Shell Oil Company "Spectacular" Sign | |
![]() The sign and filling station pictured in 2008 | |
Location | Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
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Coordinates | 42°21′24.5″N71°06′51.9″W / 42.356806°N 71.114417°W |
Built | 1933 |
Architect | Donnelly Electric Manufacturing Co. |
Architectural style | Moderne |
NRHP reference No. | 94000546 [1] |
Added to NRHP | June 3, 1994 |
The Shell Oil Company "Spectacular" Sign is a historic advertising sign by the Shell USA (the US-based subsidiary of Shell plc) located at 187 Magazine Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Shell USA sign was built in a Moderne style in 1933 by Donnelly Electric Manufacturing Company, and was originally located on the Shell Company building in Boston on Commonwealth Avenue, which now houses Boston University Academy.
It was moved to its present site adjacent to Memorial Drive in 1944. It is, along with the Citgo sign in Boston, one of only two surviving advertising signs of its type in the area. [2] Although the regular station signage is updated to reflect the company's current logo, the "Spectacular" sign itself also remains in the same location where it has always been.
The sign was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. [1]
Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and the area was fully built by around 1900. It is most famous for its rows of Victorian brownstone homes—considered one of the best preserved examples of 19th-century urban design in the United States—as well as numerous architecturally significant individual buildings, and cultural institutions such as the Boston Public Library, and Boston Architectural College. Initially conceived as a residential-only area, commercial buildings were permitted from around 1890, and Back Bay now features many office buildings, including the John Hancock Tower, Boston's tallest skyscraper. It is also considered a fashionable shopping destination and home to several major hotels.
Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The term "Harvard Square" is also used to delineate the business district and Harvard University surrounding that intersection, which is the historic center of Cambridge. Adjacent to Harvard Yard, the historic heart of Harvard University, the Square functions as a commercial center for Harvard students, as well as residents of western Cambridge, the western and northern neighborhoods and the inner suburbs of Boston. The Square is served by Harvard station, a major MBTA Red Line subway and a bus transportation hub.
Central Square is an area in Cambridge, Massachusetts centered on the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street and Western Avenue. Lafayette Square, formed by the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Columbia Street, Sidney Street and Main Street, is also considered a part of the Central Square area. Harvard Square is to the northwest along Massachusetts Avenue, Inman Square is to the north along Prospect Street and Kendall Square is to the east along Main Street. The section of Central Square along Massachusetts Avenue between Clinton Street and Main Street is designated the Central Square Historic District, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
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Memorial Drive, colloquially referred to as Mem Drive, is a 3.9-mile (6.3 km) parkway along the north bank of the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States.
Lowell Cemetery is a cemetery located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Founded in 1841 and located on the banks of the Concord River, the cemetery is one of the oldest garden cemeteries in the nation, inspired by Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Many of Lowell's wealthy industrialists are buried here, under ornate Victorian tombstones. A 73-acre (30 ha) portion of the 84 acres (34 ha) cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
The Landmark Center or 401 Park Building in Boston, Massachusetts is a commercial center situated in a limestone and brick art deco building built in 1928 for Sears, Roebuck and Company. It features a 200-foot-tall (61 m) tower and, as Sears Roebuck and Company Mail Order Store, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a Boston Landmark in 1989.
The 1767 Milestones are historic milestones located along the route of the Upper Boston Post Road between the cities of Boston and Springfield in Massachusetts. The 40 surviving milestones were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Massachusetts has a total of 129 surviving milestones including those along the upper Post Road. The stones are so named, despite having been placed in many different years, because of a 1767 directive of the Province of Massachusetts Bay that such stones be placed along major roadways. The state highway department was directed in 1960 to undertake their preservation. Many of them underwent a major restoration in 2018.
The Harvard Avenue Historic District is a historic district roughly bounded by Linden Street, Commonwealth Avenue, Harvard Avenue, and Park Vale Avenue in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Its spine is Harvard Avenue, a major north–south thoroughfare connecting Allston to points north, and south toward Brookline. The area underwent a population explosion in the early 20th century, and Harvard Avenue was developed roughly between 1905 and 1925 as a commercial and residential spine. Notable buildings in the district include the Allston Station building, designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, and the Harvard Avenue Fire Station.
The New England Confectionery Company Factory, also known as the NECCO Candy Factory, is an historic factory complex at 250 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The property is now owned by DFS Advisors, and is under long-term lease to Novartis. The complex, which includes the factory building, a power plant, and a modern (2003) parking garage, occupies most of an entire city block bounded by Massachusetts Avenue, Cross Street, Albany Street, and Lansdowne Street. The Moderne-style building was constructed of reinforced concrete, faced predominantly with beige brick and trimmed with limestone. On some facades smooth concrete predominates as the finish surface. The building had a water tower that was painted to resemble a roll of Necco Wafers; during the alterations of the property for use by Novartis, the water tower was retained, and is now painted with a DNA pattern in pastel colors. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
The former First Unitarian Church is a historic church building at 130 Highland Avenue in Somerville, Massachusetts. The stone church was built in 1894 for a Unitarian congregation. It was designed by Hartwell & Richardson and is a good example of Richardsonian Romanesque design. The building presently (2022) houses the Mission Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Durfee Mills is an historic textile mill complex located at 359-479 Pleasant Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, USA. Developed between 1866 and 1904, it was during its period of development the city's largest and architecturally finest mill complex. Along with the adjacent Union Mills, it is occupied by numerous retail businesses and a restaurant, and is known as the Durfee-Union Mills. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
77 Howard Street in Reading, Massachusetts is an excellent example of a well preserved Queen Anne Victorian house. It was built in the 1890s, during the town's growth as a railroad suburb of Boston. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Walnut Street School is a historic school building at 55 Hopkins Street in Reading, Massachusetts. A two-room schoolhouse built in 1854, it is the town's oldest public building. Since 1962 it has been home to the Quannapowitt Players, a local theatrical company. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Boston Manufacturing Company Housing are historic residential housing blocks at 380–410 and 153–165 River Street in Waltham, Massachusetts. The housing was for the Boston Manufacturing Company (BMC), the earliest modern manufacturing facility in the United States. The housing was built in the nineteenth century and the two blocks of buildings were separately added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
The Colonial Beacon Gas Station was a historic gas station at 474 Main Street in Stoneham, Massachusetts. It was built c. 1922 by the Beacon Oil Company to be a flagship station in their Colonial chain of filling stations. The concrete and stucco building was designed by the Boston firm of Coolidge & Carlson. It had two main sections: an octagonal section that once served as a drive-through filling area, and a rectangular service area to its left. Corinthian columns originally supported the octagonal section; these were later covered over or replaced. The octagonal section was topped by a round dome, at whose apex was a small pillared section that was once topped by a grillwork globe that housed a light. This light, when illuminated, became the beacon which gave the station its name. The service area and pumping bay had a band of starburst panels that ran along the top of the flat roofed service area and around the base of the pumping area dome. The structure was one of about 10 Colonial Oil stations built with a golden dome to resemble the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill.
The House at 9 White Avenue in Wakefield, Massachusetts is a well-preserved transitional Queen Anne/Colonial Revival house. Built about 1903, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
The Fisher Hill Reservoir and Gatehouse are historic elements of the public water supply for the Greater Boston area.
The Peter Fuller Building is a historic commercial building located at 808 Commonwealth Avenue in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Fairview Cemetery is a historic cemetery in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. A small section of the cemetery is located in neighboring Dedham. The cemetery was established by the town of Hyde Park in 1892, and became the responsibility of the city of Boston when it annexed that town in 1912. The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 16, 2009. It is the newest of Boston's cemeteries, and has more than 40,000 burials. It is the location where the City of Boston “bury indigent and unclaimed people”.
Media related to Shell Oil sign (Cambridge, Massachusetts) at Wikimedia Commons