17 Pleasant 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): April, 2011
Assessor’s Number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number
32C-020-001 Easthampton NTH.
Town: Northampton
Place: (neighborhood or village)
Address: 17 Pleasant Street
Historic Name: Harvey Kirkland Block
Uses: Present: Residential/Commercial
Original: Residential/Commercial
Date of Construction: 1850-1865
Source: Daily Hampshire Gazette
Style/Form: Italianate
Architect/Builder: William Fenno Pratt, architect,
Northampton Exterior Material:
Foundation: not visible
Wall/Trim: brick/brownstone/cast iron/wood
Roof: not visible
Outbuildings/Secondary Structures:
Major Alterations (with dates):
Storefront re-designed, n.d.; some windows replaced ca.
2000.
Condition: good
Moved: no | x | yes | | Date
Acreage: 0.076 acres
Setting: This block is located in downtown Northampton
and faces east.
INVENTORY FORM B CONTINUATION SHEET [NORTHAMPTON ] [17 Pleasant Street]
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Area(s) Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Continuation sheet 1
NTH.
_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 Kirkland Block is a four story brick commercial/residential building. It is red brick with brownstone trim and has a flat roof
whose cornice is laid in an ornamental design that was used on many of Northampton’s commercial buildings mimicking in brick
the eaves brackets of many Italianate style buildings. Beneath the cornice on the east façade is a row of attic windows
suggesting that the building is three-and-a-half stories in height but they are part of a fourth story whose full height is apparent
on the south elevation. The building is five bays wide. On the first story the storefront retains its cast iron piers although the
storefront between supports has been altered over time. At the second story level are five bays of large windows under straight
lintels of brownstone. They have 6/6 sash. The third story has five bays of arched Italianate windows with arched brownstone
lintels with carved keystones and carved springing blocks. Sash in the windows has been altered. This is a fine commercial
block that demonstrates the ability at the mid-century to bring light to the interior of a large building with proportionally expanded
sash.
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 1976: “This group of commercial blocks is located on Pleasant Street between the Holyoke Bank Block, 1848
(corner of Main and Pleasant Streets), and the Cook Block, 1900 (corner of Pleasant and Armory). The blocks as a group are
important elements in the street wall on Pleasant Street. It is probable that the block was originally two stories in height.
Varying tones of brick and lintel are evident. A rash of building activity in 1850 produced at least 6 blocks of brick construction.
Two were built on upper Main Street near the then new Town Hall; four rose near the intersection of Main and Pleasant Streets,
probably in anticipation of business opportunities to be offered by the railroad (1845). These were the first substantial
commercial buildings. Arnold, Kirland, and Tillotson were typical merchants of modest means who resided in neighborhoods like
Phillips Place and Center Street adjacent to the downtown.”
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.