Emerson Shoe Company

Last updated

Emerson Shoe Company
RocklandMA EmersonShoeFactory.jpg
USA Massachusetts location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location51 Maple St., Rockland, Massachusetts
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
Builtc. 1891 (1891)
NRHP reference No. 100002542 [1]
Added to NRHPJune 1, 2018

The Emerson Shoe Company is a historic industrial property located at Maple and Plain Streets in Rockland, Massachusetts. Built about 1891 and repeatedly enlarged, it is the largest wood-frame structure in Rockland, and was home to one of its largest employers in the early 20th century. Now converted to residential use, the factory complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. [1]

Contents

Description and history

The former Emerson Shoe Company factory is located in a mixed industrial-residential area in Rockland, at the northwest corner of Maple and Plain Streets. Its oldest portion is a 2+12-story structure lining Maple Street, while additions and extensions run along Plain Street. It was built using typical timber-framed "mill construction" techniques of the 1890s and 1900s, with sections ranging in height from two to four floors. [2]

The oldest portion of the complex was built about 1891 by Hall, Gallagher & Foulke's Shoe Company, later renamed George W. Hall & Company. In 1906 the building was purchased by R.B. Grover & Company, a Brockton-based shoemaker founded in 1889 whose factory had been destroyed by fire. Grover was best known for producing the "Emerson shoe", and renamed itself in 1901. The company was one of Rockland's biggest employers, enlarging the premises in 1906, and again in 1909 and 1916. The company failed during the Great Depression in 1931.

The factory saw a variety of industrial uses since then such as hosting commercial businesses and general workspaces. Through the 1980s and 1990s this building became known as the Codman Building and was home to as many as 30 to 40 artists but was closed down in 2006 making way for the historic factory to be converted into residential loft-style housing. [2] [3] [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockland, Massachusetts</span> Town in Massachusetts, United States

Rockland is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,803 at the 2020 census. As of December 31, 2009, there were 11,809 registered voters in the community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acushnet Heights Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Acushnet Heights Historic District is a predominantly residential historic district in central New Bedford, Massachusetts. It encompasses a densely-built urban area about 20 acres (8.1 ha) in size, which was developed as a working-class area, beginning in the 1860s, for the many workers in the city's factories. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It abuts the North Bedford Historic District, which is just to the south, and includes the following separately-listed properties: the Union Street Railway Carbarn, the Bradford Smith Building, and the Dawson Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">F. A. Whitney Carriage Company Complex Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The F. A. Whitney Carriage Company Complex Historic District encompasses a major 19th-century industrial complex off 124 Water Street in Leominster, Massachusetts. The complex is one of the best-preserved in the city, and was developed by of its most successful businesses of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The F. A. Whitney Company, founded in 1858, manufactured baby carriages and related products, and operated here from 1862 to 1952, and was one of the city's major employers. The oldest surviving buildings of its manufacturing complex date to 1872. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Most of the complex has been converted into residential use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millis Center Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Millis Center Historic District is an historic district on Curve, Daniels, Exchange, Irving, Lavender, Main, and Union Streets in Millis, Massachusetts. It encompasses the historic mid-to-late-19th century village center of the town, including the residential area north of Main Street, two 19th-century industrial complexes, and civic and institutional buildings. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wason-Springfield Steam Power Blocks</span> United States historic place

The Wason-Springfield Steam Power Blocks are a collection of three historic commercial blocks at 27-43 Lyman St. and 26-50 Taylor Street in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. They were built in the 1870s by the J.W. Wason Car Company and the Springfield Steam Power Company as facilities to support the development of new businesses in what was then called the North Blocks area of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haverhill Board of Trade Building</span> United States historic place

The Haverhill Board of Trade Building is a historic factory building at 16-18 and 38-42 Walnut Street in Haverhill, Massachusetts. The seven-story brick building was built in stages between 1906 and 1908 by the Haverhill Board of Trade, a consortium of local businessmen. The purposes of the building was to provide affordable factory space to small business operators, principally in the shoe manufacturing business that dominated Haverhill's economy in the early 20th century. The building also marked an expansion of Haverhill's business and industrial district into a previously residential area. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. It has been converted to residential use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kendal Green Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Kendal Green Historic District is a rural residential district running along North Avenue in Weston, Massachusetts. It extends for about three-quarters of a mile, and includes elements representative of the development of Weston from a rural agricultural community to a residential suburb of Boston. In addition to a variety of predominantly residential and agricultural properties, it includes two formerly industrial sites important in Weston's history: the site of the Hobbs Tannery, and that of the Hook and Hastings Organ Factory. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Waltham Watch Company Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The American Waltham Watch Company Historic District encompasses the former factory of the Waltham Watch Company, the leading American watch manufacturer of the 19th century and the city's largest employer. Located on Crescent Street and the banks of the Charles River, the surviving elements of its manufacturing facility date from the 1870s to the 1910s, and include particularly fine industrial Romanesque architecture. The buildings have been converted to a variety of commercial, industrial and residential uses since they ceased being used for watchmaking in the 1950s. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward's Plain–Dowse's Corner Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Edward's Plain–Dowse's Corner Historic District is a predominantly residential historic district encompassing an area where light industrial activity took place from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. It extends along North Main Street between Eliot and Everett Streets in Sherborn, Massachusetts, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worcester Bleach and Dye Works</span> United States historic place

The Worcester Bleach and Dye Works is a historic factory complex at 60 Fremont Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. It consists of a pair of primarily brick factory buildings, one of which was built in 1909, and the other built later, between 1911 and 1922, for the named company, which was a major local manufacturer of thread. After the Bleach and Dye Works closed its doors in 1938, the complex has seen a succession of other owners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C.H. Brown Cottage</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The C.H. Brown Cottage is a historic house at 34 Wright Street in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Probably built in the 1830s, it is a well-preserved example of worker housing built for employees of local shoe factories. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House at 11 Wave Avenue</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The House at 11 Wave Avenue in Wakefield, Massachusetts is a well-preserved example of Queen Anne/Stick-style architecture. Built between 1875 and 1888, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House at 15 Wave Avenue</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

15 Wave Avenue is a well-preserved Italianate style house in Wakefield, Massachusetts. It was built between 1875 and 1883, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 6, 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. W. Clark Biscuit Company</span> United States historic place

The H. W. Clark Biscuit Company is a former industrial complex in North Adams, Massachusetts. The bakery that Herbert W. Clark built at this site began at a facility on Liberty Street, and expanded into a shoe factory building that Clark had operated with a partner. When the Liberty Street plant was destroyed by fire in 1913, Clark placed its employees on a second shift in the shoe factory building, and had the building now called the Icing Building constructed. This building was built in a style reminiscent of mills built in North Adams fifty years earlier, and is still sometimes thought to be an older building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles H. Hayes Building</span> United States historic place

The Charles H. Hayes Building is a historic former box factory at 14-44 Granite Street, Haverhill, Massachusetts. Built in two phases, the building represents the city's industrial growth around the turn of the 20th century. It was built by Charles H. Hayes, whose business empire also included locally important shoe manufacturers, as well as forest lands in four states to supply his operations. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimball Brothers Shoe Factory</span> United States historic place

The Kimball Brothers Shoe Factory is a historic factory building at 335 Cypress Street in Manchester, New Hampshire. The four-story brick building was built in stages between 1885 and 1900, and was a prototypical structure from which the design of other period shoe factories in Manchester were built. Construction was overseen by Head & Dowst, a builder responsible for a number of area public buildings, including schools and prisons. It was funded by local businessmen seeking to diversify the local economy, and was leased to the Kimball Brothers, a leading shoe manufacturer in Lynn, Massachusetts. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exeter Waterfront Commercial Historic District</span> Historic district in New Hampshire, United States

The Exeter Waterfront Commercial Historic District encompasses the historic commercial and residential waterfront areas of Exeter, New Hampshire. The district extends along the north side of Water Street, roughly from Main Street to Front Street, and then along both sides of Water and High streets to the latter's junction with Portsmouth Street. It also includes properties on Chestnut Street on the north side of the Squamscott River. This area was where the early settlement of Exeter took place in 1638, and soon developed as a shipbuilding center. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It was enlarged in 1986 to include the mill complex of the Exeter Manufacturing Company on Chestnut Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensbury Mill</span> United States historic place

The Queensbury Mill is a historic mill building at 1 Market Street in Somersworth, New Hampshire. Built in 1884, it is unusual for the period for its wood-frame construction, and for its financing, executed by local businessmen to attract shoe manufacturers to the city. The mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The building has been converted into apartments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nashawannuck Mills Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Nashawannuck Mills Historic District of Easthampton, Massachusetts encompasses a 19th-century industrial complex on Cottage Street in the heart of the town. Most of the connected series of brick buildings were built between about 1848 and 1870, although the facilities were used for industrial purposes until 1970. The oldest building erected was by Samuel Williston for a button factory. Powered by a dam that impounded Bound Brook, the facility expanded in both size and function, eventually becoming a major producer of elastic fabrics for goods such as suspenders and webbing. The industrial works were the major economic engine in Easthampton into the 20th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard, Shaw & Dean Shoe Factory</span> United States historic place

The Leonard, Shaw & Dean Shoe Factory is a historic industrial property located at Rice and Peirce Streets in Middleborough, Massachusetts. Built in 1896 and repeatedly enlarged before 1911, it was home to one of the town's major employers. Now converted to residential use, the factory complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. 1 2 "MACRIS inventory record for Emerson Shoe Company". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  3. "4th Floor Artists, inc". 4th Floor Artists, inc. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  4. Slaney, Mikaela. "South Shore Advocacy for Art group to meet this week". Enterprise News. Retrieved February 2, 2022.