17 Hawley 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: Jayne Bernhard-Armington
Organization: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
Date (month / year): June, 2010
Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
32A-158 Easthampton NTH.2064
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Address: 17 Hawley Street
Historic Name: Northampton Wholesale Grocery Co.
Uses: Present: Commercial and Residential
Original: Warehouse with retail and office space
Date of Construction: 1912
Source: Springfield Daily Republican
Style/Form: Eclectic
Architect/Builder:
Exterior Material:
Foundation: unknown
Wall/Trim: brick
Roof: unknown
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates):
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.67 acres
Setting: This commercial building sits in front of the
railroad tracks in a commercial and former industrial area at
the edge of a residential neighborhood. This building sits
very close to the street and faces east.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON] [17 HAWLEY STREET]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.2064
___ 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.
This is a three story commercial building that is three bays wide and eight bays deep. It is eclectic in style and unique in
Northampton, exhibiting elements of the emerging Art Deco style as well as of the Italian Renaissance Revival style. This
building was under construction at the same time as the Basilica plan St. John Cantius Catholic Church across the street and
features the same Lombard arches along its roof line. The building is clad in brick and has ornamental brickwork and Art Deco
colored tiling on its eastern elevation, which is the front of the building. The parapet roof features a brick corbel table with
composite stone cornice beneath which are the Lombard arches. The decorative features of the front façade only extend one
bay deep, which was not unusual considering there was likely a building of similar size located on its northern elevation. The
three-bay front facade is divided by massive first floor columns with splayed capitals made of composite stone connected by
heavy stone lintels, which is a Romanesque stylistic feature . Within the two outer bays are show windows topped by leaded
vertical eight-light transoms. The middle bay is recessed into the building and has two separate doors each with a four vertical
light leaded transom. The windows are original to the building and are three over three sash with stone sills. Windows on the
front façade are square while the windows on the northern elevation are set within bricked arches.
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 1980: “This three story warehouse was built near the junction of Northampton’s north-south and east-west
railroads. This area, on the western sides of Market and Hawley Streets, along Strong Avenue, and on the eastern side of lower
Pleasant Street, had been one of industrial activity since the first railroad arrived in 1845. Around the turn of the century, this
also became an area of wholesale activity. Northampton’s strategic location and role as county seat provided opportunities for
regional trade. The demise of railroad trading led o the eventual abandonment of the building. The first floor and frontward
portion of the building probably contained a store and then offices above while the rear of the building functioned as a
warehouse.
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.