Help for MACRIS: Search
Massachusetts Historical Commission
MACRIS: Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System
MACRIS How to Search
MACRIS search results are limited to show 20,000 rows or less, if your search filters return a larger result set, MACRIS will ask you to refine your search.
MACRIS database searching tool refines your search by using a search filter system.
To access the Search Filters Sidebar, click on the Search Filters button in the main screen.
There are several different aids available to filter the data for your search:
- A Type ahead text box will let you begin to type a selection and return the first 12 available results for you to Apply.
* Note there may be more than 12 results with a popular term, in that case the View List would be the better option. - The View List button will open an alphabetized listing of all available filters for your search criteria.
- A free form text box as in Historic Name will allow text search by partial or full name. Partial text is recommended to avoid spelling inconsistencies.
- Check boxes to choose a specific type as in Resource Type or Designation Type.
Search by Location
Refine by City/Town
Your Search Filters will be expanded to the "Refine by City/Town" tab in the search filter bar. Type the name of the town or city of interest, make your selection from the dropdown list, and click the Apply button. Additional cities/towns may be added to the search by repeating this process.
To select a town or city from a list of Massachusetts cities/towns, click the View List button and make your selection in the pop-up window.
To search all towns and cities in Massachusetts, leave the "Refine by City/Town" tab blank.
To remove a city/town from the selection list, click the "X" next to the town name above the search results, in the main section of the screen.
Refine by Neighborhood/Village
When searching a single town in MACRIS, you can narrow your search by selecting a neighborhood by expanding the "Refine by Neighborhood/Village" tab. Click the View List button to see neighborhood options in a pop-up window.
Refine by Address
You may narrow your search by entering a particular street and/or street number. You can use a partial street name. Using a partial name will give wider search results.
If including a street suffix, use the abbreviation ("St", "Rd", "Ave", etc.), without a period.
View List Pop-up Windows
The View List button opens a popup window, located over the main part of the screen in the Search Results area. Results in any pop-up window will be refined by all filters currently selected.
Click on any item in the pop-up View List window to add it to your Search Filters.
The pop-up window filter results are navigated alphabetically at the top of the pop-up window and by using the Previous and Next buttons at the bottom of the window.
Click on any alphabet letter to see the results starting with that letter.
The Next and Previous buttons will page through the results in increments of up to 36 results. If there are more than 36 results, per alphabet letter, the next and previous buttons will page through those results and then continue into the next letter. If there are less than 36 results per alphabet letter, the Next and Previous buttons will start the page with results from the next letter in the alphabet sequence.
Search by Category
Search by Historic Name
Enter the full or partial name of the resource of interest. Click the Search button. If there are no results for the term entered the filter will be removed automatically.
Refine by Resource Type:
Click the check box next to the resource type to choose that filter.
When only Building is selected, additional options appear. Click each button (e.g. View Foundation Materials) to refine your search by material. Filter options appear in a pop-up window.
When only Object is selected, additional options appear. Click the View Object Types button to refine your search by available object types. Filter options appear in a pop-up window.
When only Structure is selected, additional options appear. Click the View Structure Types button to refine your search by available structure types. Filter options appear in a pop-up window.
Refine by Architect/Maker: If you know the name or partial name of the Architect or Maker, type that text in the input box. Then click the Apply button to add that filter. Using a partial name will give wider search results.
Click the View List button to see all architects/makers available. Filter options will appear in a pop-up window.
Click on the Architect or Maker name to add it to your search filter.
Use the Previous and Next buttons at the bottom of the pop-up box to navigate, when there are multiple pages of results per alphabetical letter.
Refine by Use Type:
Click the View List button to refine search by Use Type. Filter options appear in a pop-up window.
Refine by Architectural Style:
Click the View List button to refine search by Architectural Style. Filter options appear in a pop-up window.
Refine by Areas of Significance:
Click the View List button to refine search by Areas of Significance. Filter options appear in a pop-up window.
Refine by Designation Type:
Click the check box next to the Designation Type to choose that filter.
Refine by Construction Year: Choose year or range of years and type in your selection/s, then click the Apply button to filter your results.
MHC ID Search
MHC ID Search is a separate single search tool, which will result in a Detail page for the requested MHC ID.
The MHC ID Search will not add to multiple Search Filters.
A Return to Results button will be available, if there is a Search Filters search in process.