Nomination for Wigglesworth Building

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (7-81) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries - complete applicable sections 1. Name OMB NO.1024-0018 EXP, 10/31/84 For NPS use only received SEP 21 1982 date entered historic Wigglesworth Building and/or common Same 2. Location street & number Boston city, town 89-83 Franklin Street (also 211-215 Devonshire Street) N/Anot for publication N/Avicinity of Massachusetts 025 state 3.

Classification Category Ownership district Xbuilding(s) public -private structure both site Public Acquisition object in process N/A being considered code congressional distriet county Suffolk 025 code Status - occupied unoccupied work in progress Accessible X - yes: restricted yes: unrestricted no Present Use _ agriculture X _ commercial educational entertainment government industrial - military museum park private residence religious scientific transportation other: 4. Owner of Property name A.W. Perry, Inc. street & number 44 Bromfield Street city, town Boston N/Avicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Mass., 02108 courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Suffolk County Registry of Deeds street & number Pemberton Square/Government Center city, town Boston state Mass., 02108 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Historic Assets title of the Conmonwealth has this property been determined eligible? - yes X no date June 1980 _ federalX state - county - _ local depository for survey records Massachusetts istorical Cormission city, town 294 Washington Street state Mass. 02108 7. Description 89-93 Franklin St. Boston, Wigglesworth Building: (also 211-215 Deyonshire St.) Condition _ excellent - good fair Check one deteriorated ruins unexposed unaltered .altered Check one X original site _ moved date 1885,1970 Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

A The Wigglesworth Building stands at the southwest corner of Franklin and Devonshire Streets in Boston's central business district. Constructed of pressed red brick, granite and buff-colored freestone, the building rises five full stories above a high basement that extends beneath the sidewalk in an iron and masonry vault. The building's plan is irregular, conforming to the curved boundary lines of its lot, which reflect the curves of Franklin and Devonshire Streets. The Franklin Street elevation (north) con- tains ten bays; the northeast corner is curved over four bays; the Devonshire Street ele- vation (southeast) contains ten unevenly spaced bays; the south elevation, facing an al- ley, contains three bays; and the west elevation is a party with a neighboring structure.

The building rests on a plinth of dressed granite above which brick walls and cast-iron storefronts rise to a hammered granite sign board and freestone cornice. Storefronts are framed into bays by panelled cast-iron columns with decorated capitals. Between each pair of columns are former basement windows (mostly removed) and plate-glass dis- play windows surmounted by transoms (mostly removed). From the second to the fourth stories, windows are flanked by recessed brick panels; window surrounds are connected by continous courses of freestone at their sills and at the level of springers for their Second storey windows contain 1/1 sash and lintels with carved rosettes while third and fourth storey windows contain 2/2 sash and lintels with incised, curvilinear decorative patterns.

At the head of the fourth storey is a freestone cornice with modil- lions, above which the fifth storey contains 5/5 arched windows set in arched surrounds with keystones. At the head of the fifth storey is a shallow stone cornice. The building's roof is flat, covered with tar and gravel, and has two metal-clad elevator penthouses, one near the building's southwest corner, the other near its northwest corner. Alterations to the Wigglesworth Building have been minor. A aluminum-trimmed glass entry has been added to the westernmost bay of the Franklin Street facade; similar entries have been added to the storefronts, however, none of these impinge upon the castiron fram- ing of the storefronts. Several bays of stores on the southeast' elevation have been en- closed with stucco panels and one of the doors of the rear loading bay (south) has been replaced with a flush door ( ca. 1970).

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Boston, Wigglesworth Building Period - prehistoric -1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 X 1800-1899 1900 Areas of Significance-Check and justify below archeology-prehistoric community planning _landscape architecture_ - archeology-historic _ conservation law X - agriculture economics .literature architecture _ education - military art . engineering _ music _ commerce exploration/settlement - philosophy _ communications - industry - politics/government _invention _religion science .sculpture - social/ humanitarian theater - transportation - other (specify) Specific dates 1873, 1885 Builder

Statement of significance

/Architect Nathaniel J. Bradlee, architect (1873) Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) Winslow & Wetherell, architects (1885) The Wigglesworth Building possesses integrity of location design, materials and setting as well as historical associations with one of Boston's most prominent nineteenth-cen- tury architects and with the retail firm of French, Abram & Co. As an excellent example of Boston's late nineteenth century mercantilism it meets criteria A,B,& C of the Na- tional Register of Historic Places. Noteworthy for its ornate and well-preserved Victorian Gothic design, the Wigglesworth Building was built in 1873 to replace a building that had been destroyed in the Great Fire of 1872.

The polychromatic effect of the Building's red brick walls and buff- colored freestone trim, as well as its many moulded belt courses, recessed brick pan- els, carved lintels, and cast-iron storefronts marked it then and now as one of the finest examples of mid-Victorian commercial architecture in downtown Boston. tion, the Building's curved facades and corner site make it a prominent architectural element of Franklin Street and Winthrop Square. As originally built, the Wigglesworth Building stood only four stories high above a basement; around 1885, the existing cornice was raised two feet above its original position and the fifth storey was added bringing the Building to its present size. The fifth storey was designed by Winslow & Wethere!l of Boston; sketches and elevations of the addition are in the possession of the Boston Athenaeum. The Building's architect, Nathaniel J.

Bradlee (1829-1888), is known as one of Boston's most prolific nineteenth-century architects. Having studied architecture in the Bos- ton office of George Dexter, to whose practice he succeeded, Bradlee is believed to have designed more than 500 conmercial blocks in downtown Boston in addition to blocks of row houses and other conmissions throughout the Boston area. Following the Fire of 1872, whihdestroyedmanyofhiscarlierbuldinsradlerwasativeintherebuil ding oI the burned district. Iogether with his students, walter I. winslow and George weth- erell, Bradlee was an important influence on Boston's commercial architecture directly through his own designs and indirectly through the firm of Winslow and Wetherell which succeeded to his large cormercial practice. Original plans and elevations of the Wigglesworth Building are contained in the Boston Athanaeum's collection of N.J.

Bradlee's drawings. Built as an investment either for Edward Wigglesworth, a businessman, or for Edward the mid-nineteenth century, the Wigglesworth Building was rented to the firm of French, Abram & Co. from 1876 until 1900. Founded by Andrew Hall in 1822 as a retail and whole- sale dealer in glassware, pottery and cutlery, French, Abram & Co. advertised itself in the 1870's as New England's largest business of its type. Employing more than 100 people, the company used the basement and upper floors of the Wigglesworth Building for its wholesale department which carried on a business throughout New England and Canada. The first storey served as display space and included several "art rooms" in which art pottery was displayed. Since 1900, the Wigglesworth Building has been used for a mixture of stores and offices.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Major Bibliographical References Architectural Drawings of Nathaniel J. Bradlee. Vol 27 (1873) pp. 124-144 Manuscript at Boston Anthenaeum. Leading Manufacturers and Merchants of the City of Boston (1885) p. 99 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property - 7,009 feet Quadrangle name _ Boston South UMT References L9l 13/30490 Zone Easting 49911|040 Northing Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 LL LL E Easting Northing D F LLLuL LLLu HLÜLLiLJ biüLu Verbal boundary description and justification The nominated property includes only the lot on which the building stands; it is de- scribed in Boston Assessors' Records as parcel #4165 of Ward 3 and is shown on Assessors' Map 25N-13E. The nomination is confined to the Wigglesworth Building at the (cont.) List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state N/A code county code state - code 11.

Form Prepared By county code name/title Candace Jenkins, Registration Director with B.R. Pfeiffer ACT for Mass. organization Massachusetts Historical Conmission date July, 1982 street & number 294 Washington Street -telephone (617) 727-8470 city or town Boston state Massachüsetts 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: _ national __ state _ local As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service.

State Historic Preservation Officer signature Valeiu Ann almage title Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical cammission date Jptember- 13,1982 For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register Delor Entered in the i xaoper o the Malionel Regstcd National Register date 10/21/82 Attest: date Chief of Registration FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form Continuation sheet Boston; Wigglesworth Bldg- Item number 10 For HCRS use only received date entered Page 1 present since it is undergoing renovation and is in the process of certification of rehabilitation for purposes of the Tax Act. The building is part of a larger district which appears to meet the eligibility criteria.

Because of the complexity of a down- town nomination and in order for the rehabilitation to proceed in a timely manner, the nomination for the Wigglesworth Building is occuring first and separately. Individually, the building meets the eligibility criteria. 17,16> -58 260 1713 40 P68 72523238|21 CHOOL 2a 3 1662 19/15 3020 3798 13//11 4902 9 7 531 ST. 635 27 27 WATER 276 278 325/ 280 288 290 15 Ti 8 4716 SPRING LANE 9356 RVARD P, 4064 298 300 30g Koes M!LN 1.B.7.A.STA.

OLD SOUTH MEETING HOUSE 24,200 915 33, MILK 8 |0 12 328 SEg 2980 334 1671 1741 3742 " 15 "> 192/23 351> 57,987 STREET 9481 PARKING -EÝ NEW HAWLEY 4148 6504 56 58/60 62/64 6568 FRANKLIN PL 72 74 7016 U/C 17,336 770M3S 50 41 43 45 49 15,509 18 20 28 30 36l 739 153 159 163 167 171 173 181 183 185 191 8b Os 12,00 5484 149 51 153 55 57 86 88 90 :00 102 3050 3050 -.63 65 6> 69 5964 85 87738 '2,647 PLACE 4997 ARCH 6573 217 DEVONSHIRE 'y (BUSSEY DF 4/76 2524 Wigglesworth Building 89-93 Franklin Street Boston, Massachusetts Boston Assessors' Map 25N-13E scale 1':100' Wigglesworth Bldg. indicated by cross- hatching FEDERAL BUILDING U.S.

POST OFFICE COURT HOUSE 48,382 SHAWMUT BUILDING BANK 081 56,80l 281 109 21,050 11,785 POST SQUARE NUMENT MONUMENT STRI 7779 81 130 FEDERAL 5800 12/14 113 115 119 18 20 22-24 30 5616 125 CONGRESS 6488 40 42 44 4650 60 7983 145 147 10,002 STREET 123 82,: 83 STREET FIRST NATI BUIL 4500 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES United States Department of the interior Wational Park Service EVALUATION / RETURN SHEET Wigglesworth Building Suffolk County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: Working No. 9/21/32-2473 Fed. Reg. Date: 2./ Date Due: _ 10/01/82-111 Action: ACCEPT_10/21/82 Intered in the - RETURN- National Register . REJECT_ Federal Agency:_ - sample - request _ appeal - NR decision Recom. /Criteria .

Reviewer Discipline- Date _ see continuation sheet -technical corrections cited below _substantive reasons discussed below -Nomination returned for: 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Category @emership Pablic Acqulsition 4. Owner of Property Status Accessible Present Use 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys has thle property been determined eligible? -** - no 7.I Description ditien excellent good tair -_ deteriorated - ruins unexposed check ene unaltered . aitered Chech one __original site moved date eortbe lie preeent and eriginal (1l tnown) ployaicel apposrence summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection 8.

Significance Ported Arees of SignificanceChock and justify belen Specifie dates Bultder Arehttoe Ptatemont of Signiffeaneo fin ene paregraph) summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Apreage of nominsted property. Quedrangle neme - UMT References Verbel boundery deecriptien and jstification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification Thhe evaluated signifficance of thie property within the state is: apatonal stg*- loca! Bute Historic Preservation Officer aignature dete Bele 13.

Other Maps - Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to Signed Date _ Phone: 202 272-3504 Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet tallmark Galloy Hit or Miss Wigglesworth Building 89-93 Franklin Street Boston, Massachusetts Brian Pfeiffer, Photographe negative at: A.C.T. for 45 School S Boston, Mas View of Franklin Street (north) elevation t facing southeast. 1012 Wigglesworth Building 89-93 Franklin Street Boston, Massachusetts Brian Pfeiffer, Photograph negative at: A.C.T. for 45 Schoo1 Boston, Ma View of Devonshire Street elevation (south elevations) taken from a position facing n 20/2 MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION COMMONWEALTHOF MASSACHUSETTS Office of the Secretary of State 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 617-727-8470 MICHAEL JOSEPH CONNOLLY Secretary of State September 14, 1982 Ms.

Carol Shull, Chief National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. 20243 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms: Attleboro: Herbert A. Sadler House (local) Boston: 10 Liberty Square Building (local) Boston: Wigglesworth Building (local) Falmouth: Wood's Hole School (local) Milford: Gillon Block (local) All have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. Owners were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30-75 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment. Comments received to date are attached to the nomination forms. Sincerely, Candace Jenkins Candace Jenkins Registration/Director Massachusoeis Histuricai Conmission CJ/sac enclosure RECEIVED SEP 21 1982 NATIONAL REGISTER