Nomination for Brockton City Hall

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Form No. 10-300 (Rev.

10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE DATA SHEET FOR NPS USE ONLY RECEIVEdNOV 7 1975 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM DATE ENTERED MAR 2 6 1976 SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS TYPE ALL ENTRIES -- COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS 1 NAME HISTORIC * * Brockton City Hall AND/OR COMMON same 2 LOCATION STREET & NUMBER 45 School Street CITY, TOWN Brockton STATE Massachusetts VICINITY OF 825 NOT FOR PUBLICATION CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT l1th COUNTY Plymouth CODE 023 CLASSIFICATION CATEGORY _DISTRICT X BUILDING(S) _STRUCTURE _SITE OBJECT OWNERSHIP XPUBLIC _PRIVATE _BOTH PUBLIC ACQUISITION _IN PROCESS BEING CONSIDERED STATUS XOCCUPIED UNOCCUPIED -WORK IN PROGRESS ACCESSIBLE XYES: RESTRICTED _YES: UNRESTRICTED _NO PRESENT USE AGRICULTURE -MUSEUM _COMMERCIAL _PARK _EDUCATIONAL _PRIVATE RESIDENCE _ENTERTAINMENT RELIGIOUS XGOVERNMENT _SCIENTIFIC _INDUSTRIAL TRANSPORTATION MILITARY _OTHER: 4 OWNER OF PROPERTY NAME City of Brockton STREET & NUMBER 45 School Street CITY.

TOWN Brockt.on _ VICINITY OF 5 LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION STATE Massachusetts 02401 COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC City Treasurer's Office STREET & NUMBER CITY. TOWN City Hall, 45 School Street STATE Massachusetts Brockt.on REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS TITLE Inventory of the Historic Assets of the Commonwealth DATE 1975 DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS Massachusetts Historical Commission CITY. TOWN _FEDERAL XSTATE COUNTY _LOCAL Boston STATE Massachusetts DESCRIPTION CONDITION -EXCELLENT X GOOD -FAIR _DETERIORATED -RUINS _UNEXPOSED CHECK ONE _UNALTERED XALTERED CHECK ONE XORIGINAL SITE _MOVED DATE. DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Description of the property

The Brockton City Hall sits on a three-quarter acre triangular shaped block in downtown Brockton, and is bounded by School Street, East Elm Street and City Hall Square. It was built in 1892-94 to plans drawn by Wesley Lyng Minor. The City Hall is constructed of yellow brick, with a high stone faced granite basement with battered walls, and terra cotta and brownstone decorative trim on the upper stories. The two and a half story building is symmetrical in plan along its east-west axis, but the elevations have irregular massing, and the roofline is broken. The long north and south elevations are eight bays wide, with four bays projecting in steps from the base wall. A shallow projecting pavilion on the three bay west elevation emphasizes the entrance, and a five story circular tower adorns the east elevation.

There are three doorways in the building, one each on the north, south, and west elevations. Each of the doorways is topped by aR omanesque round arch with elab- orately carved voussoirs. Short clustered engaged columns with intricately carved capitals and entablature support the deeply recessed arches. The doorways are all set half in the high basement story and half in the first story. The top of the columns in the entranceway marks the division between these two stories, and this line is carried around the building by a round brownstone moulding, which rests on top of the granite foundation. Another belt course, consisting of a two foot high terra cotta panel decorated with stylized foliage extends around the building at the level of the springing point of the arches over the first floor windows.

A thin string course encircles the building at the base of the windows of the second floor, identical to the one directly over the skew backed brick lintels of the second floor windows. A heavy modillioned cornice above a row of dentils forms a visual base for the hipped roof: There are three Richardsonian dormers with conical roofs, and a gable end facing outwards, on both the north and south elevations. The gables are decorated with clusters of long cylinders formed out of brick and have windows set in each of two quarter circular recessed panels in the gable end. A massive five story tower with a steeply pitched hip roof rises from the north elevation: The tower is decorated with terra cotta panels and slender engaged columns and has round headed arched windows in the section which rises above the roofline of the building.

A clock face graces three sides of the tower near the top, and the steeply pitched roof contains a round dormer topped by a cartouche in each side. A small platform on top of the tower holds meteorological instruments and serves as an observation point for the U.S. Weather Bureau. A three and a half story circular tower is centered on the east elevation. It has alternating stories of arched windows and windows with flat lintels. A row of circular windows set between ornamental swags and garlands is located just below the cornice, and battlements encircle the top of the tower. The interior of the City Hall contains some features of particular note. The grand corridor, running east and west on the axis of symmetry of the building, is 108 feet long, twenty-two feet wide and eighteen feet high.

The corridor contains a series of fifteen paintings depicting scenes from the Civil War which were executed by Richard Holland and Mortimer Lamb in 1893 and are considered to be excellent examples of this kind of painting.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

SIGNIFICANCE PERIOD PREHISTORIC 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 X 1800-1899 -1900- AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE - CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW _ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC_COMMUNITY PLANNING ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC _CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE ECONOMICS XARCHITECTURE EDUCATION XART ENGINEERING COMMERCE EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT _COMMUNICATIONS _INDUSTRY LINVENTION _LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE _LAW LITERATURE _MILITARY -MUSIC _PHILOSOPHY XPOLITICS/GOVERNMENT _RELIGION SCIENCE SCULPTURE -SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN _THEATER TRANSPORTATION OTHER (SPECIFY) SPECIFIC DATES 1892-94 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE BUILDER

Statement of significance

/ARCHITECT Wesley Lyng Minor The Brockton City Hall, built in 1892, was the first permanent home of the Brockton City government. From the time the city was incorporated in 1821 until the con- struction of the present building, the city government moved from one rented site to another. Thus this building marks a time of significant commitment in Brock- ton's development. The City Hall is also significant as an architectural landmark in Brockton, and for the quality and quantity of its paintings of the Civil war. When the city decided to build a permanent home for their governmental functions they hired a Brockton architect, Wesley Lyng Minor, to design the building. Minor was born in Louisiana in 1852 and moved to Brockton in 1882. He designed many of the finest homes in Brockton, mostly for the owners of the shoe factories which housed Brockton's main industry.

The cornerstone for the building was laid on May 30, 1892, and the building was dedicated and opened on September 24, 1894. The opening of the building was celebrated with a huge parade, and the Honorable Frederick Greenhalge, Governor of Massachusetts, was the principal speaker. After the opening festivities the guests were taken by electric car to the dining hall at the Brockton Fair Grounds where a dinner for 250 people was held. The opening of this building, a massive, ornate structure, reflected the pride of the citizens of Brockton and the wealth the city had acquired through the shoe industry. The City Hall is a distinct architectural landmark in Brockton. There are no other buildings in the city from that period built on the same scale and with such lavish attention to detail.

The large Civil War paintings in the grand corridor, excellent examples of this genre of painting, add to the artistic significance of the building. The City Hall is still an important part of Brockton's urban environment. The city government is actively interested in restoring the city hall, and has established the building as a priority for the revitalization of the downtown area. Brockton, like many other New England industrial towns, has lost most of its factories and has gone through an extended period of decline in the city center. The City Hall, an expression of the pride and wealth which Brockton once had, is an important focal point in the present effort to bring the city back to. life and to help the city change to meet the needs of its present population.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Kingman, Bradford, History of Brockton, 1656-1895, Syracuse, N.J., D. Mason and Co.

1895 Brockton Enterprise, City Hall, 1894-95, Brockton, 1895 10 GEOGRAPHICAL DATA ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY 3/4 acre UTM REFERENCES A|19] 13|33|020/ 1616016,801 ZONE EASTING NORTHING Ldbilil VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION BL,J ZONE EASTING NORTHÍNG NORTHING -LULLILIL LiLLu LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE CODE COUNTY CODE STATE CODE COUNTY CODE 11 FORM PREPARED BY NAME / TITLE Christine Boulding, Assistant Survey Director, and Robert Kane ORGANIZATION DATE Massachusetts Historical Commission October 24, 1975 STREET & NUMBER 294 Washington Street TELEPHONE 617-727-8470 CITY OR TOWN STATE Bostonhusetts Massachusetts 02108 12 STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER CERTIFICATION THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE IS: NATIONAL - STATE_ LOCAL As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665).

I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated criteria and procedures set forthby the National Park Service. STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER SIGNATURE jabit Rued Amodon TITLE Mass. State Historic Preservation Officer DATEOct. 29,1975 FOR NPS USE ONLY I HEREBY CERTIFY TH THIS PROPERTYIS LUDED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER J.OS. R SHEOLOG AND His jon 7FREBERVATION ACKFEPER OF THE NATIONAL RECOTER DATE 3/26/98 DATE 3-21-76 GPO 888-445 Property brackten Cits Hall State Working Number ||. 7. 75.

200) TECHNOSAL Photos - Maps ARCHITECTURAL Plymouth CONTROL pl 11.7.75 HISTORIAN Accept E Smitk 12-22-25 HISTORIAN AUCEPT 2118/25 ARCHEOLOGIST OTHER HAER Inventory Review REVIEW UNIT CHIEF Acerpi Col 1/29/76 BRANCH CHIEF National Register Write-up Federal Register Entry 5-4-76 Send-back Re-submit United States Department of the Interior National Park Service WASO No. 7 3.4.26 KEEPER Accept Kettig for Murstagh) 3-21-76 Entered MAR 2 61976 INT:2106-74 SOUTH DAVIDSON STUDIO, INC. 448 PEARL STREET BROCKTON, MASS. 0240) TEL: 586-1124 Sooth PROPERTY OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER NPS Number 3/20/ 76 Title: Brockton City tall Plymonih Couenty, ma Loc. South elevatio NORTH DAVIDSON STUDIO, INC. 448 PEARL STREET BROCKTON, MASS. 0240] TEL: 586-1124 CTY OF . GSTE NPS Number 3/26/76 T1t10: Brockton Ctysaee llymouts Crunty, ma 100. Soit freade, east elevalim 2afz Form No. 10-301 (Rev.

10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES PROPERTY MAP FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY RECEIVED NOV 7 1975 MAR 2 6 1976 IDATE ENTERED SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS TYPE ALL ENTRIES - ENCLOSE WITH MAP 1 2 3 NAME HISTORIC Brockton City Hall AND/OR COMMON same LOCATION CITY. TOWN Brockton VICINITY OF MAP REFERENCE SOURCE U.S.GoS., Brockton Mass. quadrangle SCALE 1:24,000 DATE 1963 REQUIREMENTS TO BE INCLUDED ON ALL MAPS 1. PROPERTY BOUNDARIES 2. NORTH ARROW 3.

UTM REFERENCES COUNTY Plymouth STATE MA INT: 3464- 75 ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER Date Entered STATE MASSACHUSETTS MAR 2 6 1976 Name Location Dwight-Henderson House Bov Street Ilistoric Diatrict Lee Lover Main Street Historic District Haydenvil1e Historic District Brockton City Hell Bryant-Cuehing Nouse Great Barrington Berkshire County Soerville Middlesex County Lee Berkshire County Beydeuvllle, Town of V/1111amsburg Hampshire County Brockton Plymouth Couuty Noxvel1 Plymouth County Also Notified Hon. Edward M. Kennedy Hon. Edward W. Brooke Hon. Silvio 0. Conte Hon. Thomas P. O'llel11, Jr. Hon. Janes A. Burke Regional Director, North Atlantic Region IPR MOTT: djb 4/5/76 State Historic Preservation Officer Mes. Elizabeth E.

Amadon Executive Director, Massachusetts Ilistorical Cormission 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 INT: 2950-75 NATIONAL REGISTER DATA SHEET DNAME as itappears on federal register 2 OTHER NAMES: Brockton Citv Hal. 3date *t entry: ) county code: 3-26-76 023 5 LO TION street & number 5 School st. Brockton / town vicinity of state county 6NPS REGION: MA Plymouth North Atlantic DOWNER OPRIVATE LISTATE GMUNICIPAL CCOUNTY WMULTiPLE CFEDERAL (agency name) 8ADMINISTRATOR: 9 EXISTING SURVEYS CHABS CHAER ONHL 10) FUNDED? OYES 11)CONGRESS. DISTRICT 11 12)SOURCE Of NOMINATION CFEDERAL _ ATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRIETT MATIBMAL HISTORIC LANOMARK/ ACREAGE LYES. 15 if state who prepared form?

BIYES LAME NAME OLOCAL OPRIVATE ORGANIZATION 1CONDITION - deteriorated Aaltered Aoriginal site 17 features: SUBSTANTIALLY INTACT-1 DSUBSTANTIALLY INTACT-2 Dexcellent Oruins Ounaltered Omoved OONOT INTACT-O 2OSUBSTANTIALLY INTACT-3 9O NOT INTACT-O OO NOT INTACT - O &good Dunexposed Oreconstructed Dunknown -UNKNOWN-4 Dfair Ounexcavated Dexcavated ÉO NOT APPUCABUL -7 WOUNKNOWN-5 5UNKNOWN-6 JO NOT APPLICABLE-8 O NOT APPLICABLE - 9 BACCESS AYES-Restricted DYES - Unrestricted - No Access - Unknown (19 ADAPTIV USE DYES ENO SAVED? DYES IS PROPERTY A HISTORIC DISTRICT?

Dyes E AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE : -ENGINEERING-11 -LANDSCAPE ARCH.- 15- [POLITICS / GOVT.- 21 -RECREATION -28 BCLAIMS: explain DARCHEOLOGY - prehistoric-2 -COMMERCE-6 'first'C DENTERTAINMENT-26 C LAW -16 C RELIGION-22 CSETTLEMENT-29 -ARCHEOLOGY -historic-1 - COMMUNICATIONS-7 -EXPLORATION-12 - LITERATURE -17 - SCIENCE- 23 -URBAN PLANNING-31 A AGRICULTURE -3 - CONSERVATION - 8 - HEALTH-27 'oldest' O - MILITARY- 18 - SOCIAL /HUMANITARIAN -24 DOTHER (SPECIFY) MARCHITECTURE-4 - ECONOMICS- 9 C INDUSTRY - 13 - MUSIC - 19 - SOCIAL / CULTURAL- 30 AART-5 - EDUCATION-10 C INVENTION -14 - PHILOSOPHY -20 - TRANSPORTATION -25 'only' D 8functions d dates of initial construction: 192- A 1894 ETHNIC GROUP ASSOCIATION WHEN HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT: CITY HALL major alterations: CURRENTLY: CITY HALL istoric events: architectural style(s): @architeet:( @master builder: engineer: Wesley Lyng Minor *landscape architect / garden designer: () interior decorator: artists: Richard artisan: builder/contractor: Holland, aMortimer Lamb NAMES give role & date PERSONAL: Wesley Lyng Minor (b.

1852, Richard Holland and Louisiana), to Brockton in 1882 and designed many of the finest homes in Brockton. Mortimer Lamb, painters of series of large pictures in Hall's grand corridor which depict EVENTS: scenes of the Civil War(1893) INSTITUTIONAL: shope *NATIONAL REGISTER WRITE-UP Brick, rock-faced stone foundation; 2½ storves plus attic over rarsed basement, irregulari truncated hipped t gabled roof with beored dormers and skylghts, interior clustered & paneled chimneys with corbeled caps, front center entrance in compound peaala prta apa o5esa c tn, mita tourelles and madfied pyramidal toos endentrences in projecting gobted tays,5-story round side tower, with gth-stong rounecte, round-arched openings, decorated belt courses; lalterationsl interior feztures igrac. mureis depicting Avil Warscenes).

Eclectic with Richardsonian Romanesave elemente First permanent home of Brockton's city government after 1821 incorporation. reviewers initials 8T _date| 9/78 |IF ADDITIONAL SPACE NEEDED, NUMBER & PUT ON REVERSE