Norwood Memorial Municipal Building

Norwood Memorial Municipal Building (Norwood Town Hall) is a historic building located in Norwood, Massachusetts, United States.

Stained-glass window in Norwood Town Hall depicting town seal.[2]
Norwood Memorial Municipal Building
Norwood Memorial Municipal Building
Location566 Washington Street
Norwood, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°11′41″N 71°12′2″W
Built1927
ArchitectUpham, William G.; Miner, Edward, et al.
Architectural styleLate Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No.96001086[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 10, 1996

The Late Gothic Revival building was built in 1927-28, and is made of Weymouth seamed-face granite. Visitors often mistake it for a church or believe it to have been a church, but it never was; its stained-glass windows depict not saints, but local patriot Aaron Guild.

"Guild", whose name appears in local street and building names, is pronounced with a long i, like the second syllable of the word "beguiled".

Guild's significance is explained by an inscription on the Aaron Guild Memorial Stone, dedicated in 1903, which stands outside the Norwood public library. The inscription reads:

NEAR THIS SPOT
CAPT. AARON GUILD
ON APRIL 19, 1775
LEFT PLOW IN FURROW, OXEN STANDING
AND DEPARTING FOR LEXINGTON
ARRIVED IN TIME TO FIRE UPON
THE RETREATING BRITISH.

Guild and his oxen are featured in the town seal.

The building includes a 50-bell[3][4][5][6] carillon tower housing the Walter F. Tilton Memorial Carillon, one of nine carillons in Massachusetts and the seventh-largest in the United States.

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.[1][7]

  • Norwood Memorial Municipal Building ("town hall")
  • Church-like auditorium of Norwood town hall
  • Image of Aaron Guild on exterior of town hall
  • Aaron Guild Memorial Stone

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. It was suggested in 2006 that Guild's red coat must surely be historically inaccurate.Peter Schworm (2006-10-01). "He was a patriot, not a redcoat: Calls growing for new, accurate town seal". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2006-10-06.: "Board chairman Jerry Kelleher said he, too, had noticed Guild's miscolored garment... He knew the red wasn't right." He said that "While the controversy has been 'mushrooming,' it's more a minor distraction than an embarrassing gaffe." Elisabeth McGregor, executive director of the Norwood Historical Society, said she found the flap "kind of comical", and noted the seal probably includes another mistake. 'It's April 19—would he really be plowing already?' she questioned. 'Seems pretty early.'"
  3. Towerbells.org database: "Traditional carillon of 50 bells...Year of latest technical information source is 2015"
  4. World Carillon Federation, "Bells: 50"
  5. Norwood Library: Norwood Historical Records Archived 2015-11-24 at the Wayback Machine, "The building’s 170-foot tower accommodates a 50 bell carillon"
  6. Boston Globe, South Regional edition 7/6/2013, Jean Lang: Norwood Town Hall gets a makeover: "Another concern is the carillon within the tower. There are 50 large bells that have been covered with blankets to protect them, but the blankets have to be taken on and off for the summer carillon concert series, which runs from July 1 to Aug. 19."
  7. Announcement of listing in 1996
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