Berkshire Life Insurance Company Building

Berkshire Life Insurance Company Building
Location Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°26′56″N 73°15′18″W / 42.44889°N 73.25500°WCoordinates: 42°26′56″N 73°15′18″W / 42.44889°N 73.25500°W
Built 1868
Architect Louis Weisbein
Architectural style Renaissance
Governing body Private
Part of Park Square Historic District (#75001911)
NRHP Reference #

86000276

[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP February 27, 1986
Designated CP December 23, 1991

Berkshire Life Insurance Company Building is a historic commercial building at 5-7 North Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It is located in the heart of downtown Pittsfield, facing Park Square across North Street.

It was built in 1868 to house the headquarters of the Berkshire Life Insurance Company. It was designed by Louis Weisbein, a Boston architect who also designed the nearby County Courthouse and House of Correction. All three buildings originally featured mansard roofs, and were influential on subsequent architecture in downtown Pittsfield.[2]

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. The building's interior was extensively damaged by fire in 1970.[2]

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[1] It was also included in an expansion of Pittsfield's Park Square Historic District in 1991.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "MACRIS inventory record for Berkshire Life Building". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  3. ↑ "NRHP boundary increase nomination for Park Square Historic District". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2013-11-27.