{"nrhp_refnum":"98000993","name":"Carreau Block","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"640-642 Chicopee St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicopee","county":"Hampden County","state":"MA","lat":42.184958606000066,"lon":-72.61100351799996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-08-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story, L-shaped brick apartment block at 640-642 Chicopee Street in the Willimansett neighborhood of Chicopee, Massachusetts, built about 1911-1912 by the contracting firm Louis Carreau & Son.","why_significant":"It represents the growth of Willimansett after the 1893 Chicopee-Holyoke bridge and streetcar lines brought industrial workers needing housing, and it reflects the French Canadian immigrant builders and tenants of the area. It is also one of the most intact and best-articulated Classical Revival apartment blocks on Chicopee Street. It is the only known surviving project in Chicopee by its builders.","narrative":"Three stories of reddish-brown brick make up this L-shaped apartment block on Chicopee Street in Chicopee's Willimansett neighborhood. Built around 1911-1912 by Louis Carreau & Son, it is the largest and most imposing of several brick apartment blocks along the corridor. Paired bow windows, fluted pilasters at the entrances, scrolled door hoods, and bands of yellow brick and concrete give both street facades a Classical Revival character. It mattered to its neighborhood for two reasons. Willimansett grew rapidly after the 1893 bridge to Holyoke and the 1895 streetcar lines, and the block reflects the multifamily housing built for factory workers. Its builders, French Canadian immigrants, and many of its early tenants belonged to the community that shaped the area. Interior changes around 1960 split the large corner apartments, producing 18 units, but the exterior remains well preserved. It is also the only known surviving Chicopee work of its builders.","period_of_significance":"1911-1948","architect_builder":"Louis Carreau & Son","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as multiple dwellings (18 units after interior alterations around 1960); the main facades are largely unaltered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.841605-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/39/7952/63795239/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/98000993.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000993/2e9f0488cb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000993/2e9f0488cb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carreau_Block,_Chicopee_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</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:Carreau_Block,_Chicopee_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795239","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carreau_Block","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5046046"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampden-county/carreau-block-98000993/"}