Nomination for Fire Barn

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* Fire Barn historic Falls Fire Station No. 2 and/or common 2. Location Fire Barn (preferred) Commonwea1th Avenue street & number city, town North Attleborough vicinity of 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 congressional district county Bristol Status occupied X unoccupied - work in progress Accessible yes: restricted yes: unrestricted no Present Use _ agriculture commercial educational entertainment government industrial - military 4.

Owner of Property name Town of North Attleborough street & number 43 South Washington Street city, town North Attleborough - vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Bristol County Registry of Deeds 11 Court Street street & number city, town Taunton 6. Representation in Existing Surveys title Inventory of the Historic Assets of the Commonwealth has this property been determined elegible? date 1979 federal X state depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission city, town Boston For HCRS use only received DEC 231981 date enteredJAN 28 1982 not for publication 10 code 005 - museum park - private residence _ religious - scientific .transportation X other: storage state Massachusetts 02760 state Massachusetts 02780 yes county X no local state Massachusetts 02108 7.

Description Condition 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 Falls Fire Station is located on the north side of Commonwealth Avenue in the center of the village of Attleborough Falls, a section of North Attleborough. The area is a mixture of commercial and residential uses. The building is 1½ stories high, of wood frame construction. The simple composition of the Fire Barn includes a 2-story, rectangular main block with a gable roof and a square, 4- story tower with a hip roof at the southwest corner. Originally clapboarded, the building is now covered with asphalt shingles on all but the first floor of the facade, which retains its flushboard siding. Fenestration is irregular, generally consisting of single 2/2 win- dows with a small molded architrave. The main block of the building is articulated by simple horizontal and raking entablatures and small gable returns.

The principal design features of the Falls Station are confined to its facade. The first floor is clad in vertical wood panelling, with a high projecting base and narrow Doric pilasters visuallyosupporting a wide, plain entablature: This frame is pierced by Renaissance-inspired doorways, including a small rectangular entrance with a bracketed cornice on the tower and two large, arched doorways for the fire apparatus on the main block. Centered above the apparatus doors are three round arched windows sporting interlocking lancet tracery in their upper sashes. The tower on the corner of the facade serves as a stairwell and bell tower and anchors the overall design. The wooden panelling on its facade appears originally to have continued around its westemside. Under its low hip roof is an open belfry, elaborated by Tuscan columns, a wide entablature, and a simple balustrade.

Major alterations to the Falls Fire Station are few, including the asphalt siding; modern overhead garage doors in of the original, side-hinged apparatus doors; and an en- closed stairway (ca. 1950s) on the long east side of the building. 9350 8.

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 SignificanceCheck and justify below - archeology-prehistoric community planning - archeology-historic conservation agriculture economics X architecture education .art engineering _ commerce exploration/settlement communications industry invention - landscape architecture law literature - military _ music - philosophy - politics/government - religion _ science sculpture X social/ humanitarian theater transportation other (specify) Specific dates 1893 Builder

Statement of significance

/Architect unknown Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) The Falls Fire Station possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, anc association. The building is an unusually monumental design using wood-frame construction, is a locally important example of classically-inspired design, and represents an era of civic improvements associated with the incorporation of North Attleborough. It thus meets criteria A and C of the National Register. North Attleborough is an industrial town based on textile and jewelry manufacturing. Although the town did not have a separate political existence until 1887, development began earlier here (at the turn of the 18th century) than incits parent town of Attleborough. Early 19th century industrialization drew settlement away from the Old Town Center in the south to several water sites on the Ten Mile River.

The village of Attleborough Falls was one of these sites, built around the Falls Manufacturing Company cotton factory. Industrial and social development peaked in the late 19th century, evidenced by the incorporation of the town, establishment of new civic services (gas, light, and water), and architectural vigor. The town water supply, established in 1884, was extended to Attleborough Falls ca. 1891. This service was a strong factor in the efficiency of the municipal fire district created in the Falls section in 1892. The Fire Barn was built in 1893 to contain a horse-drawn wagon and ladder truck. By 1913, the building also housed an engineer's buggy and a brush fire wagon; two men were on duty at all times, and 13 call men. also responded to alarms. Three horses were available at the station and were last used in 1930.

The Falls Fire Station was connected to the Gamewell Fire Alarm System, which employed 30 miles of wire and 44 fire alarm boxes throughout the town. In its organization and equipment, North Attleborough provided a notably modern and efficient system of fire protection in these early years of operation. The Fire Barn is one of a small but significant number of North Attleborough's municipal buildings surviving from the late 19th century and it is the only such structure in Attleborough Falls. Like others of the period, the Fire Station is an eclectic Classical design, combining relatively sophisticated motifs in a vernacular composition. Of particular note are the building's dramatic first floor facade, bell tower, and wooden construction. Its prominent location on a major thoroughfare makes the building a local landmark, although it has been vacant since 1977.

In recognition of this historical and visual importance, the Town of North Attleborough hopes to restore the Falls Fire Station for use as a fire-fighting museum.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References Reports of the Committee of the Fire District on the Annexation of Attleboro Falls, North Attleborough, Massachusetts. W1ll1am Barnes, Printer, 1808. Souvenir Firemen's Relief Association and the Fire Department of North Attleborough, December 19, 1901. The Evening Chronicle Press, 1901. ACHERIHA IMITT VERGE 10. Geographical Data Una nUT VERIED Acreage of nominated property 5,980 sq. ft. Quadrangle name Attleboro, Massachusetts - R.I. Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 UMT References A Zone CL1 EL GL 3/0/8/220/ Easting LLLL 46/4&979 Northing Zone iliL Easting DLL LULL FLL LULL HLDLL LIILL Northing LILILIL LLLu Verbal boundary description and justification Assessor's Lot 18, Plot 15 (see attached sketch map) 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 Wendy Frontiero, Preservation Planner, with North Attleborough Historical Conmission organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date 1981 street & number 294 Washington Street telephone (617) 727-8470 city or town Boston Massachusetts 02108 state 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state 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 accordingto the criteria and procedures set forth by the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service.

State Historic Preservation Officer signature Patuur hNeshrurka title Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission date 12/15/81 For HCRS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register Entered in the delmu Dyen National Register date 1/25/82 Keeper of the National Register Attest: Chief of Registration date GPO 938 835 256. 395 765 116 7020 90 9125 20.3 55.0 50. 5o. 79 100 76 00 73.61 106 289.80 255/9 0 4995: So 4995. 50 20 16 /0754 73.6/ 135.00 34647 121,560. 234.79 173.12 255. 1/8.25 130 15,390 94 18,200 50 87 N 135.00 53.45 80 179.69 59 99 55 77 i5c. 81 7054. 4159 379.17 4500 50 1/3. 13560 1085 5069. 5310 4763. 59.23 59 37.97 1507 34.14 JACKSON STREET 97.61 100.29 15,05) 1T. 14,483 134.08 5661. 91 1500 l00 114 19 16,523 130.50 160.37 98 15,075 10,000. 72 24,087 115.67 101 3 171.

60.00 107 15,317 48 12 11156 80.20 ^102 3954 52.95 21.98 18 5980 63.14 30.37 76.93 100. 73 7551 49.25 3 $2655 -50 59. NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, MA Falls Fire Station Assessors' Map Scale: 1" = 100' DEC 2 9 1981 SEE PLAT : NATIONAL REGISTER 'N JAN 28 1982 Name Fire Barn State, County MA WorkingNumber Bristal 9- 81/333 Nomination _ Determination of Eligiblity On Nomination Form Maps 2 Photos L - Nomination prepared by: State Stafi Local -Other DUE 1/28/82 - 2/,2/82 dnr-3 82004960 Fed Nom or Request-Agency Federal Register Date_ 21,83 Bldg(s) Within: Site Multiple Resource Area Object - Thematic Group Structure District Entered in the Action:Nat1onal Begister Check if Appropriate: State Request for Review - Keeper's Decision to Review 2nd Return L Evaluation of Resource (cont. on back if necessary) II. Evaluation of Nomination - Good Adequate | Poor Comments 1.

Descriptive Statement Short Format _ Yes _No 2. Significance Statement Short Format _Yes _ No 3. Concepts/integrity 4. Concepts/Criteria 5. Concepts/Boundaries 6. Contextual Evaluation General Comments (cont. on back if necessary): Reviewer/Date National Park Service See Attached _ V.S. Department of the Interior Falls Fire Station No. 2 North Attleboro, Massachusetts Taken by Olayton Bachelder July 1981 Negative located in files of North Attleborough Historical Commission South Elevation JAN 28 1982 Photograph number: 1 DEC 291981 MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION 15 December 1981 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Office of the Secretary of State 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 617-727-8470 MICHAEL JOSEPH CONNOLLY Secretary of State Ms. Carol Shull, Acting Keeper National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Department of the Interior Washington, D.C.

20243 Dear Ms. Shull, Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: Quincy: Hancock Cemetery (national) North Attleborough: Falls Fire Station (local) Adams: Park Street Fire House (local) All 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 ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER STATE MASSACHUSETTS Date Entered JAN 2 6 1982 Name Location Hancock Cenetery Quincy Morfolk County Park Street Firehouse Adams Berkshire County Pire Bara Worth Attleborough Bristol County Also Notified Honorable Paul E. Isongas Honorable Bdward M. Kennedy Honorable Brian J. Donnelly Honorable Silvio 0. Conte Honorable Nargaret M. Heckler Mid-Atlantic Begion, NPS North Atlantic Region, NPS Eady/mc State Hiatoric Preservation Officer Mre. Patricia L.

Weslowak1 Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Coumission 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 2/10/82 272-3504 For further information, please call the National Register at (202)343-6401.