King Street 36.pdf
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form. FORM B − BUILDING MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Photograph Topographic or Assessor's Map Recorded by: Bonnie Parsons Organization: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Date (month /year):
March, 2010 Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number 32A-255 Easthampton NTH.923 Town: Northampton Place: (neighborhood or village) Northampton Center Address: 36 King Street
Historic Name: Hotel Northampton Uses: Present: Hotel Original: Hotel Date of Construction: 1927 Source: Daily Hampshire Gazette (4/8/27) Style/Form: Colonial Revival Architect/Builder:
H.L. Stevens Co., New York & Chicago, architects and engineers Exterior Material: Foundation: granite Wall/Trim: brick/limestone Roof: not visible, copper Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates): Addition made ca. 2000. Condition: good Moved: no | x | yes | | Date Acreage: 1.667 acres Setting: This building faces east and occupies a prominent position
near the junction of two important streets in downtown Northampton.
INVENTORY FORMB CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [36 KING STREET] MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation
sheet 1 NTH.923 _x__ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attach a completed National Register Criteria Statement form. Use as much
space as necessary to complete the following entries, allowing text to flow onto additional continuation sheets. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: Describe architectural features. Evaluate
the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings within the community. The Hotel Northampton is the largest single building in downtown Northampton five stories in height
and angled into three sections on its east façade to minimize its impact on the streetscape. The angled main block has a three-story ell on the west, a two-story wing on the north and
in the space created by the angle on the east is a two-story glass entry block flanked by two glass wings one story in height. The three entry blocks are topped by Colonial Revival style
balustrades. The Colonial Revival style of the brick building is further conveyed with a relatively small, centered pediment at its flat roof edge above a wooden cornice ornamented with
large modillion blocks. Other Colonial Revival details are the splayed limestone lintels at the second story windows, the arched, keystoned windows at the fifth story, and those on the
first story with mullioned arches. Limestone stringcourses break up the elevations and add visual complexity to the extensive brick exterior. An addition on the south elevation in the
angle between the main block and the ell rises five-and-a-half stories. HISTORICAL NARRATIVE Discuss the history of the building. Explain its associations with local (or state) history.
Include uses of the building, and the role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community. From Form B of 1979: “Construction of the Hotel Northampton was completed in 1927, the
culmination of a five year subscription drive by the local Chamber of Commerce to sponsor a prominent local hostelry. By 1925, private citizens and businesses had pledged $312,700 toward
the construction effort. The Chamber believed the new hotel was necessary as a symbol of civic importance, as well as a boon to local business interests. Subscribers purchased stock
in the Hotel Northampton Corporation, which was expected to pay annual dividends. The Corporation was successful doing so during the years of the Depression, a feat of some magnitude.
L. Stevens Co. of New York City was the architect and general contractor of the building. Subcontractors are as follows: E.H. Friedrich Co., Holyoke-Metal doors, roofing, cornices F.S.
Payne Co., Cambridge-Two Elevators P & F Corbin Co, New Britain-Hardware (through Foster Farrar Co.) Coburn Trolley Track Manf. Co., NYC-Elevator Fronts R.E. Davies, Northampton-Plumbing
systems Holyoke Supply, Holyoke-Heating System M.C. Bailey, Northampton-Window frames The formal opening occurred on April 11, 1927. Total cost of construction and furnishing was $375,000.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Beers, F. W. County Atlas of Hampshire Massachusetts, New York, 1873. Hales, John G. Plan of the Town or Northampton in the County of Hampshire, 1831.
Miller, D. L. Atlas of the City of Northampton and Town of Easthampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, 1895. Walker, George H. and Company. Atlas of Northampton City,
Massachusetts, Boston, 1884. Walling, Henry F. Map of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, New York, 1860.
INVENTORY FORMB CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [36 KING STREET] MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No. 220MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02125 Continuation
sheet 2 NTH.923 National Register of Historic Places Criteria Statement Form Check all that apply: Individually eligible Eligible only in an historic district Contributing to a potential
historic district Potential historic district Criteria: A B C D Criteria Considerations: A B C D E F G Statement of Significance by _____Bonnie Parsons___________________ The criteria
that are checked in the above sections must be justified here. The Northampton Hotel is historically significant as Northampton’s largest hotel, where through much of the 20th century
guests have come from around the world, and where a hub of social and political activity has been located since 1927. Among the guests have been Eleanor Roosevelt, Jenny Lind, Herbert
Hoover, Calvin Coolidge, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon. The hotel is architecturally significant for its Colonial Revival style and for its interior furnishings
that represent the antique collection of its original owner. The hotel has a reconstructed 18th century tavern on its grounds, although it would not contribute to the significance of
the hotel.