Berkshire Life Insurance Company Building is a historic commercial building at 5-7 North Street in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

. It is located in the heart of downtown Pittsfield, facing Park Square across North Street. Built in 1868, it is one of a trio of

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

buildings designed by Louis Weisbsein, a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

architect, whose style influenced later construction in the city. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1986, and was included in an expansion of Pittsfield's Park Square Historic District in 1991.

Description and history

The Berkshire Life Insurance Company Building stands at the northwest corner of Park Square, in the heart of downtown Pittsfield, at the corner of North and West Streets. It is a five-story masonry structure, built out of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

freestone. Its main facade faces east, and is seven bays wide, with the main building entrance at the center bay, sheltered by a portico supported by clustered columns and topped by a low balustrade. The other first-floor bays have round-arch openings, the rightmost one housing a store entrance. Windows are set by floor in rectangular, segmented-arch, and round-arch windows, with a variety of topping elements. There is a modillioned cornice above the third floor (the building's original roofline), and another at the top. The building was built in 1868 to house the headquarters of the Berkshire Life Insurance Company. It was designed by Boston architect Louis Weissbein, who also designed the nearby County Courthouse and House of Correction. All three buildings originally featured

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

s, and were influential on subsequent architecture in downtown Pittsfield. The building was extended westward in 1906, in work designed by Pittsfield architect Henry Seaver. In 1911 the mansard roof was removed and replaced by two additional stories, to plans by

Joseph McArthur Vance Joseph McArthur Vance (January 22, 1868 – December 14, 1948) was a prominent architect in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His portfolio comprised residential, commercial, industrial and recreational buildings. Much of his work was centered in Pittsfi ...

. The building's interior was extensively damaged by fire in 1970.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Pittsfield, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts

Description and history

See also

References