{"nrhp_refnum":"97000470","name":"Union Hall","other_names":["Truro Town Hall"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"24 Town Hall Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Truro","county":"Barnstable County","state":"MA","lat":41.998302025000044,"lon":-70.05352645799996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-05-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Union Hall, later Truro Town Hall, is a two-and-one-half-story Greek Revival meetinghouse-style building on Great Hill in Truro, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, built in 1848 and owned by the Town.","why_significant":"The building is a well-preserved example of mid-19th-century Greek Revival civic architecture and relates visually to the 1827 Congregational Church nearby. It reflects the social, economic and civic life of Truro, from its origin as a fraternal meeting hall to its long use for town government and community events.","narrative":"Union Hall, later known as Truro Town Hall, sits atop Great Hill in Truro near the end of Cape Cod, visible from both the Atlantic side and Cape Cod Bay. Built in 1848, it is a symmetrical Greek Revival building in the meetinghouse style, with a gable-front facade, corner pilasters, a full pediment and an octagonal tower straddling the ridge. Inside, a second-floor meeting room keeps its barrel-vaulted ceiling carried by timber scissor trusses. Five local men bought the land in 1848 and sold shares in the Union Hall Association to create a home for fraternal societies. The Town rented space from 1850 and bought the building between 1867 and 1879. Over time it held town offices, shoe, hat and shirt manufacturing, a library, dances, plays and lectures. The property was listed for its architecture and for its role in the town's civic and social life, with a period of significance from 1848 to 1946.","period_of_significance":"1848-1946","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Mid 19th Century: Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Continues to serve as a community resource and local meeting location; current functions include meeting hall, city hall and auditorium.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:05.066444-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/13/7940/63794013/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/97000470.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000470/3a14df60ea-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000470/3a14df60ea-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Ktr101","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Truro_Town_Hall,_March_2014.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Ktr101</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:Truro_Town_Hall,_March_2014.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794013","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truro_Town_Hall","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7885732"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/barnstable-county/union-hall-97000470/"}