Nomination for Locke--Ober Restaurant

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (3-82) OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 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 For NPS use only received date entered JUN 2 5 1986 historic Locke-Ober Restaurant same and or common 2. Location street & number 3-4 Winter P1. N/A not for publication city, town Boston state Massachusetts 3.

Classification n/avicinity of 025 code county Suffolk code 025 Category - district Xbuilding(s) structure site object Ownership public X private both Public Acquisition N/Ain process being considered Status - occupied unoccupied work in progress Agcessible 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 Steven Carabro name 70 Green St. street & number Watertown city, town n/avicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description Massachusetts 02172 state courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Suffolk County Registry of Deeds street & number Pemberton Square city, town Boston state Massachusetts 6. Representation in Existing Surveys title ory of llh or ie Asetu etts has this property been determined eligible?

- yes X no date 1980 depository for survey records federal state .county Massachusetts Historical Commission, 80 Boylsotn Street local Boston city, town state Massachusetts 7. Description Locke-Ober Restaurant , Boston, Mass. Condition excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one unaltered X altered Check one X - original site moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Locke-Ober Restaurant is housed in a pair of attached three story, red brick Greek Revival rowhouses, which are united by a late 19th century restaurant storefront. Located at 3 and 4 Winter Place, a narrow alleylike street in Boston's central business district, the buildings are three and five bays in width respectively. The front walls abut the sidewalk, and the combined lots total 2,410 sauare feet. The first story features cast iron piers, stained glass in the window tympanums, and original wooden double-leaved doors. Both units have rectangular window openings with stone sills and lintels on the second and third stories. Elongated second-floor windows and smaller third-floor windows are found at number 3. Some windows have diamond panes and some have16/16 sash,all with leaded glass. A continuous brick dentil cornice crowns the facade.

The restaurant's present-day interior is largely the result of an 1886 remodelling. Most noticeable is the intricately carved seasoned mahogany from San Domingo on the front of the long L-shaped counter and adjoining bar, around the huge plate glass backbar mirrors and backbar clock. Stained glass in Art Noveau motifs is found in the vestibule and above the exterior windows. The first floor walls are paneled with oak wainscoting, above which are flocked and etched gold wall coverings. The finely painted ceiling, from which hang graceful "electrolier" chandeliers, depicts an Etruscan Spring with leaves, lilies, rosettes, and mythical animals in colors of soft greens, golds, yellows, and rusty pinks.

Also contained in the first floor is a forty-two-inch-tall bronze sculpture, "Gloria Victus," which stands on a mahogany pedestal in the center of the dining room, and a painting of a rosy nude female on the north wall. German silver steam dishes, their covers lifted by an elaborate system of weights and counterweights, adorn the bar, and there is an original hand-operated dumbwaiter of brass on brass poles. On the upper floors, the wall surface above the paneled oak wainscoting is smoothly plastered with a raised plaster fleur-de-lis design, still visible in the third floor and in the stairwells. The area around Locke-Ober's is little known archaeologically, but the scale of the building and the location suggest it may have archaeological potential.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance Locke-Ober Restaurant, Boston, Mass. Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 1800-1899 1900 Areas of Significance - Check and justify below .. archeology-prehistoric community planning - archeology-historic conservation . agriculture economics architecture education art engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications industry invention landscape architecture law literature military music philosophy politics/government Builder/Architect unknown religion science sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation other (specify) Specific dates c. 1832; 1886 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Locke-Ober's Restaurant possesses integrity of location, design, materials, It is signiticant architecturally because of its magnificant Victorian barroom interior, housed in one of the few remaining Greek Revival residential buildings in Boston's Central Business District, and historically as an eating establishment which has been located on the same site for over 100 years, making it one of the city's longest-lived restaurant traditions. In the Boston Landmarks Commission's Central Business District Preservation Study (1980) of 809 buildings, this building was evaluated to be of "Major Significance" (Group II) to the City, the Comnonwealth, and the New England Region. The restaurant bears the name of two men, Louis Ober and Frank Locke, who were rivals, never partners, in two Winter Place restaurants. Louis Ober opened his eating establishment on the alley by 1870.

Initially it was probably a smal cellar cafe. In 1875 he took out a permit to remodel #3-4 into a cafe and dwelling. In 1883, King's Dictionary of Boston reported, "The leading French restaurant of the City is "Ober's on Winter Place, off Winter Street. This has more than a local fame. It is most patronized by the possessors of The viands here are unsurpassed by any place in the City. As then remodelled, the main dining room and kitchen were on the first floor, the north end of the second floor held two private dining rooms; the south end and the third floor served as living quarters for the Ober family. By 1886, Ober had prospered to such an extent that he could again remodel the building. The private dining rooms were removed to the third floor and the whole building, with the exception of a small apartment on the third floor, was given over to the business.

The large dining room on the ground floor became the Men's Bar. The work Ober did then still remains. He sent to San Domingo for mahogany and to France for wood carvers. "Gloria Victus" also came from France, and the polished metal steam dishes were designed in Germany and manufactured by Reed and Barton, silversmiths. The cash register acquired at that time is still in use. The requisite female nude painting was done by Italian artist Tommaso Juglaris, who was born in Coutiere, 2Studied at the Turin Acadeny of Fine Arts and in Paris under Thomas Continued 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 less than one Quadrangle name Boston South UT M References AL9 Zone 33,01,0,5 Easting 146/91/0,9,01 Northing Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 Zone D LULLL LILudLiliLud Easting Northing LLILL LILILAL LLILL GLy LIliLu Verbal boundary description and justification Nominated property conforms to assessor's parcel number 4772; this conforms to entire lot. See attached Assessor's Map. List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state N/A code county code state code county code 11. Form Prepared By Carol Kennedy name/title Bostin Landmarks Commission organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date May 1986 street & number 80 Boylston St. telephone 725-3850 city or town Boston state Massachusetts 02116 12.

State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national X 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 by the National Park Service. State Historic Preservation Officer signature Valerie A. Talmage Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission title State Historic Preservation Officer 6/12/86 For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register Intered National Register date 2-24-86 Keeper of the National Register Attest: Chief of Registration date U.S.

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1983 0 - 419-311 NPS Form 10-200-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Continuation sheet Locke-Ober Restaurant, Boston, Item number 8 OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use only received date entered Page 1 In 1891, Frank Locke, a retired Maine sea captain, backed by Dudley S. McDonald owner of the building at #l and #2 Winter Place, remodelled the adjacent building into his "Wine Rooms", specializing in plain Maine cooking, lobsters, steaks and hard liquor. By May of 1894, Wood and Pollard, wholesale In quor dealers, bought both businesses. Openings were then made in the party wall, joining the two. Wood and Pollard renamed the restaurant the Winter Place Tavern. Emil Camus was retained as manager.

In 1898 Wood and Pollard sold the property to John Merrow, the manager of the Revere House in Bowdoin Square. Merrow's occupancy was short. In August of 1900 he became bankrupt and in 1901 the restaurant passed into the hands of the Locke-Ober Company, headed by Emil Camus, the former manager under Wood and Pollard. In the 38 years from 1901 until his death in 1939, Camus established the synthesis of French and American cooking which has given the restaurant its distinctive character. Locke-Obers has remained largely unchanged except that the dining rooms at 1 and 2 Winter Place were abandoned during the Prohibition era. The second floor on the old Locke side was redecorated and reopened in 1950; Locke's plush "Wine Room" interior has been lost. In 1949, Locke-Ober's also took over Joseph's restaurant in the Back Bay.

The stained glass in Art Nouveau motifs found in Locke-Ober's resembles that being designed and manufactured by Louis Comfort Tiffany in Brooklyn in the 1880's, although similar glass of high quality was being produced by Redding Baird and Company, just around the corner from Ober's on Franklin Street. NOTES 1. Sherman L. Whipple III, "The Locke-Ober Cafe" (undated booklet, copy in Boston Landmark Commission files) 2. Deeds are not helpful in determining a date for the building, although it would appear to date after 1832 and was probably built as a rental property by Samuel Cabot who was a merchant in partnership with Thomas H. Perkins and T.G. Cary at 52 Central Wharf.

(Reference: Suffolk County Courthouse 1026/18, 575/79, 362/118) NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Locke-Ober Restaurant, Boston, Mass. Continuation sheet Item number 10 OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use only received date entered Page 1 BIBLIOGRAPHY Beebe, Lucius. "A Report on Locke-Ober's," Gourmet Magazine. March, 1949. Boston City Directories, 1840-1900. City of Boston. Building Department Records. City of Boston. Tax Assessor's Records. Bradford, Ned and Pam. Boston's Locke-Ober Cafe. Published privately, 1978. Parker, Thomas W. "Dining in Victorian Boston," 19th Century Magazine, Vol. III, No. 2. Summer, 1977. Simmons, Sharon L. Boston University StudentReport on the Potential Designation of the Locke-Ober Cafe as a Landmark. 1981.

Suffolk County Deed Records: 1026/18, 575/79, 362/118. Whipple III, Sherman L. "The Locke-Ober Cafe" (undated booklet, copy in Boston Landmark Commission files) PARK Locke-Ober's 3 Winter Place Boston, MA ( So. Quad) UTM References: 19/330105/4691090 scale: 1" = 100" Boston Assessor's Map 6> BROMFIELD 4/24 PARK 22,745 5, / 6/48 @CATHOLIC INFORMATION u CENTER 6756 3120 3120 < 32a8 8000 PRRt STREET CHURCH STREET 122 121 120 HAMILTON 126125 124 4800 17,329 STREET M.B.T.A STA. PARK 2433 1700 4800 3400 33/464 1532 25 WINTER 40 09 30 MaLL 30 MONUMENT 134 133 5700 2806 288 ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL (EPISCOPAL) 3295 9058 14,000 1520 11,106 10,12 16 20 TEMPLE 10,958 36 606937 LOEW ORPHEU: THEATRE 40,600 1685 MUSIC HALL PL.

3970 5 STREE: 24 22 20 PL 7500 1180 1180 PLACE 8 96g WINTER -1029 ~ 1029 JACKSON 6250 6085 449 35) °53 455 *59 26, 469 473 WASHINGTON 1810 1656 So Sa 452 8/60 PLACE TREMONT 5407 SHEET INDEX 144/143 1996 '9 1567 11253 1532 33 35 4475 2543 FOUNTAIN MEST 8 200 2865 2850 285% 2900 ST. 3092 2479 4000 J FT. 86001911 WASO Form - 177 ("R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Locke--Ober Restaurant Suffolk County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: J sample request Working No. Fed. Reg.

Date: Date Due: 7724/86 Intered 1Actioe: _KACCEPT - National Register-RETURN _REJECT_ Federal Agency: _ JUN 2 5 1986 2/387 - 8/8/86 7-24-86 Jappeal -NR decision Recom./Criteria Reviewer Discipline Date see continuation sheet Nomination returned for: technical corrections cited below _substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Category Ownership Public Acquisition 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? yes no 7. Description Condition excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one Junaltered J altered Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection Status Accessible Present Use Check one _ original site moved date 8.

Significance Period Specific dates Builder/Architect Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) J summary paragraph _completenessS VuL clarity00 lapplicable criteria justification of areas checked I relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance J justification of exception other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name_ UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: _national state local State Historic Preservation Officer signature date title 13. Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to. Signed .

Date - Phone: GPO 918-450 Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet i CLEANERS LAUNDERERS VEA: #F *O O TALLOMING ALTERATION: AKEr Th PrC Institu 30 36 Jon Locke-Ober's Restaurant 3 Winter Place Boston, Massachusetts Carol Kennedy, 1985 Negative on file at Boston Landmarks Commission Photograph number 1 of 1 Oblique view of northwest (front) elevation; camera facing sout # P 093 540111 TIE LAITAD SRTE The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary of State Michael Joseph Connolly, Secretary Massachusetts Historical Commission Valerie A. Talmage Executive Director State Historic Preservation Officer June 12, 1986 Carol Shull Chief of Registration National Register of Historic Places Dept. of Interior, NPS P.O. Box 37127 Washington, D.C. 20013-7127 Dear Ms.

Shull: Enclosed you will find fifteen nominations forms for properties in Boston and Richmond, Massachusetts. Eleven of the Boston properties are being submitted for Determinations of Eligibility due to owner objection. The remaining properties are being submitted for nomination to the National Register. Owner objections have been received for the Appleton, Auchmuty, Federal Reserve, 20-30 Bromfield, Hemenway, National Shawmut Bank, Parker House, Phoenix, Richardson, Sears Block and Crescent, and Tremont Temple buildings. All of the properties 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, saran zimmennan Sarah Zimmerman Director of Preservation Planning /sjz enc. JUN 2 5 1986 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470