The Fitchburg Historical Society is a
historical society whose mission is to collect, preserve, and present the history of
Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private e ...
. The society was founded in 1892, and is now headquartered in the historic Phoenix Building at 781 Main Street.
The society's original 1912 headquarters building, designed (like the Phoenix Building) by architect
H. M. Francis, 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 ...
in 2003.
The society operates three days a week and is open from 10am to 4pm Mondays and Tuesdays with a longer day on Wednesday from 10am to 6pm. They offer genealogical research, a library of local history, and numerous volunteer opportunities.
Original building architecture
The society's 1912 headquarters is located on the west side of Grove Street, separate from its junction with Elm Street by a society-owned triangular
pocket park. The building is a two-story masonry structure, built out of red brick, with terra cotta trim and a slate hip roof. It is five bays wide and three deep, with ground-floor windows set in round-arch openings capped by terra cotta keystones. The building corners are quoined, and the roof line is adorned with modillions and dentil moulding. The main entrance, located at the center of the Grove Street facade, has an elaborate surround, with engaged columns rising to an entablature and shallow balcony with iron railing.
The building was constructed in 1912 to a design by Henry Francis, at the time one of Fitchburg's leading architects. The building is one of the city's finest examples of Georgian Revival architecture, and has been relatively little-altered during the society's ownership. The principal alterations include the addition of storm windows, air conditioning, and the adaption of the attic space for additional storage.
[
]
See also
*
References
External links
Fitchburg Historical Society
{{New England historical societies
Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Historical societies in Massachusetts
Neoclassical architecture in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Worcester County, Massachusetts