Slater Building
Why it's listed
Rising ten stories above Main Street in Worcester, this steel-frame office building was completed in 1907 for the H.N. Slater Estate. Norcross Brothers constructed it from designs by Frost, Briggs & Chamberlain. At the time it was the city's second skyscraper, following the State Mutual Building of 1895-1896. The Classical Revival design rests on a two-story base of rusticated granite piers with an ornately carved entry. Dressed Indiana limestone, then a new material in Worcester, faces the upper floors, which have evenly spaced paired windows. The ninth and tenth stories form a loggia of two-story half-columns with Corinthian capitals, topped by a dentilled cornice and copper cresting of anthemia. When new, it held street-level stores, an arcade of shops at the second story and offices above. Store fronts were altered in the 1970s and the lowest windows replaced, yet the building remains substantially intact and is considered one of the city's finest early skyscrapers. It continues in commercial and office use.
Significance in brief: In 1907 it was Worcester's second high building or skyscraper, after the State Mutual Building of 1895-1896. It is a Classical Revival design with limestone facing, a rusticated granite base and a colonnade at the top. The form calls it substantially intact and one of the city's finest early skyscrapers.
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 80000609, listed March 5, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 390 Main St., Worcester |
|---|---|
| County | Worcester County |
| Listed | March 5, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80000609 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Frost, Briggs & Chamberlain (architect); Norcross Brothers (builder) |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State, Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in commercial and office use; store fronts were altered in the 1970s and the windows of the first two stories have been changed. |
| Acreage | 0.4 |
| Coordinates | 42.26438, -71.80215 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 80000609.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7538899
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.