Moody Street Fire Station
Why it's listed
Moody Street Fire Station, at 533 Moody Street in Waltham, is a brick municipal building begun in 1890 and completed in 1892. Local architect Captain Samuel Patch designed it in an eclectic Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival manner, with W.N. Hanson as builder. It has a boxy rectangular block, tall paired corbelled chimneys, a pyramid-capped hose drying tower, recessed brick panels, and rock-faced granite lintels over three large garage doors. A plaque above the central second-floor window reads 1890 W.F.D. A fire on October 5, 1900 left only the brick walls standing, and the station reopened on June 30, 1901. It was part of the building program that followed Waltham's incorporation in 1884, which also produced schools and a police station. It is the better preserved of two identical stations modeled on Patch's earlier Lexington Street design, and it reflects the growth of the city's South Side.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is the more intact of two identically designed Waltham fire stations and an example of Queen Anne/Romanesque Revival municipal architecture. It is tied to the late 19th century municipal building program and the rapid growth of the South Side. It meets 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 89001541, listed September 28, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 533 Moody St., Waltham |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | September 28, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001541 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect Captain Samuel Patch; builder W.N. Hanson |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne / Romanesque Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Recorded as a present fire station in good condition with no major alterations; the interior was rebuilt after a 1900 fire. |
| Acreage | 0.2 |
| Coordinates | 42.36729, -71.23791 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
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 89001541.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14715720
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.