Memorial Town Hall

Memorial Town Hall
Memorial Hall
Location Monson, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°5′51″N 72°18′48″W / 42.09750°N 72.31333°W / 42.09750; -72.31333Coordinates: 42°5′51″N 72°18′48″W / 42.09750°N 72.31333°W / 42.09750; -72.31333
Built 1885
Architect Potter,George E.
Architectural style Gothic
Part of Monson Center Historic District (#90000788)
NRHP Reference #

84002449

[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP May 17, 1984
Designated CP May 6, 1991

Memorial Town Hall is the historic town hall of Monson, Massachusetts. Located on Main Street on land donated by the local prominent Reynolds family, the High Victorian Gothic stone building was constructed in 1885 to a design by George Potter. In keeping with a memorial to the town's fallen soldiers, there are two cannons (one from the American Civil War, the other from the First World War) in front of the building.[2]

The hall, which was built of the locally-quarried granite (from the same quarry that supplied granite for the Springfield Armory), the building's basic shape is that of a T. The northwest (left front) corner has a four story tower, and the southwest (right front) corner has a smaller octagonal turret. In between, a gabled pavilion is centered on the front faced perpendicular to the main roofline. The stem of the T extends northeast to the rear of the building. Arches and other decorative elements are shaped out of ashlar granite in alternating light and dark colors. The building's roof is slate; the front portion is hipped, with the center interrupted by the front-facing gable. The rear section ends in a gable.[2]

Inside the hall, the front houses town offices, and a space that was originally used as a GAR meeting space, and the rear of the building houses an auditorium with stage. Interior spaces have not been significantly altered since the building's construction was completed, and most continue to be used for their original purpose.[2] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984,[1] and was included as a contributing property in the Monson Center Historic District in 1991.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Staff (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 "NRHP nomination for Memorial Town Hall". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
  3. "NRHP nomination for Monson Center Historic District". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2013-12-12.
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