Nomination for Fairhaven Town Hall

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries - complete applicable sections 1. Name For HCRS use only received DEC 11 1980 date entered JAN 22 1981 historic Fairhaven Town Hall and/or common same 2. Location ' Center st. street & number Center Street, north side between William & Walnut Streetof for publication city, town Fairhaven vicinity of congressional district 12th state Massachusetts 3. Classification Category Ownership district X public X building(s) - private structure .

both site Public Acquisition object in process being considered code 025 county Bristol code 005 Status X occupied - unoccupied - work in progress Accessible Xyes: restricted - yes: unrestricted no Present Use - agriculture commercial educational .entertainment xgovernment -industrial military - museum -park - private residence _ religious _ scientific .transportation . other: 4. Owner of Property name Town of Fairhaven street & number Center Street city, town Fairhaven, vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Bristol County Registry of Deeds street & number city, town New Bedford 6. Representation in Existing Surveys state Mass. title Inventory of the Iistoric Assets of theas this property been determined elegible?

Commonwea1th date _ federal X state yes X 1978-9 county - local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission city, town Boston state MA 7. Description Condition X excellent - good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one X unaltered altered , Check one X original site .moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Fairhaven Town Hall faces south on Center Street in downtown Fairhaven. It was design- ed by Charles Brigham and constructed between 1892 and 1894, and is in form and detail, and in structural and decorative materials, a product of the historically inspired architec- tural eclecticism of the late 19th century. As such the building displays many elements of both the Romanesque and the Gothic stylistic traditions without being a pure example of either style. The consistant use of round arched openings in conjunction with groups of narrow rectangular windows is late Victorian Romanesque in provenance . So also is the way in which the tower cape meet the walls below with cornices unbroken by secondary pinnacles, tabernacles, or pseudo-gables.

The absence of any jerkin-headed gables, poly- chrome banding or pointed or sequential arches strengthens an overall impression of Romanesque Revival. Nonetheless, many of the building's details are predominantly Gothic in inspiration. These include the crocketed turret caps that terminate in finials and the crested roof ridge which, though they have late Romanesque precedents, are actually Gothic characteristics and give the building a delicacy that is quite un-Romanesque. Also Gothic in origin are the great windows in the south, east and west gable fields which are mullioned into tall arches with trefoil shapes filling the window heads. Certain of the picturesque compositional ele- ments that characterize the Town Hällalso look both to the Romanesque and to the Gothic Revivals for their origin.

An example is the irregular roofline created by the polygonal cor- ner towners, one much taller and larger than the other; and by gable-ended wall dormers that break forward from the roofline and even from the facade plane. The Town Hall is nearly square in overall plan, 99' wide and 108' deep, with a basically pyramidal roof. It is a masonary bearing wall structure with a granite foundation, wood floors supported on iron beams, brick arches over the boiler room, and a slate roof. The foundation stone was quarried in New Bedford while the first story is granite from St. George, New Brunswick laid up in random-coursed ashler. Beltcourses, window sills and lintels, and the triple arched entry loggia are of granite from Red Beach, Maine. the granite base, the walls are a rich red pressed brick.

The Fairhaven Star which reported on the construction of the Town Hall in profuse detail, called this "Delmonico brick". According to local historian, Mabel H. Knipe, the bricck's color had been developed for Del- monico's restaurant in New York and was used for only the second time in the Fairhaven Town Hall. Trim on the upper stories is of terra cotta from the Boston Terra Cotta Company, and it was painted to match the brick during the construction of the building. The red slate roofs have crockets and crestings of copper. Windows in the Town Hall are of French plate glass on the lower story, with double-thick German glass on the upper stories. The sashes were stained on the job by painters from J.I. Wingate of Boston and the glass was set into them at the time of installation.

The ornamental windows were designed by the architect, Charles Brigham, in collaboration with the principal decorator, Frank Hill Smith. According to the Star "the main parts are all of antique glass, heavily plated...with an opalescent ripple...There are four sections of glass in each...window, and in the centre of the lower half of each section is a medallion with views of local interest..."The medallion views included illustrations of Fort Phoenix, a man harpooning a whale, Fairhaven from the Acushnet River, a coasting party, the landing of the pilgrims, and other scenes.

The main or south facade of the Fairhaven Town Hall consists of a symmetrical central portion, two stories in height, which is flanked by two towers, the western one much larger and taller FHR-8-300A (11/78) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR HERITAGE CONSERVATION AND RECREATION SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTOR Y -- NOMINATION FORM FOR HCRS USE ONLY RECETVED DEC 1 1 1990 DATE ENTERED 2 2 198 CONTINUATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER 7 PAGE 1 than the other. Dominating the first story between the towers is a Romanesque-style triple arched entrance loggia in granite which is flanked on either side by a small round arched window. The brick second floor of the south facade is set back very slightly above a granite string course which separates it from the first story.

ed above the entrance is a grand scale wall dormer containing a tall, mullioned window recessed beneath a compound Romanesque arch. A tiny, round-arched window with a gran- ite sill pierces the gable field above this arch. Behind and above the dormer, and compositionally reinforcing its shape, the roof of the Town Hall rises to a sharp The remainder of the second story, on either side of the central. wall dormer, is divided into two registers by a string course. In the lower register on each side is a triple mullioned window capped by a rectangular lintel. The string course divid- ing the first and second stories functions as a sill.

Centered in the upper register, above the mullioned window, is a small wall dormer containing a recessed, round-arched The compositional elements flanking the large central wall dormer in the second story this echo, on a much smaller scale, and reinforce the dormers composition- al relationship to the entrace loggia below it. The granite of the first story entrance loggia is continued on the first story of the two flanking corner towers of the main facade, both of which are lighted at this level by windows with rectangular lintels. Above the first story both towers are brick. The larger of the two dormers (west), square for much of its height, is lighted at the second story level by three Romanesque-arched windows of which the center one is considerably taller than the other two. The tower then tapers upward to an elaboratly corbelled string course.

Above this the tower assumes an octagonal configuration with smal1 gothic towers at each of the four corners. Set into a Romanesque-arched recess in each of the four walls between these towers is a clock with a white face and black characters which is original to the building. Below each clock face is a blind arcade of gothic inspiration. Similar arcading comprises the body of each small corner tower and the motif is repeated again in the band set off by a string course below the cornice of the clock tower. Finally the tower is capped by a crocketted conical roof rising steeply to a finial. The clock tower's smaller counterpart at the opposite (east) corner of the south facade houses a bell purchased from the Blake Bell Company of Boston./ This, like the four faced clock, is original to the Town Hall.

The smaller tower is also rectilenear in its lower portion but octoganal aböve where lowered panels are set into each wall plane within elongated Romanesque arches supported on compound piers. Its conical, crocketted roof mirrors that of the larger tower and is echoed in a low tower, also octagonal and louvred, which sits astride the crested ridge of the Town Hail's highest roof. The Town Hall is entered through the triple-arched loggia in its south facade. Immediately upon entering the building, it is evident that its great distinguishing feature is the carved oak woodwork used lavishly throughout. Four oak doors with upper panels of glass give entry into the main hall.

A grand double stair of oak FHR-8-300A (11/78) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR HERITAGE CONSERVATION AND RECREATION SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM FOR HCRS USE ONLY RECEIVED DEC111990 DATE ENTERED N 22 198 CONTINUATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER 7 PAGE 2 rises from this hall to the second floor in three straight runs. Each stair has a scent glost fanas, andteer calt tna. one carrying a triple-arm bronzed lamp post with opale- The newels are trimned on each face with a Gothic arch carried on slender colonettes with decorated spandrels. At the landing of each stair an octagonal colum with foliate capital rises to the ceiling from its newel-post base. The ceiling in the stair hall has a system of oak "beams" and "joists", their lower sides parelled and carved.

There is a wainscot of quartered oak with vertical boards meeting in elaborately molded joints. A handsome bronzed electric chandelier hangs in the entry hall and is original to the building. In the left and right walls of the hall, double doors of oak with small raised-field The offices have paneds anard floors, soof glae aploto manteus, piaasterei and Carvod ficts hothic details, vertical board wainscot, and panelled oak interoffice doors. The rear of the first floor has a large banqueting hall, through which the rear entrance and a stair to the great hall stage are reached. The main feature of the second floor is the great hall, which was designed and fitted for use as a theater. The room is 52feet by 61 feet in size and 29 feet high. "The feature of the interior decoration will be the carved wood work," reported the Star as the skilled carpenters began their work.

"The walls in the large auditorium will be especially ornamental, and will consist of a panelled oak dado five feet wide above which the walls will be frescoed to the tops of the windows, and all above will be elaborate borders of panelled and carved oak, and in the centre of the ceiling is to be a large ornamental ventilator." Carved oak beams divide the ceiling into panels. The New York decorating firm of A.B. Cutter & Co. was retained to accomplish the interior finish work. Frank Hill Smith, also from New York, seems to have been in charge of the design, and he was on the site for supervision and to do some of the fine work himself. The auditorium (called the "hall" or the "main hall") was singled out by the Star as the decorating proceeded. "The ceiling is being decorated in bands of color of bluish tint. The walls are decorated in arabesque style, with diaper pattern.

The trieze design will include cartouches,shields, and coat of arms in rich olive and brown colors. There will be a heavily decorated border, and the walls will be in variegated tan shades...The front of the gallery (across the south end of the room) is in cinquefoil designs and very elaborate." Original chandeliers of brass with bell shaped glass globes have given way to newer lighting fixtures in this great hall, which is otherwise altered very littel. Spatial arrangements are also little altered.

FHR-8-300A (11/78) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR HERITAGE CONSERVATION AND RECREATION SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTOR Y -- NOMINATION FORM FOR HCRS USE ONLY RECEIVED DATE ENTERED 98 CONTINUATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER 7 PAGE 3 In addition to the theater, the Town Hall held Selectmen's rooms, offices for the the Improvement Society and Tax Scrice, andiin thetbastmenta Police Department andclote aptandguaessosor tost A few changes in spatial use have occurred. janice, anigina ly located in the west corner of phe gral offlce at ihthenter of the the Tax Collector's office. H.H. Rogers' west side, is now the Assessors' Assessors The adjacent west room originally shared by the and the Improvement Society, is used for the registration of voters. And the police station and lock up now houses the Department of Public Works.

"Not a particle of old office fittings will be allowed in the new building," and the furniture--desks, chairs, tables, counters--was specially made, and most of it was of The building has always had electric lighting and central heat. "Clark wire"- covered with rubber - was originally used throughout the building. R.D. Ireland & Co. of Boston, agents for the General Fixture Company of New York, did the exterior light- Water was pumped from a well by a steam pump from the Snow Pump Company of Buffalo, N.Y., and the plumbing, which was of considerable interest to the newspaper, was installed by William Lumb & Co. of Boston. The twelve original water closets utilized polished Italian marble for the washbowls, which stood on nickle- plated legs, brass pipes for hot water, and copper-lined water tanks.

There were in addition three soapstone sinks and a copper bathtub for the janitor's apartment. The Town Hall is set on a large lot comprising half a block. A quarter round retain- ing curb of granite from Blue Hill, Maine (set on a foundation of stone taken from the cellar of a house demolished to accommodate the Town Hall) borders a narrow lawn raised about six inches above sidewalk grade.

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 landscape architecture .archeology-historic conservation law agriculture economics literature X architecture education military art engineering musi . commerce exploration/settlement - philosophy communications industry X politics/government invention religion science sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation . other (specify) Specific dates 1894 Builder

Statement of significance

/Architect Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) The Fairhaven Town Hall possesses integrity of location, design, setting and materials and important associations as the center of Fairhaven social and municipal life for more than three quarters of a century. It is a major work of an important late 19th century architect, Charles Brigham; and it is one of a group of important buildings designed between 1890 and 1905 by Brigham and given to the citizens of Fairhaven by the oil mag- nate, Henry Huttleston Rogers. (The Town Hall was officially given to the town by Roger's wife, Abbie Palmer Gifford.) Because of this cluster of Rogers' gift buldings, Fairhaven is an important locus for any study of Charles Brigham's work. Except for a short lived structure in a northern district known as Oxford Village, the building was Fairhaven's first town hall.

Incorporated in 1812, the town held its early general meetings in a Methodist church at the head of the river in today's Acushnet. Sharp rivalry between the separate communities that comprised the town of Fairhaven led to disputes over the location of the seat of local governnent. In 1843 a town house was built in the Oxford section, but a fire in 1858 destroyed the building. After this, the meetings were held in Fairhaven village, in Sawin Hall, and Phoenix Hall, until the present structure was completed in 1894. Several years before the announcement of the Rogers gift, Fairhaven citizens did vote $15000 for the construction of a town hall, an act which indicated that the need for such a building was recognized, but hardly afforded enough capital to undertake the con- struction of a building. The cornerstone of the Town Hall was laid with ceremony on May 30, 1892.

The completed hall was dedicated on February 22, 1894. Mark Twain, who was Rogers' friend, gave the dedication address, which was followed by an enthusiastic inspection of the building by Fairhaven residents and visitors, and later by a ball. The Town Hall has continually served its original municipal function. The great hall has long been used as a theater. beginning in March of 1894 with a series of dedication performances. Town records show consistent rentals of the hall to professional and amateur groups for dramatic performances. The Fairhaven Players, a little theater group with around 600 members at its peak, shared the Town Hall facilities with their rival group, the New Bedford Spouters. In 1921, the"Town Hall Movies" brought a new kind of theater into the auditorium. Between its thespian uses, the great h 11.

has held the annual town meetings, many high school graduations, lectures, balls, banquets, and music festivals. A Victory Ball held there in 1919 raised a welcome home fund for soldiers returning from World War I. More recently, a "Queen's Ball" was held in the hall in 1962, and in 1976, it was used for Fairhaven's Bicentennial Ball. In addition to its symbolic importance to Fairhaven, the Town Hall is of visual import- ance as well. Its tower is visible from across the river, marking the location of the center of town. Fairhaven's downtown streets are characterized by small wood frame houses built early in the 19th century. Against this delicate fabric, the tall towered 9.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References American Architect & Building News. Vol 44. p.67 p1.959. May 12, 1894. AIA Journal. - Vol. 13. p.478. 1925. (contains Brigham obituary) Bacon, Edwin M. and Herndon, Richard. Boston of Today Boston, 1892. Boston City Directories - 1891, 1892, 1895, 1897, 1899. Boston Plblic Iibrary, Fine Arts Reterence Departmente carertlde Charles Brigham. 10.

Geographical Data (see continuation sheet) Acreage of nominated property - 109.30 rods TTM NOT VERTIED Quadrangle name New Bedford North Quadrangle scale 1:25000 UMT References AL119/ 13/411/41210 4 6 10 /230 B Zone Easting Northing IILL Easting LLL CLI EL Zone DLL F HLI Northing Lilu Verbal boundary description and justification Beginning at the southwest corner of the lot at the point of intersection of the north line of Centre Street and the east line of William Street, thence North on the east line of William 160' to land now or formerly of the heirs of Benjamin Ellis, thence east by Ellis 100' to land List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries (see continuation sheet) state code county code state code county 11.

Form Prepared By Ellen Fletcher Rosebrock, Preservation Planner name/title for Candace Jenkins, Registration Director organization Massachusetts Historical Commission code date Sept. 1980 street & number 294 Washington Street telephone 727-8470 city or town Boston, state Massachusetts 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 according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service.

State Historic Preservation Officer signature attashlsslnski 11/20/80 title Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission date For HCRS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register A. Rabe or Keeper of the National Register Attest: atui Andus Chief of Registration date | /22 8x 1981 date 1/22/81 GPO 938 835 FHR-8-300A (11/78) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR HERITAGE CONSERVATION AND RECREATION SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM FOR HCRS USE ONLY RECEIVED DEC 11 1990 DATE ENTERED 22 1981 CONTINUATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER 8 PAGE 1 brick and stone buildings that comprise the Rogers' Gift group retain the kind of monumentality they were designed to have.

Many fine late 19th century masonry build- ings have lost their original impressiveness because of the larger scale of later construction around them. The survival of the original setting of the Town Hall, then, enhances its visual significance. Henry Huttleston Rogers (1840-1909), a businessman who made a fortune in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, is remembered in Fairhaven primarily for his gifts of major buildings to the town from 1884 through 1906. tegthe ito 1884 and desithed by Warren R. Briggs (e550-1533) o Beiderart, Comecticut. Ali of the other buildings were designed by Charles Brigham. The group includes the Millicent Library (1891-1893), the Town Hall, the Masonic Lodge (1901), Memorial Church with parsonage and parish house (1901-1904), the Tabitha Inn (a business which was not a gift, 1904-1905), and the Fairhaven High School (1905-1906).

Also by Brigham were the house and ancillary structures of the Rogers estate (1895), of which the main house was demolished in 1916, but a few relocated outbuildings survive to recall it. Charles Brigham (1841-1925) was born in Watertown, Massachusetts, and entered the architectural office of Calvin Ryder as a draftsman in 1858, immediately upon his graduation from high school. In 1860 he moved to the firm of Gridley J.F. Bryant and Arthur Gilman, who were then in the process of designing the Boston City Hall, one of the influential buildings in the academic Franch Second Empire style. Brigham's professional career, then, spanned the decades of architectural eclecticism at the end of the 19th century, and his retirement during the first decade of the 20th cen- tury came when the intensely popular classical revival was reaching its peak.

In 1866 Charles Brigham formed a partnership with John Hubbard Sturgis, an English educated architect slightly older than Brigham himself. For twenty years the aesthetic direction of the partnership was strongly influenced by Sturgis' English experience, and the firm is usually credited with the introduction and popularization of the Rus- kinian Gothic style in Boston public buildings. The Church of the Advent (1880) on the flat of Beacon Hill is one of the outstanding interpretations of the Ruskinian style. The firm's Museum of Fine Arts at Copley Square (1870-1876) made a pioneering use of ornamental terra cotta, a material coming into use in England, but virtually unknowr in America. Within the partnership, Sturgis appears to have been the philosophical one concerned like the pre-Raphaelites with aesthetics and art.

Brigham, the practical partner, was interested in the development of architecture as a profession. He was a charter member of the Boston Society of Architects, and joined the A.I.A. in 1870. He had a reputation for tact, and was known for his unusual ability to deal with clients, contractors, and work crews alike. John Sturgis returned to England in 1886 and it is significant that near the end of the partnership Sturgis & Brigham were commissioned to design the New York City mansion of Henry H. Rogers, then a vice president of Standard Oil.

FHR-8-300A (11/78) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR HERITAGE CONSERVATION AND RECREATION SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM FOR HCRS USE ONLY RECEIVED DEUA 1980 DATE ENTERED 22 198 CONTI NUATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER 8 PAGE 2 In 1888 Brigham took John Spofford into partnership, and a period of tremendous began. In 1890 Brigham & Spofford began the classical revival yellow brick extension to the Massachusetts State House. Library in Fairhaven followed in 1891, and in 1892 ground was broken for the Town Hall. In these commissions alone Brigham was working in three different stylistic manners, and in 1888 he had shown full comprehension of the solid Richardsonian Romanesque in his Stoughton, Massachusetts station for the Boston and Providence Railroad.

Contemporary accounts of the Fairhaven Town Hall construction do not mention John Spofford in connection with the building. Nor do they mention Brigham's other associ- ates, Henry Bisbee and Charles C. Coveney. Instead, site supervision was accomplished by William C. Collett, a draughtsman from Brigham's office who lived in Fairhaven con- tinuously for a period of three years as clerk of the works for the Town Hall, the Millicant Library, the Rogers mausoleum, and the greenhouses on the Rogers estate. Charles Brigham, during the Town Hall construction, maintained his Boston office in the Amory-Ticknor house, newly renovated for commercial use, at 22 Beacon Street, directly opposite the Massachusetts State House, which he was remodeling. Early newspaper accounts mention a contractor named Lyman Wilcott, from Boston, who handled a labor problem late in March of 1893.

He was never mentioned again. same notice mentions a foreman named Bacon, who was replaced by a man named Shapleigh in the course of the same problem, but Shapleigh drops from the notice of the press after this initial appearance. Most of the subcontracting firms who handled plumbing, wiring, painting, and other services, were Boston based, although the interior decoration was handled by A.B. Cutter & Company and Frank Hill Smith of New York. A small contract (for window shades) went to a New Bedford firm, and although individual workmen were seldom men- tioned by name, one man who was cited for falling from some scaffolding was reported to be from New Bedford. No working drawings for the Town Hall are known to exist, although newspaper accounts mention "the plans" and at another time "the plans for the lighting". in Fairhaven from time to time but not often, once to confer with H.H.

Rogers and the decorators about the selection of window glass. He was on hand for the groundbreaking and dedication ceremonies. FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form For HCRS use only receivedJEC 1 1 1980 date entered JAN 22 |981 Continuation sheet Item number 9, 10 Page 9. Major Bibliography Dias, Earl J. Henry Huttleston Rogers; Portrait of a Capitalist. Fairhaven: Millicent Library, 1974. Fairhaven Star. Fairhaven, Ma. 2/11/1893, 2/25/93, 3/18/93, 3/25/93, 4/1/93, 4/8/93, 4/15/93, 4/29/93, 5/13/93, 5/20/93, 6/3/93, 7/1/93, 7/8/93, 7/15/93, 7/27/93, 7/29/93, 8/5/93, 9/2/93, 9/9/93, 10/7/93, 11/4/93, 11/11/93, 11/18/93, 11/25/93, 12/9/93, 12/16/93, 12/23/93, 12/30/93, 1/6/94, 1/13/94, 1/20/94, 1/27/94, 2/10/94, 2/17/94, 2/24/94, 3/10/94. Floyd, Margaret H.

Boston and Providence Railroad Station, Stoughton, MA. Boston, Boston Architectural Heritage, Inc. 1967. " A Terra Cotta Cornerstone for Copley Square: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1870-76, by Sturgis & Brigham. "JSAH. Vol. XXXII (2): 83-103, May 1973. Harris, Charles A. Old Time Fairhaven, New Bedford, 1947. Knipe, Mabel Hoyle, The Story of a Town House. Fairhaven Millicent Libriary, 1977 Millicent Library. Card file index to Fairhaven Star. Compiled by Mabel H. Knipe 10. Geographical Data now or formerly of Frederick S. Pearce, thence east by Pearce 100' to the west line of thence south on Walnut Street, 158'8" to the north line of Centre Street, thence west 200' to the point of beginning.

Property Farhaven town Hall state YMA, Brustol Working Number /2.1/.80,2963 TECHNICAL DUE 2/11/81 CONTROL Photos - Maps This building is dighificant fa the guality d'its anchilitecture, forits HISTORIAN association with the important MAss. architect charles Brigham, and fer accept its wle as the civic and cultural center of the toun & fairhaven, Bult wn Patuick Andrus 1894, this monumental masny brilding is an eclectic mix of the bothic and 1/20/81 Romanesque Revval styleo g arhitechme. ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN ARCHEOLOGIST OTHER HAER Inventory Review REVIEW UNIT CHIEF BRANCH CHIEF KEEPER L.Rebe,/2/3 Entered JAN 2Z 1981 Nationa1 Register Write-up 2-2.82 Federal Register Entry 2.2.82 Send-back Re-submit United States Department of the Interior - Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service FAIRHAVEN MA Fairhaven Town Hall Brustol Co.

South facade December 1978 Ellen Rosebrock, Preservation Partnership JAN 22 1981 DEC 1 1 1980 THE PRESERVATION PARTNERSHIP PRESERVATION CONSULTANTS ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS FEASIBILITY PLANNERS 74 WEST CENTRAL STREET NATICK. MA 017 6 0 TEL 1617| 239.3935 CHANGE OF ADDRESS 7 IRVING STREET - NEW BEDFORD, MA 02740 TEL (617) 996-3385 RF - 00i : 01000 MASS. HIST. COMM. October 27, 1980 Ms. Patricia Weslowski, State Historic Preservation Officer Massachusetts Historical Commission 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 Re: Town Hall and High School, Fairhaven, Massachusetts Dear Pat: I would like to add my personal endorsements to the National Register Nomination of these two outstanding public buildings in Fairhaven, Massachusetts.

I am a resident of Fairhaven and currently Chairman of the Fairhaven Historic District Study Committee as well as working professionally for the Town of Fairhaven as Project Architect for both the High School and Town Hall Restorations. The townspeople of Fairhaven have voted in the past two years to raise by bond issue, close to two million dollars for the restoration and repair of the much beloved structures, and I can personally attest to the importance these buildings have to the people of Fairhaven. In addition, the High School and Town Hall are but two examples of the turn of the century collaboration between Henry Huttleston Rogers, a local Fairhaven boy who returned with his fortune to become the Town Benefactor, and Charles Brigham, a sophistocated Boston architect conmissioned to provide suitable monuments of Mr. Rogers largesse.

It is my sincerest hope that the Commission grant these unique buildings the honor of National Register De- Signation. Sincerely yours, Las Ave Carol Ann Nelson AIA cc: Board of Selectmen, Town of Fairhaven. DEC 1 1 1980 TOWN OF T KIRHAVEN MASY :) Umut of Fairlauen IMassarhusrtts Mistoriral Cnmmission MASS. HIST. CO.!1 November 7, 1980 Ms. Patricia Weslowski State Historic Preservation Officer Mass. Historical Commission 204 Washington Street Boston, MA 02108 Re: Town Hall and High School Fairhaven, MA Dear Ms. Weslowski: We have been advised that the nominations of the Fairhaven Iown Hall and the Fairhaven High School to the National Register of Historic Places will be considered by the State Review Board on November 12, 1980. As for comments on these buildings and their historic bobosi o t eon eit roa aoan reritor taoite eit ae medoaod.

booklets, clearer insight into why we feel that they are worthy of being onthe National Register. We endorse this action and hope for a favorable decision. We wish to thank you for your efforts in having these nominat ions presented for approval. LAV: ast cc: Board of Selectmen Very truly yours, HISTORICAL COMMISSION aui lis Louis A. Veilleux, Chairman RECEIVED DEC 1 1 1980 NATIONAL REGISTER MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Office of the Secretary of State 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 617-727-8470 MICHAEL JOSEPH CONNOLLY Secretary of State November 18, 1980 Mr. Jerry Rogers, Acting Keeper Registration Branch Heritage, Conservation, and Recreation Service Department of the Interior W434 Washington, D.C. 20243 Dear Mr.

Rogers: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: Boston-Haffenreffer Brewery-local Fairhaven-High Schoo1-state Fairhaven-Town Hall-state Fall River-Lafayette-Durfee House-local Fall River-Unitarian Church-state A11 have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. Sincerely, Candace fenkins Candace Jenkins Registration Director Massachusetts Historical Commission CJ/pmb RECEIVED DEC 1 1 1980 NATIONAL REGISTER ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER MASSACHUSETTS STATE JAN 22 1981 Date Entered Name Location Fairhaven Towa Hall Fairhaven High School Fairhaven Bristol County Fairhaven Bristol County Also Notified Honorable Paul Isongas Honorable Edward M. Kennedy Honorable Gerry E. Studds State Historic Preservation Officer Mrs. Patricia I.

Weslowski Executive Director Massachusetts Historical Comnission 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 Byers/bjr/1/26/81 FoI further information, please call the National Register at (202) 343-6401.