Nomination for Wachusett Shirt Company

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

FHR-8-300 (11-78) United States Department of the Interior Heritage Conservation and Recreation 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 For HCRS use only received JUNT date entered 1982 historic Wachusett Shirt Company and/or common 2. Location Waterways Apartments street & number 97-100 Water Street N/A - not for publication city, town Leominster N/A vicinity of congressional district 4th state Massachusetts 3. Classification Category Ownership district - public _building(s) X.

- private structure both site Public Acquisition object NA in process being considered code 025 county Worcester code 027 Status _ occupied - unoccupied - work in progress Accessible X - yes: restricted - yes: unrestricted _ no Present Use _ agriculture commercial educational entertainment - government industrial - military _ museum park X private residence (Apt.) religious scientific transportation other: 4. Owner of Property name street & number Waterway Associates, c/o Wingate Development Corporation, General Partner One Boston Place city, town Boston N/A vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Ma. 02108 courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Worcester County North Registry of Deeds street & number Main Street city, town Fitchburg 6. Representation in Existing Surveys state Ma. date Inventory of the Historic Assets of has this property been determined elegible?

the Commonwealth 1982 _ federal x _ state 1/3/80 X yes no - county - . local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission city, town Boston. state Ma. 7. Description Wachusett Shirt Company, Water Street, Leominster Condition X excellent - good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one - unaltered altered Check one X original site moved date N/A Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The five buildings of the Wachusett Shirt Company are sited on three acres of land which straddle Water Street, one-quarter of a mile east ot downtown Leominster, Massachusetts (Monument Square - potential NR). The buildings are set in close proximity to one another, and to the western bank of the Monoosnock Brook, which for many years supplied water power to the factory. The present site boundaries conform to those which existed when the Wachusett Shirt Company was a viable entity. To the north the site is bounded by a very steep hill; to the south and west by an incline that gently slopes toward the center of town. To the east lies the Monoosnock Brook. Water Street runs in an east-west direction, separating the oldest factory building (A) from its companion structures (B-E). Much of the remaining area is grass lawn, and includes two unobtrusive parking areas.

Three of the five buildings are constructed of brick obtained from the local Osborne brick yara (A,3,E)- A Iourth structure 15 of brick and wood (D), while the remaining bullding is constructed entirely of wood (C). The buildings range in date from 1887-1910. Building A (Photo #1 & 2) The oldest building (1887) has a T-shaped plan and rises four stories from a high basement. It is built of locally produced red Osborne brick and has a foundation of Monoosnock Hill granite. The main section of the building measures 128 feet by 36 feet. Its fourth story was originally contained within a gabled roof but it was changed in the early twentieth century to a flat-roofed upper floor. Above the cornice of the north and south elevations, the walls of this added story are suffaced in slate and are punctuated by regularly spaced rectangular windows.

The south elevation features a two-story addition in brick, and an eighty foot brick smokestack (photo #2). Both are located at the southeast corner of the building, and are original. The stem of the "T" measures 25 feet by 34 feet and projects from the north elevation (photo #1). It is more highly ornamented than the main section, and has a slate mansard roof with wooden dormers featuring ornamental bracketed pediment caps. One enters the building through a one-story wooden porch on the western facade of the projection. It features a central pedimented roof, a decorative balustrade and scroll brackets supporting the roof. There is a small one-story brick addition on its north wall that dates from the 1890's. Seen on the first three stories of the entire structure are regularly spaced windows with 1/1 double hung sash.

They are set in segmental arched openings with two rows of brick headers and granite sills. They appear at the same level at each floor, and are half- length at basement level, except on the rear elevation (south) where a change in grade allows full-length. Ornamentation is provided by a decorative brick band at the cornice of all sections of the building and cross-shaped tie rods seen at floor level of each story. The building is physically linked to the complex of buildings across Water Street by a second story walkway. It extends from the junction of the two sections of the original factory to the south facade of the laundry building. Although it was an open walkway when built around 1910, it was enclosed several years ago with clapboard siding. The walkway was fortified, and the siding replaced, in 1980.

NPS Form 10 900 a (7-81) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form EXP. 2. On.Ci For NPS use only received date entered Continuation sheet Wachusett Shirt Company Item number 7 Page 2 Building B (photo 2,3,4,5) The 1895 laundry building also rises four stories from a high basement to a flat roof, and is constructed of red brick with a granite foundation. It reveals its later date however, in its more utilitarian appearance. Its basically rectangular form is highly articulated by vertical piers which project by several brick wythes and sharply divide each window bay. The piers terminate beneath a shallow corbelled cornice and, in turn, contain secondary corbelled courses. Window openings are segmentally arched with three rows of brick headers and granite sills; they contain 2/2 double hung sash.

The east elevation is nearly symmetrical, and divided into eight bays. A plain wooden door, also with a segmental arched head, is located at the southeast corner at ground level. The west elevation is identical in treatment, except for a two bay wide stairwell projection at the southwest corner. It rises the full four and one-half stories, and projects from the facade ten feet. Only one of its two bays features windows within the recessed pane1. A doorway is located at the northwest corner. The south elevation is asymmetrical. The staiiwell is on the southwest corner, two bays in width. The remaining four bays are divided by piers that are alternately two feet and six feet in width. The north elevation is blank, except for the arcaded brick corbelling of the cornice, which is featured on all elevations.

Building C (photo 465) The 1896 annex is a three-story woodframe, clapboard structure with a gable roof and a red brick foundation. The plain structure has regularly spaced rectangular fenestra- tion at each story on the exposed east and west elevations. Windows contain two over two double hung sashes. the building is linked to buildings D& B at the north and south elevations. Originally the roof was of slate; it was replaced with an asphalt root in 1980. The west elevation features a one-story wooden addition on its northern halt, and a two-story brick addition on the southern half. These additions appear to date within a few years of the main building. Building D (photo 485) Adjoining this building to the north is another flat-roofed red-brick structure, similar in aspect to the original laundry building (B).

This four-story stmucture has a pentagonal plan which is probably a response to its corner site. The east elevation aligns with those of buildings B&C while the northwest elevation angles away to parallel Prescott Street. A two-story, flat-roofed wooden section to the southwest fills out the structure and gives it an irregular shape. All fenestration is regularly spaced at each story, and is identical from story to story. The cornice is arranged in an arcaded corbelled brick patter, similar to that of Building B. Building E (photo #6) The office building was the last building of the group to be constructed. The two and one-half story structure dates to 1910, and has a square plan. Constructed of brick with granite trim, some Georgian details into the design. The focal point of the symmetrical seven bay facade (south) is a slightly projecting entry pavillion with an applied wood cornice.

The entry is arched, and articulated on either side with rusticated brick bands. The original recessed door is of glass and wood, topped by a semicircular fan light. On either side, and perpendicular to the doorway, are large stained glass panels. A NPS Form 10900 a (7-81) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form EXP. 12.01.04 For NPS use only received date entered Continuation sheet Wachusett Shirt CompanyItem number 7 3 Page paired set of double hung windows are placed directly over the entry pavillion; all other windows are single. Windows at basement level are half length, double hung with 1/1 sash. Second story windows are full-length, double hung with 1/1 sash (ground floor windows are the same, with the addition of fixed overhead transoms).

All ground floor and second story windows feature granite lintels and brick keystone jack arches. Brick quoins appear at each corner of the building, and the cornice is a decorative brick band of the same design seen in the original factory building (A). All other elevations are treated with detail that is similar to the facade. Together the five buildings form a cohesive, relatively intact group of late nineteenth century industrial buildings. They share many common characteristics; most .importantly their relationship to,and one-time dependence on, the power supplied bythe nearby body of water. Many design characteristics, such as the low-arched window heads and decorative brick cornices, are shared by more than one structure. The use of clapboard, local brick, and granite on the various structures strengthens the visual cohesiveness of the complex.

Alterations during Rehabilitation Prior to rehabilitation for housing, three small, recent additions to the main bulldings were demolished. These were a rear ell of Building A (c. 1940, 1 story, concrete block), an outbuilding north of Building A (c. 1950, 1 story, concrete block) and an extension of Building D (c. 1950, 2 story, wood and sheet metal). All were demolished during 1980. Exterior changes to the Water Street complex were relatively few in number. The present sashes are of aluminum, painted white as were the original sashes. The developers were required to match the original window configuration by the Advisory Council. Only one original door existed at the time of conversion, and that door has been retained (Building E). Replacement doors are simple in design, and blend in with the lines of the structures.

Two rows of solar panels have been installed on the roof of Building D. These panels are unobtrusive, and cannot be seen from most angles at ground level.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 X 1800-1899 X 1900- Areas of SignificanceCheck and justify below archeology-prehistoric community planning archeology-historic conservation agriculture economics X architecture education art engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications industry invention landscape architecture_ _ religion law literature military music philosophy politics/government sclence sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation other(specify) Specific dates 1887-1910 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Builder/Architect Paul Weber/F.A. Whitney The Wachusett Shirt Company possesses integrity of location, design, setting and workmanship as well as significant associations with the development of a major industry in Leominster, shirt making. Constructed between 1887-1910, it housed of the city's leading industrial and commercial enterprises. Additionally, the five buildings which make up the complex are good local examples of late nineteenth century industrial construction. Thus, the Wachusett Shirt Company meets criteria A and C of the National Register of Historic Places. During the 1890s, at the height of its activity as a commercial and industrial center in north-central Massachusetts, Leominster prided itself on having twenty-eight distinct industries within its borders; importantly, many of these industries were recognized national leaders.

*The various products manufactured in the city indluded horn and shell combs, pianotortè cases, baby carriages, turniture. and woolen cloth, as well as shirts. The shirt industry alone brought: nearly $1,500,000.00 in profits only thirteen years after its introduction to the town in 1880. At that time, the Wachusett Shirt Company was the largest manufacturer of the lucrative commodity. The manufacture of shirts in Leominster began in 1880, when G.F. Morse purchased machinery with the intention of setting up such a facility. He sold it to C.F. Dresser and D.C. Nickerson before the factory doors opened, however. Neither of the new owners had any knowledge of the shirtmaking business, so they hired Mr. George A. Gane, a custom shirt- maker from Fitchburg, to act as general manager of the newly christened Leominster Shirt Factory- Soon after that a local entrepreneur, Mr. F.A.

Whitney, purchased interest in the business. The combination of Gane and Whitney would later become very important to the shirtmaking industry. The business was sold in June of 1881 to Mr. A.E. Buffington of Detroit, Michigan. Mr. secon sayed factory in le mins1 re The Nahusett heirt Conpauy thig Pes hame fom the secondshirt factory in Leominster. The Indian phrase "at the hill," began operations in a small room of the Paton Block Building in downtown Leominster. The business expanded and moved to a former piano stool factory in 1882; in July of that year, Mr. Gane accepted Mr. F.A. Whitney, a former owner of the Leominster Shirt Company, as a partner. The pairing of Gane and Whitney was a fortunate one for Leominster. Where Mr. Gane provided experience and knowledge of the technical aspects of shirtmaking, Mr. Whitney displayed acumen in planning, merchandising and business development.

He was at the time one of the town's most prominent citizens, and was the founder of two other successful businesses, the Whitney Carriage Company andthe Whitney Reed Chair Factory. The two owners once again moved the Wachusett. Shirt Factory to new quarters, this time to the second story of a building sited within the Whitney Carriage Company complex. The location was ideal, as the new factory was closely situated to the Monoosnock Brook 9.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References See continuation sheet. 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property 3 acres Quadrangle name Fitchburg UMT References L121L2173/6114 417/1/1|8/1,0 Zone Easting Northing CLULLILL ELI LLILLL GLLJLLILLLILILLL Verbal boundary description and justification Quadrangle scale 1:25000 BLu LIILL Zone Easting Northing -LLLILLL LLLu FLU LLILLLI LILILu HL Lilud buL Please refer to attached assessor's map. List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state NA code county code State code county code 11. Form Prepared By name/title Candace Jenkins, Registration Director with Laurie Moon Chauvin, Design Nonpariel organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date March, 1982 street & number 294 Washington Street telephone 617-727-8470 city or town Boston State Massachusetts 12.

State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national - state X 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 py the Heritage Conservation and Recreation State Historic Preservation Officer signature Vatrcia .

Melowspe Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission For HCRS use only I hereby certify that this property is jncluded in the National Register teloue Keeper of the National Regist Ayur Intared in thé onal Register 5/28/82 date >18/82 Attest: Chief of Registration date GPO 938 835 NPS Form 10900-a (7-81) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form EXP. .o.... For NPS use only received date entered Continuation sheet Wachusett Shirt Company Item number 8 2 Page Dam, and available water power. The company soon outgrew the confines of its building, and on December 5, 1885, a dedication ceremony was held to open the large, three- story addition. It was used as a shirt factory until approxminately 1890.

On September 9, 1886, the granite foundation of a new factory building (A) was laid on property located on the opposite bank of the Monoosnock Brook, and operations began on April 14, 1887. The factory was highly acclaimed at the time for its careful planning, its technical innovations, and the use of brick as the major building material. was built by Paul Weber and may have been designed by Whitney. Growth of the company necessitated expansion of the facility, so in 1892 the company purchased property located on the north side of Water Street. A large, four-story laundry building (B) was constructed in 1895, followed by a gable-roofed building (C) shortly thereafter. Another addition to this complex was made in 1900 (D), and in 1905 a factory building was built on nearby Summer Street. Construction of a small office building adjacent to the laundry in 1910 completed the complex (E).

In 1895, George Gane left the Wachusett Shirt Company to start the Gane Shirt Company, also located in Leominster: But without the business acumen of his partner, he went out of business in1901. Three years prior to that, the Leominster Shirt Company and its affiliate, the Bay State Shirt Company, had closed their doors. For a short period of time, the Wachusett Shirt Company was the only company of its kind in "Shirt Town". Attracted by the large number of skilled shirtmakers in the city, Cluett, Peabody and Company of Troy, New York, decided to locate a branch of their Arrow Shirt Factory in Leominster. The company was housed in the former Leominster Shirt Company for two years, then moved into the former Gane Shirt Factory when that facility became vacant. The resilient Mr. Gane became manager of the Arrow Factory in 1901.

From a peak of 3,000 Leominster shirtmakers in 1902, the number in 1915 had dwindled the helm in 1913 at the age of eighty-five, and the company diminished in size throughout the remaining years of its existence. The Water Street buildings which make up this nomination were sold in the 1930's to a plastics manufacturing firm, but the Wachusett Shirt Company continued to produce the "Wachusett" and "Whitney" brand products at a reduced scale in the Summer Street Factory. By the mid-1950's the Wachusett Shirt Company no longer existed. The five Water Street buildings have recently been renovated and are in excellent condition. The building exteriors are nearly intact, and serve as reminders of this once important industry. CONTINUATION SHEET - Item #9 page 2 Bibliography Emerson, W.A. The Leominster Book Illustrated. Fitchburg: Sentinal Printing Company, 1901. Emerson, W.A.

Leominster, Historical and Picturesque. Gardner: Lithotype Publishing Company, 1888. Factory Mutual Insurance Map #870. Boston: Factory Mutual Company, 1911. Hurd, D. A History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Volume 2, Philadelphia: L.W. Lewis and Company, 1889. Interview with Mrs. Frances Moore, January 20, 1982, by Laurie Moon Chauvin, Leominster, Massachusetts. Leominster Board of Trade. What of Leominster? Leominster: Board of Trade, 1893. Leominster Enterprise. Leominster: Leominster Enterprise Press, 1881-1910. Leominster Historical Society. Papers Read at Meetings. Leominster: Leominster Historical Society, 1933. Leominster, Massachusetts Christmas Souvenir. Leominster: Leominster Enterprise Press, 1902. Nichols, K.E. Leominster of Today. Leominster: K.E. Nichols, Publisher, 1900. Sanborn Insurance Maps. New York: Sanborn-Perris Company, 1891, 1896, 1901, 1906, 1912, 1931.

"Souvenir Edition". Leominster Enterprise. Leominster: Leominster Enterprise Press, 1897. Worcester County North Registry of Deeds, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Book 52, pp. 624-625. United States Department of the National Park Service Interior NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Wachusett Shirt Company, Worcester County, MASSACHUSETTS, EVALUATION / RETURN SHEET 7182-1688 Fod. Reg. Date: 2,1.8 Date Due: 7/$/82 - 7/22/82 Action: ACCEPT Intered in the National Register - RETURN_ . REJECT_ resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: 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 Catogory Oumerahip Public Acquisition 4. Owner of Property Btatus Accossibie rocont Use 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys hes thie property been determined eligtbe? yos - no 7. Description Coneition excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Chock ene unaltered altered Check one - original site moved date beoribe the prosent and ertginai (il knowm) piryoical appoaranco summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection 8. Significance erted Arass of signittcanco peclfle dates A of Signifleam - (in ene peragraph) ok and juetify bolere bildor Areticaot summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of excepticn other 9.

Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Aoreege of nominated property Quedrengte name UMT Reterances Verbel boundary doscription and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: .national local Btate Hietoric Preeervation Officer signature date 13. Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to - Signed. Date - Phone: 202 272 - 350 Comments for any Item may be continued on an attached sheet Photo #1 Building A north elevation showing projecting wing Wachusett Shirt Company Loeminster, Worcester Co., MA Photographer: Laurie Chauvin Date: Feb1982 Neg. filed: Design Nonpareil, 113 Pearl St., Boston, MA Building A north elevation showing projecting wing- Photo 1 of6 Photo #2 Building A south elevation.

Laundry building seen to right. Wachusett Shirt Company Loeminster, Worcester Co., MA Photographer: Laurie Chauvin Date: Feb. 1982 Neg. filed: Design Nonpariel, 113 Pearl St., Boston, MA Building A south elevation. Laundry building seen to right. Photo 2 of 6 Photo #3 Building B south and east elevations Wachusett Shirt Company Loeminster, Worcester Co., MA Photographer: Laurie Chauvin Date: Feb. 1982 Neg. filed: Design Nonpareil, 113 Pearl St., Boston, MA Building B south and east elevations. Photo 3 of 6 LOAD LIMIT TONS Photo #4 Buildings C and D east elevations Wachusett Shirt Company Loeminster, Worcester Co., MA Photographer: Laurie Chauvin Date: Feb. 1982 Neg. filed: Design Nonpareil, 113 Pearl St., Boston, MA Buildings C and D east elevations. Photo 4 of 6 Wachusett Shirt Company Loeminster, Worcester Co., MA Photographer: Laurie Chauvin Date: Feb. 1982 Neg.

filed: Design Nonpareil, 113 Pearl St., Boston, MA Buildings D (left) and C (right) west elevations. Photo 5 of 6 Photo #6 Building E south elevation Wachusett Shirt Company Loeminster, Worcester Co., MA Photographer: Laurie Chauvin Date: Feb.1982 Neg. filed: Design Nonpareil, 113 Pearl St., Boston, MA Building E south elevation. Photo 6 of 6 MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION May 27, 1982 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Office of the Secretary of State 294 Washington Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108 617-727-8470 MICHAEL JOSEPH CONNOLLY Secretary of State Ms. Carol Shull, Acting Keeper National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. 20243 Dear Ms. Shull: RECFIVED ac°? JU: ?

NATIONAL RECISTER Enclosed you will find the following nomination forms Concord: Wheeler-Merriam House (local) Gloucester: Central Gloucester Historic District (local) Leominster: Monument Square Historic District (local) Leominster: Wachusett Shirt Factory (local) Newton: Farlow and Kenrick Parks Historic District (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 Iorms. Sincerely, Candacs fenkins Candace Jenkins Registration Director Massachusetts Historical Commission CJ/sac enclosures