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NPS Form 10-900 (Rev. 10-90) OMB No. 1024-0018 RECEIVED 2280 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service 844 ML / 5 2003 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NAT. REGISTER OF HIS NATIONAL PARK 'LACES This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking "X" in the appropriate box or by entering the information requested. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions.
Place additional entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items. 1. Name of Property historic name Whitman Mills other names/site number. 2. Location street & number. - _ not for publication 1,90 and east side Riverside Ave., south side, north side and rear 1 Coffin Ave., 10 Manomet St. city or town New Bedford - vicinity state Massachusetts code_MA countyBristol code_005 zip code02746 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1986, as amended, I hereby certify that this @homination - request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60.
In my opinion, the propert 1 meets - does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significan O benty tmesel osMatina legestu onneetor -Signature of dertifying official/Title Cara H. Metz, State Historic Preservation Officer 22/8/03 Massachusetts Historical Commission State or Federal agency and bureau In my opinion, the property - meets - does not meet the National Register criteria. (O See continuation sheet for additional Comments.) Signature of certifying official/Title Date State or Federal agency and bureau 4. National Park Service Certification I, hereby certify that this property is: Pentered in the National Register - See continuation sheet. - determined eligible for the National Register - See continuation sheet.
- determined not eligible for the National Register - removed from the National Register - other (explain): Entered in ti Oosa lf Beall Date of Actio 8/29/03 Whitman Mills. Name of Property 5. Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply) x private - public-local - public-State - public-Federal _Bristol, MA County and State (Check only one box) _ building(s) x district _ site _ structure _ object Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Contributing 11 1 2 Noncontributing building _ sites _ structures objects 14 Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register Name of related multiple property listing (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing.) n/a 6.
Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions) Industry/Processing/Extraction: manufacturing facility Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions) Industry/Processing/Extraction: manufacturing facility Vacant/not in use Z. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions) Materials (Enter categories from instructions) foundation_brick/stone/concrete walls brick roof other tar and gravel/rubber Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) (8-E010-900-2 United States Department of the Interlor Natlonal Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number 7 Page 1 oMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Whltman Mills Mow Bodford (Bristoll, MA.
Narrative Description (continued) The complex of the former Whitman Mills is located on a 15.88 acre site between Riverside Avenue and the Acushnet River at the base of Coffin Avenue and Manomet Street in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Although Nash's Point, the promontory on which it stands, was planned as a subdivision to be named Riverside Park, it was occupied around the turn of the last century by several industrial plants and associated worker housing. The Whitman Mills consist of a well-preserved grouping of 2-story, flat-roofed, brick buildings with utilitarian Romanesque Revival detailing configured to form a complex, narrow, U-shaped plan opening to Manomet Street. The extant plant is comprised of Mill No. 1 (1895) with attached No. 1 Engine House, Pipe House and Pump House; the Office Building (1895); Mill No. 2 (1902) including the saw tooth-roofed Weave Shed No.
2 (1902) and a Carpentry/Machine Shop (1902). Additionally, a free-standing, 3-story, trapezoidal-plan, brick, 72'-80' x 61', flat-roofed, Waste House (1920) and an adjacent, 1-story, rectangular, brick, Store House stand on the south side of Coffin Avenue opposite the south elevation of the main complex. A free-standing, trapezoidal-plan, brick, saw tooth-roofed Weave Shed No. 1 (368' x 585'-381') with attached Head House (368'x 78'-29'), formerly located across Riverside Avenue from Mill No. 1, was demolished by the city in 1950. Three, high, 1-story, ancillary buildings: an 80'-75' x 25' Turbine House, No. 2 Engine House, an 80' x 51' Boiler House and a 205' chimney, formerly in the mill yard near the junction of the weave shed with Mill No. 2, were removed c. 1960 (see attached diagram, Mill Yard Whitman Mills). Despite these losses, the plant remains enormous. Mill No.
1 at 90 Riverside Avenue is the most visible of the factory buildings. It commands the east side of the streetscape of Riverside Avenue for four blocks at the base of Coffin and Philips Avenues, Collette, and Davis Streets. The Whitman Mill Nos. 1 and 2, like several other factories in the city, were designed by noted industrial architect Charles R. Makepeace of Providence, Rhode Island and built by prominent builder Benjamin F. Smith of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. An addition to Mill No. 2 (1923) and renovations to the Waste House (1923) were designed by the local architectural/ engineering firm, Leary and Walker (Frank J. Leary and Frank A. Walker) of New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Nearly all of the New Bedford's textile mills were constructed in the Late Industrial Period (1870-1915) as the city was transformed from a whaling port to an industrial city focused on the manufacture of fine cotton textiles. Characteristic of factories in the city, the Whitman Mill complex is comprised of brick, pier and masonry spandrel buildings. Standard mill construction of plank on timber roofs and floors variously on wood trusses, steel beams, or steel trusses, with some boards on joists and concrete is used throughout. Automatic sprinklers were utilized in every part of the plant. Functional in design, buildings display little ornamentation other than corbeled cornices and segmental-arched surrounds defined by radiating voussoirs and granite sills on the regularly spaced fenestration.
Despite the introduction of electric lighting in the 1880s, abundant daylight continued to be the most important source of illumination to textile manufacture. Natural light remained cheaper and better suited to close work. Concentration of strength in the pilaster-and-panel masonry construction maximized the potential size of window openings. Regularity of bays in the structure engendered consistency (continued) (8- 10-900-2 United States Department of the Interlor Natlonal Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number 7 Page 2 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Whitman Mills Mow Bouford (Bristoll, MA. Narrative Description (continued) of the size and placement of fenestration promoting even lighting and ventilation. This uniformity not only serves the transoms used on the narrower, 104 foot-wide Mill No. 2 erected in 1902.
Characteristic of "light" monitors in manufacturing space, the interior of the top floor of Mill No. 1 is further illuminated by a six-foot high clerestory over the entire width of its central interior bay. Evidence suggests no such monitor existed on Mill No. 2. No 2 Weave Shed (1902) is immediately identifiable by its sawtooth roof which by the last decade of the 19" century had become the common roof form for such buildings in the textile industry. Technical advances which made available faster machinery with electric drives and improved heating, ventilating and caulking systems which eliminated leaking and overheating promoted adoption of this roof type. Increased vibration caused by the new machinery enhanced interest in 1-story weave sheds. The greater illumination provided by the sawtooth roof allowed for much wider structures as evidenced by 30l' x 303' Weave Shed No.2.
Some window openings on all buildings have been in-filled with brick or accommodated with replacement windows. Fiberglass panels have been installed in nearly all others, but large-scale, original sash remains underneath in a majority of cases. Historical photographs indicate the main mill yard was initially surrounded by a high wooden picket fence (not extant). Only Weave Shed No 2 continues in operation as a textile manufactory. It is the only building which retains textile machinery, although a few remnants of millwork may randomly exist. Mill No. 1 Detail on the flat-roofed, 2 ½-story, 980' x 125', rectangular, Mill No. 1 (Photo Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9) is limited to radiating voussoirs above the segmentally-arched windows with granite sills. Fenestration consists of oversized, 15/20, double-hung sash surmounted by double-row, ten-light, segmental-arched transoms.
Currently all are covered with fiberglass panels. The roofline is defined by a granite curb and includes a 6'-high, 3 bay-wide, center monitor (Photo Nos. 1,2, 3, 4, 5 and 6). Evident on both the side elevations, originally it extended only about three-quarters the length of the building from the south end. The, flat plane of the 121-bay facade (west) of Mill No. 1 along Riverside Avenue originally boasted regular window bays, an off-center main entrance, secondary entries at each end bay (north and south) and three interspersed doorways. Openings for each access are slightly wider than window apertures. In the second and thirtieth bays (from the northwest corner), upper-level window openings have been altered to a mid-floor level then subsequently in-filled with brick. This (continued) oMB Approval No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interlor National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number 7 Page 3 Whitman Mills Now Bodford (Bristoll, MA. Narrative Description (continued) fundamental regularity has been interrupted by three modern entries installed to accommodate retail uses in the 1950s or removed in the certified rehabilitation) stands in its place occupying bays 62 to 81 (Photos No. 2 and 5). Another original doorway in bay 44 has been supplanted by installation of an open, modern entry (scheduled to be removed in the certified rehabilitation). Adjacent window openings encompassing first floor bays 42 to 46 have been in-filled with cement block, glass block or plywood.
Accessed by a modern, concrete platform with concrete stairs at the north and south ends and defined by the application of mosaic tiles, the modern entry is surmounted by a flat, corrugated metal hood supported by chains hung from the brick elevation. Similar to but smaller than the new entrance in the area of the original main entry, a modern, 1-story, flat-roofed, metal and glass, enclosure with concrete base and concrete ramps running both north and south (scheduled to be removed in the certified rehabilitation) stands in bays 20 to 22 (Photo No. 5). In the early 1960s, a small, 2-story, flat-roofed, brick, 1-bay x 1-bay addition with 1-story, shed-roofed, projecting, enclosed entry was added to the southwest corner of Mill No. 1 (Photos No. 1, 2, 3 and 4).
Its detail of segmental-arched windows and multi-pane sash mimics that of the mill, but the 1-story, shed-roofed projection, double-leafed aluminum and glass doors and modern red brick distinguish its contemporary identity. The original exterior corner walls of the mill remain intact at this corner, but affected window openings on the facade (east) and south elevation have been in-filled with cement block. The third bay from the southwest corner of the facade had been in-filled with cement block and lowered to create an entrance with flush panel metal door accessed by brick edged concrete platform and north facing lateral stairs with a pipe rail. The only extant original entrance on the facade stands in the northwest corner (Photo No.5). It consists of double-leafed, 6- panel, wooden doors with square light beneath a large, fixed 24-light transom.
The original stairs have been replaced by a modern wooden platform with lateral stairs to the south. Historical photographs including those of the north and south elevations suggest similar original entries existed in the larger first floor openings in bays 34, 79 and 95 (from the northwest corner). Each has been replaced with flush panel wooden doors. Absent original plans for confirmation, evidence in the lack of exterior and interior stairs in each case suggests these openings were intended as loading docks. Originally a symmetrical, 15-bay configuration with regular window bays centered on both floors by loading docks with double leafed wooden doors, the north elevation of Mill No. 1 (Photo No. 6) has been both enlarged and modified.
Early in the 20"* century, three regular bays were added to the east as the north side of a 25' x 70' addition which leads to a 14'x 11' water closet tower in the northeast corner resulting in an irregular, 19-bay formation. Flush panel, double-leafed, metal doors have replaced original, double-leafed, wooden doors in loading dock openings. Other modifications to accommodate (continued) (PSE0rm 10-900-a United States Department of the Interior Natlonal Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number Page 4 oMB ApprovalNo. 1024-0018 Whltman Mills Mow Bedford (Bristoll, MA. Narrative Description (continued) truck transport were made in the second half of the 20# century.
The original, uncovered loading platform in the center bay has been extended through the adjacent two eastern bays where first floor windows have been removed and converted to loading docks. These two window openings retain their original width, but have been lowered to meet an open section of the enlarged concrete open platform and have been fitted with metal overhead doors surmounted by plywood panels. On the first floor, six of the nineteen window openings (the third through ninth bays from the northeast corner) have been blocked with brick or a combination of louvered panels and brick in-fill. The seventh bay has been modified to a truck dock of the same width by lowering the opening and installing an overhead door surmounted by a louvered panel. All basement window openings east of the loading dock have been bricked-in.
The westernmost 3 bays of the 15-bay south elevation of Mill No. 1 (Photo Nos. 1, 2, and 3) are covered by the modern addition in the southwest corner or in-filled with cement block. Asymmetrical by design, loading docks were originally located on both levels in the fifth bay from the southwest corner. The upper dock opening, originally closed by double- leafed wooden doors beneath a 24-light transom, was first reduced then completely bricked-in. It remains denoted by brick detailing and granite sill. The first floor opening has been modified into a truck dock with an overhead door. First level window openings in the seventh and ninth bays from the southwest corner have been also lowered to create truck docks.
Pedestrian access has been created in the fourth bay by lowering the window opening, installing a cottage door with frame in-fill and an open simple wooden platform on posts with lateral-access, open-tread stairway. The regularity of the east elevation of Mill No. 1 (Photo No. 7, 8 and 9) is interrupted by: 2-story, 24' x 10', 3 x 1-bay water closet towers at bays 44 through 46 and 95 through 97 from the northeast corner; the abutting 54' wide west wall of the Office Building at its southeast corner, and the attached and interconnected clustered brick structure of the 2-story, 62'x 15' Pipe Shop; 2-story high, 55' x 36' Boiler Room and the 1-story, 39' x 15' Pump House with 27' x 18' addition abutting bays 68 through 74 from the northeast corner with a 1-story, 27' x 18' projection adjacent to the north elevation of the Boiler Room.
Occupying the corner between the mill and the Pipe Shop is a modern, 2-bay, 1 ½-story, shed-roof, windowless, 2- sided, corrugated metal enclosure added in the late 20# century to shelter an additional staircase. The flat-roofed, water closet towers are starkly detailed like the main mill. Side (north and south) elevations are blank; illumination is provided by the thee windows on the east wall. The flat-roofed, 2-story, rectangular, 62'x 15', Pipe Shop (Photo Nos. 9 and 13) consists of blank walls except for a single, segmental-arched window with granite sill on each level of the south elevation and a door at the bottom of the east face. An electric shop on the second floor sat over the pipe shop on the first floor. Lacking an exterior exposure, a 15'-wide, brick-walled ropeway which housed a rope drive separates the Pipe Shop and Pump House.
The ropeway extends 39' from the Boiler Room into the interior of the first floor of Mill No. 1 where dynamos were formerly located. The shallow, hip roof of the rectangular-plan Boiler House (Photo Nos. 7, 9 and 13), formerly known as No. 1 Engine House, shelters one high expanse. A brick chimney penetrates the south slope and a clerestory along the west slope remains in place, but has been boarded. The north elevation is blank except for a door leading to the roof of the Pump (continued) (8S E)Tm 10-900-2 United States Department of the Interlor National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet section Number 7 Page 5 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Whltman Mills Now Bedford (Bristoll, MA. Narrative Description (continued) House. Two window bays define the exposed portion of the south elevation.
Ornamentation is reserved to the east Flvdtion derimen by bire es have rundareihed opepinis with aeiar ine ore ias ae ao or ee ernieas are aade las been installed in the center arched opening The shallow, shed-roofed, rectangular, 39' x 15' Pump House, between the Boiler Room and Mill No. 1 is exposed only on its 2-bay, north elevation. It has a 2-bay, flat-roofed, accreted, 27' x 18 section with blank west elevation and 2 window openings blocked with plywood extending its 2-bay north elevation along that of the Boiler Room. The eastern window bay of the shed-roofed section remains denoted by its segmental arch, but has been in-filled with brick and fitted with a modern flush panel door accessed by a concrete stoop and stairs with pipe rail.
Two, large, modern, poured-concrete ramps leading to second-story loading docks (the north ramp, in place by 1954 was removed and original window openings were restored in the certified rehabilitation) had been introduced abutting both the north and south ends of the east elevation of Mill No. 1. The 1½-bay wide, 2/-bay deep, enclosed docking area on the north end of Mill No. 1 abutted the projecting, 2-bay, south face of the 81' x 23' projecting addition. The eastern opening had been in-filled with cement block. The western opening had been widened to accommodate an overhead door. A projecting cement block and poured concrete, shed-roofed enclosure has been added at the top of the southern ramp (post 1954) and abuts at approximately bays 103 and 104. It shelters two wooden overhead garage doors and one pedestrian door.
Additional loading docks have been added by lowering existing window openings on the first floor of the 10-bay east elevation where the projecting addition has been built. Openings in the third, fourth and seventh bays (from the southeast corner) of the addition have been partially bricked beneath the transom. Modern, metal overhead doors have been installed in the fourth and seventh bays. A flush-panel, wooden door has been added to the third bay. A concrete platform has been added beneath the third and fourth bays from the southeast corner. Mill No. 2 Other buildings in the complex are separately owned. The 2½ -story, flat-roofed, 570' x 104', rectangular, main part of Mill No. 2 (Photo Nos. 10,11, 18 and 19), also designed by Charles R. Makepeace and built by Benjamin F. Smith, is nearly identical to Mill No. 1.
Fenestration differs in being slightly larger and comprised of paired, 18-pane, casement and fixed- sash windows beneath 12-light, segmental-arched transoms, a window type characteristic of many local mill buildings. Most window openings have been covered with fiberglass panels, but original sash predominantly remains beneath. In a few instances, sections of original wooden sash have been replaced with inserts of aluminum and glass oversized, jalousie sash. A third story existed on Mill No. 2 and was removed between 1924 and 1951. Record of a building permit for the demolition was not found, but physical evidence of the removal may be suggested by the application of a metal cornice cap (continued) (8S 50rm 10-900-2 United States Department of the Interlor National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number 7 Page 6 oMB Approval No.
1024-0018 Whitman Mills Mow Bedford (Bristoll, MA. Narrative Description (continued) opposed to the granite curb utilized on Mill No. 1. Detail is similarly spare to Mill No.1, limited to radiating voussoirs and granite sills on openings. On the west elevation of Mill No. 2 (Photo Nos. 10 and 11), the main entry is located at the northwest corner. The original, multi-light transom remains, but modern, double-leafed, metal doors with 4-light, upper panels and solid lower panels have replaced original, double-leafed, wooden doors. The entrance is accessed by preformed concrete stairs with wrought iron railing. An original loading dock between the first and second floors in bay 9 from the northwest corner has been in-filled with brick. Another original loading dock at bay 48 from the northwest corner continues to be utilized. It is now sheltered by a metal canopy set on metal posts.
On the first floor, a truck dock has been inserted into the 25t bay from the northwest corner. A metal pedestrian door and metal panel surmounted by fire escapes connecting the first and second floors has been installed in both bays 27 and 28. Metal doors have also been installed on the second floor in the 28th bay. Basement windows in alternating bays have been in-filled with cement block. A modern, 2-story high, 46 x 22, red cement-block tower has been built to project off the two southern end bays of the elevation. New construction has been added to the 9-bay north elevation of Mill No. 2 (Photo No. 10). A concrete block 3-bay loading dock has been attached at oblique angle on its west end. A pedestrian entrance with pre-formed concrete stairs and wrought iron railing has also been built between the dock and the plane of the mill.
On the second floor about ½ of the original fenestration remains beneath fiberglass panels. Others windows consist of aluminum replacements of awning jalousie sash half or 3/4 or more covered with fiberglass panels. The regular bays of the east elevation of Mill No. 2 are interfused by two, flat-roofed, unornamented, water closet towers. One stands at bay 18, another at bays 38 and 39 from the northwest corner. Each tower has blank wall north and south elevations. The 14' x 10', northern tower has a two-bay east elevation. The larger 24' x 10' southern tower has thee-bay east elevation. A 1-story, 3 x 2 bay, rectangular, 55' x 30' Opening House projects off the south end of Mill No. 2 adjacent to the north wall of No. 2 Weave Shop. Its flat roof has a saw tooth monitor whose fenestration has been covered with roofing material. Roof detail includes a corbeled cornice.
Fenestration on the Opening House differs. Double-leaved, 18-pane, casement windows without transoms sit in the segmentally-arched openings with radiating voussoirs and granite sills. No. 2 Weave Shed The 301'x 303', 1 ½-story, saw tooth-roofed No. 2 Weave Shed (Photo Nos. 12, 13, 16 and 17), built in 1902 as designed by Charles R. Makepeace, has a 2-story section fronting on Coffin Avenue. The second story was added in 1923 according to the design of the firm Leary and Walker. Wall detail on the L-shaped, saw tooth-roofed weave shed includes pilasters which define corbeled bays centered by segmental-arched, 10-light, fixed windows with radiating voussoirs and granite (continued) (8- E9r 10-900-2 United States Department of the Interlor Natlonal Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number 7 Page 7 OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 Whltman Mills Mow Bedford (Bristoll, MA Narrative Description (continued) sills and similar basement windows. On both the east and west elevations, a simple open horizontal-slat, wooden railing protects a walkway above the wooden cornice supported by large ancons. On the 11-bay, 1-story section of the west elevation of No. 2 Weave Shed (Photo Nos. 12 and 13), nearly the entire wall area between pilasters in bays 6, 7 and 8 from the southwest corner has been removed to create recessed loading spaces. The sixth and seventh bays are closed only by chain-link gates. The eighth bay is secured by a large, metal overhead door. Modern openings have been added to the second and fourth bays from the southwest corner to created truck docks. The dock which centers the second bay supplants the original window opening.
The smaller dock in the fourth bay has a smaller off center opening which left the window intact. Subsequently abandoned, this dock has been in-filled with cement block. The southernmost bay of the 1-story section of the west elevation is centered by a segmental-arched opening for a recessed entry which retains a wooden stair and match stick paneling. The north elevation of No. 2 Weave Shed projects out 3 bays beyond the east elevation of Mill No. 2 and four (smaller) bays beyond the west elevation of the Carpentry and Machine Shop. The eastern portion continues the pattern of shallow pilasters defining wide corbeled bays centered by segmental-arched, 10-light, fixed windows with radiating voussoirs and granite sills.
Four narrower bays represent the western portion centered by and narrow, tall, square, exterior chimney sided on the east 20-light windows with segmental-arched, 10-light transoms in openings with details of radiating voussoirs and granite sills characteristic of the complex. The second story added to the south elevation along Coffin Avenue creates a 37-bay facade south elevation of No. 2 Weave Shed that rises to the level of the adjacent Office Building and Mill No. 1 and adopts the ornament of a granite curb at the flat roofline. Picking up detail from the 1-story part of the weave shed designed by C. R. Makepeace, 37 bays are grouped into 12 sections demarcated by shallow piers and corbeling at the cornice. Except for the single window bay above the drive through, each section incorporates three segmental-arch openings on each level.
Windows have common ornamentation of radiating voussoirs and granite sills. Although partially or entirely covered by wooden or fiberglass panels, original sash remains in a majority of the openings. Brick in-fill has been installed on the first floor in bays 3, 4, 8, 9, 11-15, 18, 22, 27, 31 (from the drive through opening). All but one of the basement windows have been bricked in. The single exception is boarded. The entry in the bay adjacent to the drive through has been modified with the addition of brick and glass block in-fill (serving as sidelights) and a modern 6-panel metal door with top lights. Doorways have been added to modified window openings in bays 9 and 33 (from the drive through opening). Transom areas have been in-filled with brick.
A brick-edged concrete stoop and stair with pipe railing serves the new entry in bay 9 comprised of a 6-panel metal door beneath a metal canopy. Originally an open inclined wooden ramp and platform set on posts beginning at bay 26 (from the drive through opening) ran along the facade as the approach to the loading dock in bay 36 enclosed by double- leafed wooden doors. It has been supplanted by a smaller and concrete loading dock with a lateral stair at bays 34-36 servicing the dock now secured by a modern, wooden, overhead door. The 15-bay, 1-story east elevation of No. 2 Weave Shed includes the 2-story section at the south end where the second floor (continued) (8S 50rm 10-900-a United States Department of the Interlor Natlonal Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number 7 Page 8 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Whltman Mills Mow Bedford (Bristoll, MA.
Narrative Description (continued) was added in 1923. Like the facade, wall detail here repeats the earlier design of shallow piers and corbeling at the cornice. The ind bay is much oaratver sa characterisi alko drephayled en the norh end or tor drsionrysrion ige inda or he 2-story section Carpentry and Machine Shop Like Mill No. 2, a third story also appears to have been removed from the flat-roofed, 2-story, pentagonal plan, 20' x 73'x 10' x 74' x 63' Carpentry and Machine Shop, also designed by Charles R. Makepeace. The regular, 6-bay northwest elevation of the Carpentry and Machine Shop (Photo No. 11) retains five, 20-pane sash windows with 10-pane transoms set in segmental-arched openings with radiating voussoirs and granite sills in the five eastern bays of the upper level. An original loading dock opening on the second floor remains in the easternmost bay.
On the first floor, the center two window openings have been in-filled with brick. The two easternmost openings have been lowered. The west end bay has been transformed to a pedestrian entry with modern, metal cottage door accessed by wooden stairs. The adjacent bay retains its original size, but has been converted to a loading dock by the installation of an overhead door. The west elevation of the Carpentry and Machine Shop retains its original 2-bay configuration comprised of a loading dock at each level to the north and a window opening to the south. Office Building On the facade of the 2½-story, 12 x 6-bay, flat-roofed, irregular-shaped, 92'-100' x 54' Office Building (Photo No. 15), first floor windows in the fifth through twelfth bays from the southeast corner have been in-filled with brick, but original openings remain denoted by granite sills and radiating voussoirs.
Modern awning windows have been installed in first floor bays five through eight, but original, 2/2, double-hung sash windows with 2-light transoms remain in the third and fourth bays of the first floor. On the second floor, original two-light transoms remain; top sash survives in the eighth bay and bottom sash endures in the eleventh bay. The main entry, located in the southwest corner of the building, has been modified with the introduction of replacement, metal and glass, double-leafed doors beneath a blocked transom. Otherwise, detail on the facade is limited to a curiously-whimsical chimney corbeled around a reduced window opening in the ninth bay and extending to a tall, shaped corbeled cap. The west elevation of the Office Building abuts Mill No. 1.
Initially exposed, the east elevation is attached to No 2 Weave Shed on the second floor by a 1-bay wide bridge over a single-lane, segmental-arched passage to the mill yard. The side entry in the north end bay remains denoted by depressions in the face of the elevation, but has been blocked as have other openings on this side of the building which has been stuccoed. The first floor of the 10-bay, rear (north) elevation is obscured by the modern (post-1957) addition of a concrete and frame enclosed platform and loading dock. Second floor windows have been reduced to accommodate 2/2 replacement windows. (continued) (8S50rm 10-900-2 United States Department of the Interlor Natlonal Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number 7 Page 9 OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 Whltman Mills Mow Bodford (Bristoll, MA Narrative Description (continued) Waste House Fenestration is limited to the facade and rear (south) elevation on the 2-story, brick, 72'-80' x 61' Waste House (Photo Nos. 20 and 21) at the corner of Coffin and Riverside Avenues. Most of the original, 8-light sash set in segmentally-arched Wate Houe ae band oeter rerily n e esd ay oifincd by the top an. radiating voussoirs and granite threshold. A similar opening in the adjacent bay to the west remains functional, secured by a metal, overhead door. The roofline, stepped down toward the rear, is conspicuous when viewed from the west. Both side (east [Photo No. 16] and west) elevations are blank except for the introduction of a doorway in the northeast corner of the east elevation. The 9-bay, rear (south) elevation of the Waste House maintains a flat plane.
A majority of original fenestration survives except for louvered panel inserts in the second and fourth bays (from the west) in the top floor; the glass block in-fill in the sixth through ninth bays (from the west), and a metal door in an elongated first bay serviced by an exterior, iron stair on the middle level of windows and the metal door in the similarly-modified sixth bay (from the west) on the ground floor. Auto House A 1-story, flat-roofed, 43' x 150' auto house (Photo No. 22) abuts the Storage house. Its original wood facade has been replaced with brick. The rear (south) elevation is denoted only by an 8-light, segmental-arched window with radiating voussoirs and granite sill in the center. The interior is open except for an approximately 39' x 13' walled area set off as an oil house. No.
1 Store House A number of openings have been altered, blocked, covered or removed and a variety of facings have been applied to the original frame facade on the four sections of the long, 400' x 150', 1-story, compartmentalized, storage building (Photo No. 16) fronting Coffin Avenue. Sections are defined by fire walls which protrude above the roofline and forward the plane of the building. The brick, rear elevations are more intact with regularly-spaced, 8-pane, segmental-arched windows in openings with radiating voussoirs set high against the eaves and granite sills. Some window openings have been modified into doorways. A few new openings have been added and others have been enlarged to create loading docks. A square, interior chimney exists at the rear (south) wall between the second and third bays from the west.
(continued) 8550rm 10-900-2 United States Department of the Interlor Natlonal Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number 7 Page 10 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Whitman Mills Now Bedford (Bristell, MA. Narrative Description (continued) Cotton Cloth Manufacture Cotton manufacture' requires many highly skilled workers performing particular functions in the overall effort. The complex process that converts harvested, sieved and packed raw cotton to cloth can be divided into three operations: preparation, spinning and weaving, plus the preparation of a design to be applied to the woven cloth. Preparation Cleaning At the factory, cotton is moved from the warehouse to the bale opening room.
Selected bales are opened and placed in a line of machines (known as the breaking and opening machine) which work as a unit to tear apart and partially clean the compressed, matted, baled cotton into small, loose bunches. Bunches are placed into a group of devices called a blending machine which is synchronized to combine proportioned amounts of varying grades of cotton. Matted cotton and waste yarn salvaged from other operations are fed into a waste machine which beats, separates and fluffs them in preparation for reuse. Cotton from the blending and waste machines is fed into the breaker picker which also partially cleans the raw cotton by beating and fluffing and creates wide sheets of loosely matted cotton called lap which is further cleaned and fluffed by the finisher picker.
Carding Next the cotton is processed by a carding machine which removes dirt and short fibers, lays other fibers parallel and forms them into rope-like stands called slivers which are deposited into large cylindrical containers call cans. If lower- grade, carded cotton is desired, processing immediately proceeds to the drawing frame. Drawing and Combing If better-grade, combed cotton is to be made, slivers are further processed by the sliver lapping machine which draws and unites several strands of sliver into a sheet of lap and winds it on a spool. This lap is processed by a ribbon lapping machine which draws and combines several rolls of lap into one roll of ribbon lap by straightening the fibers and enhancing uniformity in its weight and texture.
Ribbon lap, an approximately 10"-wide roll of closely matted cotton fibers is fed into a combing machine which removes all remaining dirt and extracts all fibers below a predetermined length creating slivers which are deposited in cans. Several strands of sliver are both combined into one and drawn out by the drawing frame which stretches by running it 860rm 10-900-2 United States Department of the Interlor National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number 7 Page 11 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Whitman Mills Now Bodford (Bristoll, MA. Narrative Description (continued) (continued) between several pairs of rollers turning at increasing speeds so that the weight and size of the final strand remains the same as each original.
The slubbing machine draws out and loosely twists the slivers together into roving which has sufficient strength for subsequent operations. Roving is passed through the fly frame in which two stands are combined and drawn into one until it reaches a prescribed weight before being loosely twisted for added strength. Spinning Spinning is the process of drawing out and twisting cotton fibers into a thin strand of yarn. One or more strands of slightly twisted roving are used to create one strand of spun yarn which is wound onto bobbins. Yarn is differentiated into warp, the set of yarn strands which runs lengthwise in fabric, and filling, woof or welt is the yarn which lays crosswise from salvage to salvage interlacing with the warp to form cloth.
In making warp, a doubling machine winds without twisting two or more strands of yarn into one package (a general term for any wound arrangement of yarn). The twisting machine then twists two or more strands of spun yarn into a heavier, stronger, single strand. This process is repeated until the desired number of plys in the yarn is produced. Double or two- ply yarn is made by combining two single yarns; three-ply yarn is made by combining three single yarns and so forth. Filling, woof or welt may be single-ply or multiple ply. For single-ply, the yarn is immediately conditioned after spinning. Conditioning is the process of exposing bobbins of yarn to steam or a spray of conditioning solution in order to set the twist, remove kinks and prevent kinking in subsequent processes. The winding machine winds a continuous length of yarn from several bobbins onto a spool.
Such spools are cheeses (rolls of yarn on paper rolls or wooden tubes that have no flanges or heads creating a form resembling bulk cheese) or cones (rolls of yarn on a tapered metal, wood or cardboard cylinder forming a conical shape). Cones are used in high speed warping. The introduction of ring spinning allowed a continuous and simultaneous spinning operation from the roving to the spun yarn on the bobbin. Mule spinning requires intermittent-action spinning machines which first spin the yarn then winds it on a spindle into a small package called a cop. If the warp is not to be dyed, it is next fed into a warping machine which takes about 500 strands of yarn and winds them side by side onto one, large (about 3' in diameter) spool called a section beam.
Warp to be dyed is processed by the ball warping machine which gathers together about 500 strands of yarn into a large, loose, rope-like strand and winds it over a wooden core. Such rolls are sent to be dyed in a separate location. Rolls of dyed warp yarn are handled by the beamer machine which separates the individual strands of dyed yarn and winds then onto one large spool (beam) like that of the warping machine. (continued) N85 60m 10-900-2 United States Department of the Interlor Natlonal Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number 7 Page 12 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Whitman Mills Now Bedford (Bristoll, MA. Narrative Description (continued) The slashing machine takes yarns from several section beams and winds them side by side onto one wider spool call a loom beam. Weaving Weaving is the interlacing of warp and woof.
Warp yarn from the loom beam and woof yarn from spools or bobbins are woven on a loom. The loam beam must be drawn in, a process where each of the warp filaments is treaded from the loom beam into the loom or in the order indicated by the design to be applied to the cloth (see designing below). When a loom beam is emptied, ends of the yarn are twisted or knotted to the yarn ends from a full beam. As the loom runs, it raises every other strand of warp yarn while the shuttle, a pointed block of wood, to pull the woof or filling yarn through the strands. The position of the warp strands is then reversed before the shuttle pulls the woof yarn in the reverse direction. Bobbins are replaced when emptied. Any remaining yarn is removed and returned to the waste machine for salvage. Empty bobbins are returned to spinning operations.
Cloth from the loom is sent to the stitching machine which sews lengths of cloth together. A shearing machine cuts away knots and loose ends of yarn to assure a smooth surface to the fabric. The cloth is inspected and graded for quality before being scheduled for shipping. Designing Designing is the process of determining both the weave (plain, twill or satin) and the pattern (decoration). The two primary types of looms, the dobby loom (adequate for simple weaves) and the jacquard loom (required for complex weaves) are primarily differentiated by how individual warp yarn threads are controlled. On the dobby loom, each strand of warp yarn is treaded through an eye in a fiber or metal strand called a heddle which is assembled into a harness attached to a harness frame.
A separate harness is used for each group of strands of warp yarn that must be independently moved to create the desired weave. Each harness frame is fastened to a mechanism that raises and lowers it in proper sequence to form the sheds (openings across the warp) through which the shuttle carries the woof yarn. A two-harness loom produces plain weaves. Three or more harnesses are required to produce twill fabric. A minimum of five harnesses is necessary for other types of cloth. The design is drawn on cross-section paper called a design draft which is converted into a pattern chain, an arrangement of wooden crossbars and metal pegs. The latter determine which and when harnesses are raised. On the jacquard loom each strand of warp yarn can be individually controlled.
Instead of a heddle harness, a series of (continued) (8S 597m 10-900-2 United States Department of the Interlor Natlonal Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number 7 Page 13 oMB ApprovalNo. 1024-0018 Whitman Mills Mow Bouford (Bristoll, MA. Narrative Description (continued) upright wires with hooks at their upper ends is attached to a controlling head high above the loom. The head is controlled y a punch card system. The design draft is converted into punched cards. The presence or absence of holes in each car etermines whether each strand of warp varn is raised or lowered. Cards pass through the head at the rate of one card fo Utilization of the Whitman Mills The earthen-floored crawl space of Mill No. 1 was used' for storage.
The northern part housed bobbins and spools; the middle section stored miscellaneous metal parts and old lumber; the south end was occupied by a dust room. On the first floor, drawing and fly frames, slubbers and twisting machinery were used on the northern part; combing and drawing dynamos sat in the middle area; carding was undertaken toward the southern end adjacent to pickers at the south terminus. Warping, spooling and slashing functions were housed on the northern end of the second floor with ring spinning situated in the opposite end. In Mill No. 2, the north end of the crawl space was used for storage of storm windows. The south end was occupied by a dust room. Combing, slubbing, lap machines and fly frames occupied the northern three quarters of the first floor. Carding was carried on in the next section to the south; pickers were housed in the south end of the first floor.
Mule spinning secured 4/5s of the floor area of the second floor with the northern extreme of the level used for winding. Slashing, spooling, warping and harnessing were carried on in the southern third of the top floor with ring spinning in the northern two thirds. In Weave Shed No. 2, shafting and motors were housed in the crawl space for the plain and jacquard looms which ran on the first floor with a rewinding area at the southern extreme. A motor and lumber occupied the crawl space of the Carpentry and Machine Shop. A water closet and woodworking shop filled the first floor surmounted by a machine shop on the second floor and harness storage on the third floor. Jacquard cards were stored in the basement of the office building beneath the superintendent's office and supply room on the first floor and additional office space on the second floor.
Waste and waste bailing were housed on the first level of the Waste House beneath cotton in bins on the second floor. The 1-story interior of No. 1 Store House is subdivided by the fire walls into sections (east to west): A, finished goods storage; B, cotton storage; C, bagged starch storage and D, cotton storage. (continued) (8- 10-900-2 United States Department of the Interlor Natlonal Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section Number 7 Page 14 OMB ApprovalNo. 1024-0018 Whitman Mills Now Bedford (Bristoll, MA. Narrative Description (continued) Although subdivided to various owners, the Whitman Mills retains architectural integrity representative of the enormous factories the cotton textile industry generated in New Bedford at the turn of the 20* century.
Many such properties in th ity stand vacant and threatened with demolition as has been the recent fate of several. In 2001-2002, Mill No. 1 was the subject of a certified rehabilitation in which approximately 135,000 SF of the mill space at the north end of the building Archaeological Description While no ancient Native American sites are known in the Whitman Mill District, sites may be present. Environmental characteristics of the district indicate a high potential for the presence of Native American sites. The district is located on Nash Point, a promontory with level to moderate slope on the west bank of the Acushnet River. Soils in the area are classified as urban land; however, prior to industrial and residential development, soils were probably well drained. Five sites are recorded in the general area (within one mile).
Floral and faunal resources associated with a marine related ecosystem and nearby upland and fresh water resources would have been available for Native American subsistence and settlement activities in the area. In general, however, the potential for recovering significant ancient Native American resources in the Whitman Mills District is low. Construction impacts associated with several 19" century industrial buildings and worker housing in the area and similar impacts associated with the present mill buildings which have basements, would have destroyed any Native American resources located in the district. A high potential also exists for the presence of historic archaeological resources in the Whitman Mills District. Several 19th century industrial plants and associated worker housing occupied the site prior to construction of the existing mill complex.
Given the size and below grade levels of the massive mill buildings in the district today, a low potential exists for research potential. (end) 1. The Process of Making Cotton Cloth based on a diagram in Job Descriptions for he Cotton Textile Industry. washington, D. C 1932 accessed March 2003 from he world wide web: http://www.gendex.com/users/kcates/glencoe/library/flow.htm 2. Mill area usages are those described on the Plan of the site by Associated Mutual Insurance Co.'s., Oct. 7, 1921, Index Number 14026. Whitman Mills Name of Property 8. Statement of Significance