33 Elm Street
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FORM B − BUILDING
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY 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
31B-253 Easthampton NTH.709
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Address: 33 Elm Street
Historic Name: Smith College Alumnae House
Uses: Present: college alumnae meeting house
Original: college alumnae meeting house
Date of Construction: 1938
Source: Smith College Archives
Style/Form: Classical Revival
Architect/Builder: Frederick J. Woodbridge of Evans,
Moore, & Woodbridge (New York City) Exterior Material:
Foundation: brick
Wall/Trim: brick and cast stone
Roof: slate, copper
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates):
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.177 acres
Setting: Set at the corner of Elm Street and Bedford
Terrace, the building is part of the College campus that lines
much of Elm Street.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [33 ELM STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.709
___ 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.
Alumnae House is a four-part, white-painted brick building that occupies a corner lot and extends in an east-west direction.
Furthest east is the largest block. It is a two-and-a-half story brick building under a truncated hipped roof that is slate covered.
The block is three bays wide and four bays deep. Windows on the first floor are larger than those on the second with 8/12 sash
vs. 8/8 sash. A cast stone stringcourse in Greek wave fretwork separates the two stories. Window lintels have corner blocks in
a Greek meander pattern. The building has an ornate cornice with dentils and modillion blocks above a frieze. Front-gable
dormers are aligned on the roof. The entry to this building is a round portico on stocky Tuscan columns with respondent
pilasters on the façade and a classical floral grille filling the transom above double-leaf doors.
Attached to the west elevation of the largest block is a one-and-a-half story wing under a side-gable roof that acts as a glass-
enclosed arcade of five openings. Each opening is framed with a trabeated surround with pilasters supporting a high entablature
that has a broad frieze. Greek fretwork spans the top of the openings beneath which, French doors and sidelights fill the
openings.
Attached to the west elevation of the arcade wing is a one-and-a-half story block under a truncated hipped roof. Windows in the
three bays of the first story repeat those of the largest section, having 12/8 sash. At the attic level are three octagonal windows
and a stringcourse divides the two stories.
The final section of the building orients its façade to Bedford Terrace and the west. It is a projecting classical temple entry with
four Tuscan columns supporting a wood pediment with a flushboard tympanum under a copper roof. Behind the temple porch,
the first story of this section is brick and has a recessed entry of double leaf doors beneath a transom filled with a floral grille.
Greek fretwork provides the lintel over the recessed entry.
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 1977: “Built in 1938, the original purpose of Alumnae House was to provide attractive and comfortable club
rooms for Smith’s 20,000 alumnae and its students, with facilities for entertainment and the transaction of Smith affairs. In
addition, the building was to provide a headquarters for the Alumnae association, as well as provide suitable conference room
for up to 250 persons.”
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 FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [33 ELM STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 2
NTH.709
West elevation of Alumnae Hall