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NPS Form 10-900 (Rev. 10-90) OMB No. 1024-0018 561 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service MAY 16 1997 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form 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_ Blake & Knowles Steam Pump Company National Register District other names/site number 2. Location street & number 195, 199, 201 Binney St., 218 Fifth St., 265, 275 Third St. N/A not for publication city or townCambridge _N/A vicinity state Massachusetts _code_MA countyMiddlesex code_017 _ Zip code02141 3. State/Federal Agency Certification Asthe designated authority under the NationalHistoric Preservation Act of1986, as amended, hereby certify that this nomination ] request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meetsthe procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property *meets [ does not meet the National Register Criteria.
I recommend that this property be considered significant - nationally - statewide locally. (- See continuation sheet for additional comments.) ediz 3.0 nitonona Signature of certifying official/Title JudithB. McDonough, Executive Director 567/97 Massachusetts Historical Commission, State Historic Preservation Officer State or Federal agency and bureau In my opinion,the property -meets does not meet the National Register criteria. ( See continuation sheet for additional Comments.) Signature of certifying official/Title Date State or Federal agency and bureau 4. National Park Service Certification 1, hereby certify that this property is: 7 entered 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): Blake & Knowles Steam Pump Co. NR District Name of Property 5. Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply) X private _ public-local _ public-State -public-Federal Category of Property (Check only one box) _ building(s) X district _ site _ structure - object Middlesex County, MA County and State Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Contributing Noncontributing 6 buildings sites structures 0 objects 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 7. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions) LATE VICTORIAN: Panel Brick LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY AMERICAN MOVEMENTS Materials (Enter categories from instructions) foundation STONE wallsBRICK, CONCRETE roof other ASPHALT Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number - - Page - Blake and Knowles Steam Pump Company Historic District Cambridge, (Middlesex County) MA 7. DEDESCRIPTION The Blake & Knowles Steam Pump Company National Register District is an industrial complex that encompasses a one-block area within the historically industrial East Cambridge section of Cambridge. The district is bounded by Third, Rogers, Fifth, and Binney Streets and occupies an area of approximately 2.4 acres. It includes six buildings, two thirds of the remaining structures historically associated with the Blake & Knowles Steam Pump Company, which at its peak occupied over six acres in the adjoining blocks to the north, northwest, and south.
(The remaining buildings, which are under separate ownership, no longer retain integrity.) The district's character is defined by the industrial design of its buildings, most particularly by the large size and bold scale of the major elements. The properties date from 1889 to 1918, the period during which Blake & Knowles sustained its most extraordinary growth. The district contains a total of six resources, all of which are contributing buildings. The properties are in fair condition, having experienced many minor alterations over the past fifty years. The district consists of two contiguous structures that run the full east/west length of the block along Rogers Street, the district's northern edge, and three more that extend nearly as far along Binney Street, the district's southern edge.
A smaller, free-standing structure, the Smith and Brass Foundry, anchors the district's southeast edge at the corner of Binney and Third Streets. Visually, the focal points of the block are the Office Headhouse along Third Street (Map #2) which features round-arched openings, deep corbels and a parapet roofline, and the long Binney Street elevation of the four and five story Machine Shops (Map #5, 6) and Erecting & Assembly Building (Map #4), highly visible as one approaches the district from Kendall Square to the south. The district's topography is level, set within the context of a much larger area of flat land extending westward from the Charles River, which is four blocks east of the district.
East Cambridge's accessibility to the river as well as to the late nineteenth century railyards along its edge made the area ideally suited for the extensive industrial growth of which this complex was a part. Rail lines came directly from Fifth Street into the #1 Machine Shop (Map #1) for transportation of raw materials and finished products. The district's architectural distinction derives from the consistent massing, scale, and materials of its key components. The #1 Machine Shop and the Office Headhouse (Map #1, 2) are substantial brick structures dating from 1889-1897 and 1892, respectively. The Erecting & Assembling Building of 1903 (Map #4) employs similar scale, massing, materials, and fenestration in its design.
Although much smaller in size due to the specific foundry needs of the company, the c.1890 Smith Shop & Brass Foundry (Map #3) has an intriguing roofline of hipped wings with three hipped monitors. The large scale concrete/brick faced designs of the Second and Third Machine Shops (Map #5, 6) reflect their later dates of 1917 and 1918, as do the large multi-lite steel sash which comprise a major portion of their exterior surfaces. They are noteworthy for their sheer size and scale, and for their use of the most current building technology during the World War I era. (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Section number.
Page 2 Blake and Knowles Steam Pump Company Historic District Cambridge, (Middlesex County) MA The district is bounded by the four streets enclosing the block. The complex originally extended southward across Binney Street into the west portion of the next block where a large Engine and Boiler House and a Cylinder Shop stood. The area is now a mix of vacant land, parking lots, and recent one and two-story light industrial/office blocks. East of the district across Third Street, the former industrial zone has been similarly built up with recent one-story brick office/light industrial North of Rogers Street are additional buildings historically associated with the Blake & Knowles plant, the Main Foundry and Core Shops #1 and #2. These three structures, although considerably altered, also survive from the 1890s. The block as a whole does not retain its integrity, however.
The entire northern half's three buildings, the one-story Machine Foundry, a Brass Foundry, and Cleaning House have been replaced by a massive seven-story brick Telephone Company building and a large parking lot. Further west beyond Fifth Street, the entire next block of the complex has Company building. West of the district's Fifth Street boundary is an area of one and two-story light industrial buildings. Some are of c.1900 date, but none are historically associated with Blake & Knowles. (These abutting uses are indicated on the attached Sketch Map.) The distinctive industrial character of the district is a contrast to the surrounding areas of newer, low-rise office and industrial uses and to the massive but blank and inactive elevations of the Telephone Company buildings.
North of Rogers Street, the Main Foundry has been converted to an upscale office building and the Core Shops' facades have been heavily altered so as not to retain their integrity. The district boundary seeks to define and protect the only intact block of the entire Blake & Knowles complex. The district's appearance during the time in which it achieved significance (1889-1946) was largely the same as it is today. The six buildings retain most of their design integrity, despite occasional infill and alteration of windows, the addition of a loading dock along Rogers Street, changes in roofing and siding materials, and even the complete replacement of windows in one building.
Plans are in progress for a private developer to acquire the entire block and to rehabilitate it in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's "Historic Standards for Rehabilitation" under the Historic Tax Certification program. The machine shops and related buildings are of typical industrial construction representative of the two periods in which they were built: 1889-1903 and 1917-1918. Although not innovative in design, they are a handsome assemblage of structures of compatible scale, materials, and massing. Their designs reflect a continuing interest in quality craftsmanship and general innovations in building technology while clearly emphasizing the simple lines and rhythmic fenestration patterns so distinctly characteristic of their industrial roots. (continued) OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 NPS Form 10-300-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Page - Blake and Knowles Steam Pump Company Historic District Cambridge, (Middlesex County) MA Descriptions of the district's properties are listed in chronological order. Numbers in parentheses refer to the attached Sketch Map, followed by Photograph Number. All properties are recorded in the Massachusetts Historical Commission's Inventory of Historic Assets of the Commonwealth as "Area C." Properties are named for their original function within the Blake & Knowles operation. The largest building in the complex is also the district's earliest surviving structure, the #1 Machine Shop, (Map #1; Photograph #1).
Its easterly portion dates trom 1889, with the westerly sections added incrementally over the next eight years, all in a uniform design. It runs nearly the full length of the block between Third and Fifth Streets. Its sheer size, 400' in length by 165' wide, creates a massive presence. Originally designed as a full-height open space with a shorter, 20-foot wide gallery around its edges, the open space was infilled with two upper floors by the mid-1940s. The brick exterior retains its original form as seen in the west elevation along Fifth Street: a central four-bay, three-story portion with gently sloped ridge roof which is flanked by three-bay wings of two-story height, each with a sloped roof. The west elevation teatures stepped pilasters tlanking the central section.
It retains its original window openings with granite sills at the two upper stories, although the second-story sash have been replaced by concrete infill and inappropriate new glazing. Ground-level openings consist of two later rectangular loading bays, one in each outer bay, and a door in the center bay, where evidence of the original large, arched opening is visible in the masonry repairs. The long northerly elevation of the #1 Machine Shop has full-height pilasters between each bay, and a uniform pattern of two stories with segmental-arched window openings and granite sills at each level. Again, many of the openings have been infilled, altered into large loading bays (some later infilled with stucco), and the original sash have been replaced by a panel/single lite infill. A long one-story metal loading dock has been added midway along its length.
At the third story, not visible from Rogers Street due to its setback, the north elevation has widely-spaced six-over-six light windows, and its wall surfaces are sheathed in asphalt siding. The Office Headhouse (Map #2; Photograph #1) dates from the early 1890s. It adjoins the east end of the #1 Machine Shop and occupies most of the block facing eastward onto Third Street. As the company's office, it is designed in a more formal Panel Brick style to convey an image of importance. Two stories in height and faced in brick, its rectilinear form is accentuated by the four square-capped, full-height piers and by the granite-capped parapet with brickwork decoration which has a raised central five-bay section. Deep corbelled bands are set between the piers above the second story to organize the facade into two and four-bay groupings.
Granite sills and coursing above the first story also enrich the design. In the center bay, a tall round-arched opening denotes the entry, above which a smaller round-arched window opening (now infilled in brick) echoes its form. The first floor window openings of the three north bays have been altered into loading doors, and all of the building's windows have been replaced by modern panels/single light glazing. At the corner of Binney and Third Street stands the Smith Shop and Brass Foundry, (Map #3; Photographs #3, 4). With portions dating from 1890, it is the only surviving example of the many smaller buildings with related uses which once stood on portions of the original complex. It was (continued) OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Page - 4 Blake and Knowles Steam Pump Company Historic District Cambridge, (Middlesex County) MA built as two separate structures, the westerly Smith Shop and the easterly Brass Foundry, and later combined (c1900) with the addition of the central portion. The south (facade) elevation now consists of a tall, one-story central hipped section with a monitor roof. It has a brick base and a non-contributing garage door framed by new brickwork in place of the original row of windows. The upper wall surface and monitor are of frame construction. To its west is a lower hipped roof wing with a similar monitor, also of frame construction above a brick base.
To its east is the brick-faced Foundry wing, three bays wide and four bays deep, with a shallow gable end. A wood monitor was later added at its ridge. It has tall, segmental-arched window openings with granite sills and new single-lite glazing on both elevations. There is a matching flat-roofed, two-story brick ell of two-bay depth at its north (rear) end, also dating from the 1890s. Centered along the building's north (rear) elevation is a square chimney which rises well above the peak of the center monitor. The district's southwest corner is defined by the large brick Erecting and Assembling Building of 1903 (Map #7; Photograph #s 2, 5). This square four-story building faces south onto Binney Street.
It originally contained a full-height open space surrounded by 2nd, 3rd, and 4th story galleries, but the floors were later filled in at all three upper levels, probably in the early 1940s. The nine-bay Panel Brick style facade consists of a wider central three-bay portion with a shallow gable which rises one-half story above the main flat roof of the two outer sections. The window openings and brick spandrels are recessed slightly within the full-height, segmental-arched bays, creating a tight, narrow rhythm which accentuates the facade's verticality. The center ground-floor bay has a large roll-down steel door. Elsewhere, the segmental-arched window openings retain their granite sills, but the original wood sash have been replaced by new infill panels above paired and three-unit one-over-one metal sash.
The Second Machine Shop (Map #5; Photograph #s 6,7) was completed in 1917, built on the site of several small frame structures and the complex's original engine and boiler plant which was demolished a year earlier. Its large rectangular mass is comprised of a four-story mass, 120' long by 65' deep, with a narrower one-story rear portion, also 120' long but only 37' deep and built at the same time. This wing abuts the #1 Machine Shop to its north and thus has no exterior wall surface. This was the complex's first concrete building, and its design reflected the advantages of this relatively new building technology in its large, fully-glazed bays. It has a flat roof and is four stories high. The south elevation is six bays long, with an entrance in the easternmost bay. The facade consists of narrow vertical sections of painted concrete, with brick spandrels beneath the window openings.
The east entrance bay is subdivided into two narrower bays, one with full-height sash and one with sash above a half-height brick spandrel. The original sash, partially in place, are multi-lite steel sash with operable pivot sections. Many have been replaced in the 1970s by a larger lite pattern, also in steel, and not incompatible with the facade's overall design. Abutting this building's east end is the Third Machine Shop (Map #6; Photograph #s 6, 7) which was completed a year later in a nearly matching design of concrete vertical elements with brick spandrels. It is considerably larger: five stories high; 180 ' long by 66' deep; and with a (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Page - 5 Blake and Knowles Steam Pump Company Historic District Cambridge, (Middlesex County) MA similarly-designed original rear one-story section of 180' by 37'. The nine-bay south elevation and matching three-bay east elevation are highly visible from the surrounding areas along Binney and Third Streets. The parapet includes shallow, stepped gables with diamond-shaped brickwork in the second outermost bays of the facade and in the center bay of the east elevation. The original multi-light steel sash have to a large extent been replaced by the larger-lite 1970s version. The district contains no resources which are non-contributing, and later additions are minimal.
A post-1944 corrugated steel addition on the east elevation of the Third Machine Shop (Map #6) is minimally visible from the surrounding streetscape. A long loading dock along the north elevation of the #1 Machine Shop detracts from the original design but is not out of character with the district's continued industrial use. The replacement of original windows with unsympathetic modern infill designs is an unfortunate reality in the past efforts to keep the buildings occupied in a combination office/industrial function. The overall impact of these changes is fairly small compared to the imposing mass and composition of the district which remain among its most impressive features. Archaeological Description While no prehistoric sites have been recorded in the district, it is possible that sites are present.
Five sites have been recorded in the general area (within one mile) indicating sites are present in the low. Locational characteristics for the district, particularly its distance of over 1,000 feet from existing industrial complex would also have impacted any prehistoric sites in the area which would vary from a general subsistence/settlement model (slope, drainage, distance to water). The potential for historic period survivals is also low. The district remained agricultural land throughout the 18" and early 19" centuries. During the 18" century, wooden framed shops were century, however, any trace of these or earlier structures wer likill in therarea. In coe sride lec entee hve er astrite ce of these orceacterstblbe ground surface and covers nearly the entire lot. (end) Blake & Knowles Steam Pump Co. NR District Name of Property 8. Statement of Significance