Fay Street Historic District
Why it's listed
Two three-decker houses at 4 and 6 Fay Street in Worcester form a tiny district of about a quarter acre, along with a modern garage. Built around 1896, both are Queen Anne style, with hip roofs, side-hall plans, end-bay entries under projecting porches with turned posts and brackets, and three-story bay windows. They are clad in clapboard with shingle bands and retain their 2/2 sash windows. The houses were part of the northward spread of three-decker building into the Wall Street area, where workers from the Graton and Knight leather belt company, railyards, warehouses, and meat packing plants lived. The neighborhood began with Irish and French-Canadian families and later became a focus of the city's Syrian and Lebanese communities. Contractor James A. McDermott probably built the pair and owned them through 1910. The district was recognized as a well-preserved, representative example of local three-decker design and of working-class neighborhood development.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the pair is a representative and unusually well-preserved example of late 19th century three-decker construction in the Wall Street area of Grafton Hill. The area housed Irish, French-Canadian, and later Syrian factory and railyard workers. It is considered among the best surviving late 19th century examples in the neighborhood, meeting criteria A and C at the local level.
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 89002372, listed February 9, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 4--6 Fay St., Worcester |
|---|---|
| County | Worcester County |
| Listed | February 9, 1990 |
| Reference number | 89002372 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Probably built by James A. McDermott, a general contractor |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, European, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is residential; general condition is described as very good. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Coordinates | 42.25708, -71.78740 (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 89002372.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5438938
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.