Smith Carriage Company District

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Smith Carriage Company District

Park Street, Springfield MA.jpg

Park Street
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Location Springfield, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°6′0″N72°35′5″W / 42.10000°N 72.58472°W / 42.10000; -72.58472 Coordinates: 42°6′0″N72°35′5″W / 42.10000°N 72.58472°W / 42.10000; -72.58472
Built 1880
MPS Downtown Springfield MRA
NRHP reference # 83000763 [1]
Added to NRHP February 24, 1983

The Smith Carriage Company District encompasses three buildings on Park Street, Springfield, Massachusetts, between Main and Willow Streets. The buildings, located at 12, 14-38, and 11-31 Park Street, are noted for their historic association with the locally important Smith Carriage Company, a major manufacturer of carriages in the 19th century. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. [1]

Springfield, Massachusetts City in Massachusetts

Springfield is a city in the state of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern Mill River. As of the 2010 Census, the city's population was 153,060. As of 2017, the estimated population was 154,758, making it the 4th-most populous city in New England, and the 12th-most populous in the Northeastern United States. Metropolitan Springfield, as one of two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, had a population of 692,942 as of 2010.

Carriage Generally horse-drawn means of transport

A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters (palanquins) and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use, though some are also used to transport goods. A public passenger vehicle would not usually be called a carriage – terms for such include stagecoach, charabanc and omnibus. It may be light, smart and fast or heavy, large and comfortable or luxurious. Carriages normally have suspension using leaf springs, elliptical springs or leather strapping. Working vehicles such as the (four-wheeled) wagon and (two-wheeled) cart share important parts of the history of the carriage, as does too the fast (two-wheeled) chariot.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

Contents

Description and history

The Smith Carriage Company was founded in 1827 by David Smith, who had apprenticed at another carriage maker in Westfield. The company specialized in the manufacture of carriages with light frames, but also resold carriages made by others. In the early 20th century, it provided a chassis to the Stevens-Duryea Company that was used in one of its prototype automobiles. The company focus changed to the manufacture of automobile parts in the 1910s and 1920s, a business the company continued in until its final closure in the 1940s. [2]

Westfield, Massachusetts City in Massachusetts, United States

Westfield is a city in Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. Westfield was first settled in 1660. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 41,094 at the 2010 census.

Stevens-Duryea

Stevens-Duryea was an American manufacturer of automobiles in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, between 1901 and 1915 and from 1919 to 1927.

The three buildings on Park Street were built in later phases of the company's history. The oldest of the three, 12 Park, is a three-story brick building dating from the late 19th century; it has typical industrial architecture of that period, with segmented-arch window openings and a corbelled cornice and terra cotta detailing. The other two buildings have steel and concrete frames, finished in brick with concrete ground floors, and vary in height from two to four stories. Windows are large industrial sashes set in rectangular openings, with brick piers separating the bays on the upper floors. [2] These were built to facilitate the company's production of automotive parts. [3]

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in Springfield, Massachusetts Wikimedia list article

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Springfield, Massachusetts.

National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampden County, Massachusetts Wikimedia list article

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampden County, Massachusetts.

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References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Smith Carriage Company District". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
  3. "MACRIS inventory record for 11-31 Park Street". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2018-03-21.