Concord Square Historic District
Why it's listed
Concord Square is the downtown core of South Framingham, Massachusetts, a cluster of twenty commercial, civic and institutional buildings arranged around a small U-shaped common and the wide junction of Union Avenue and Concord Street. Most are two- to four-story masonry buildings from 1890 to 1930, designed in Classical Revival styles. Its growth followed the arrival of the Boston and Worcester railroad in 1834, which shifted activity from Framingham Center to South Framingham. Notable buildings include the 1855 Park Street Baptist Church, the Barber Straw Shop, the Concord Block by Peabody and Stearns, the 1898 Hotel Kendall, the 1927 Memorial Building with its Ionic portico, two banks by Thomas M. James, and the 1930 post office. Together they show how the village became the town's business and government center, and how a small urban commercial district was built over about forty years. Storefronts have been altered, but upper stories largely survive.
Significance in brief: The district is tied to the growth of South Framingham as the town's commercial and civic center after the railroad arrived in 1834. It also represents late 19th and early 20th century commercial architecture of smaller urban communities, mainly in Classical Revival styles. The form cites Criteria A and C.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 83000794, listed March 10, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Park, Concord, and Kendall Sts., and Union Ave., Framingham |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | March 10, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83000794 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1855-1940 |
| Architect / builder | Alexander Esty, Peabody & Stearns, E.W. Norton, Thomas M. James, James A. Wetmore; also Ashton, Huntress and Alter, Charles M. Baker, and builders John Prindiville and A. Fales & Co. |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival / Neo-Classical Revival, with Romanesque Revival, Georgian Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival influences |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition rated excellent to good and altered. Ground-floor storefronts on all commercial buildings have been altered, while upper stories are largely unchanged. The Barber Straw Shop was being rehabilitated and a rehabilitation of the Old Post Office was planned. |
| Acreage | 14 |
| Coordinates | 42.27788, -71.41735 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 83000794.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5158863
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.