carry the names Phoenix and Lackawanna, and the total cost was about $1,300, funded by the village and private donations. The arch is recognized as a welcome arch, a civic feature popular in small American towns from the 1910s to about 1940. It is one of only two known surviving double-span four-way street arches in the country and the only street arch left in Chautauqua County. Largely unchanged apart from a replaced town sign in 1946, it was rededicated in 1988.","period_of_significance":"1913","architect_builder":"various; designed by village board member Lester Skinner; plans and erection by E.J. Bailey Construction Company","architectural_style":"no style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Appears to be in fair condition, with vehicle damage at the northwest corner; still serves its original function and has been repainted its original green.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.626942-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/96000133.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000133/285f738f1c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000133/285f738f1c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from Upstate New York","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brocton_Arch_Nov_09.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr from Upstate New York</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brocton_Arch_Nov_09.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316755","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brocton_Arch","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4972917"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/chautauqua-county/brocton-arch-96000133/"}