{"nrhp_refnum":"99001082","name":"Palmer Memorial Hall","other_names":["Palmer Senoir Center"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1029 Central St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Palmer","county":"Hampden County","state":"MA","lat":42.15653868600003,"lon":-72.32704192999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-09-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half-story Richardsonian Romanesque brick civic building at 1029 Central Street, Palmer, Massachusetts, built in 1890-91 as a Civil War memorial, library and veterans' meeting hall, designed by New York architect Robert H. Robertson.","why_significant":"It is locally significant under Criterion A for community development as the town's Civil War memorial and first permanent public library, and under Criterion C as a fine local example of the Romanesque style. It is relatively unaltered and retains its historic integrity. It also continued a local and regional trend of Romanesque memorial buildings.","narrative":"Built in 1890-91 at the corner of Central and Pleasant Streets in Palmer, Massachusetts, Memorial Hall honors local citizens who served in the Civil War. It housed the town's first permanent public library on the first floor and a meeting hall for the Grand Army of the Republic on the second. New York architect Robert H. Robertson designed it in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, with a massive double-arched entry, a hipped roof with cross gables, recessed arched windows and tall gable-end chimneys. Local brick, Monson granite and Longmeadow brownstone were used, with terra cotta trim. Inside, the library rooms and the G.A.R. hall keep their wainscoting, tiled fireplaces, pressed metal ceilings and original floors, and the stair is lined with marble tablets naming Civil War soldiers. The hall is now a senior center. It was listed for its role in the community's development and as a well-preserved local example of Romanesque architecture that followed other Romanesque buildings in the town and region.","period_of_significance":"1890-1949","architect_builder":"Robert H. Robertson; Flynt Building and Construction Company","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Romanesque","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The building is now used as a senior citizens' center, with the original library and G.A.R. hall layouts and decorative details intact.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.440461-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/33/7952/63795233/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/99001082.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001082/f10fa1d30d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001082/f10fa1d30d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Memorial_Hall,_Palmer_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Memorial_Hall,_Palmer_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795233","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmer_Memorial_Hall","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7128246"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampden-county/palmer-memorial-hall-99001082/"}