Photograph by Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger), Public domain. Via
Wikimedia Commons.
Fabens Building
Built in 1890. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. 17 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1892.
From the record
“The Fabens Building is a historic commercial building at 312-344 Union Street in Lynn, Massachusetts. The four story brick building was built in 1890, replacing two buildings that were destroyed in Lynn's disastrous 1889 fire.”
Wikipedia article Fabens Building, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 480 National Register listings published here for Essex County · listed in 1982 · category: Building · built in 1890, by Henry Warren Rogers.
National Register reference number.82001879- the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.
Then and now
1892 to 1997
The ground this property stands on, surveyed
105 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are
United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
This is Lynn. And probably no place upon the New England coast can present more attractive features and such varied scenery. It is one of the oldest settlements of Massachusetts, as distinguished from Plymouth, and has always maintained a steady, though not rapid, growth, till, at the present time, it has reached a population of very near 50,000. It is on the northern shore of the great bay which is entered from the Atlantic through the gateway formed by Cape Ann, so named by Prince Charles in filial respect for his mother, and Cape Cod, so named by the notable English navigator, Bartholomew Gosnold, from the circumstance of finding multitudes of codfish sporting about there. It was the central one of the three important settlements commenced at nearly the same time, - namely, Salem, Lynn and Boston ; is five miles southwest of the former, and ten miles northeast of the latter. It is not now very extensive, territorially, but as regards population is the largest city in the United States, east of Boston.
With the Ingalls brothers appear to have come three others, namely, William Dixey, John Wood and William Wood, the two latter supposed to be father and son. The father, John, seems to have been a good, common-sense, plodding settler, industrious, but with little ambition. William, the son,was evidently an active, aspiring young man, something of a rover, a keen observer and one desirous of making a mark. And he did make a mark, which remains conspicuous at this day. He may well be called the first historian of Lynn, or indeed of New England. He was the author of " New England's Prospect," which was printed in London in 1634. It was a work evidently inspired by a love for his new home, and gives graphic accounts of the different settlements, their condition, advantages and prospects, with shrewd suggestions and honest deductions, but withal tinged by crude conceptions, more or less attributable to the peculiar views and circumstances of the settlers, and the conceits of the time. His quaint descriptions will continue to be quoted so long as our early history continues to interest. He also, in 1635, published a map of New England, engraved on wood.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The
federal wildfire occurrence database
lists 76 fires within 5 miles of Fabens Building
between 2003 and 2020, burning about 252 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 7 were recorded as arson.
Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted
here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
Reported cause
Fires
Recreation and ceremony
26
Smoking
17
Debris and open burning
7
Arson/incendiarism
7
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
6
Misuse of fire by a minor
4
Equipment and vehicle use
4
Fireworks
3
Natural
1
Railroad operations and maintenance
1
The most recent of
them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service
that recorded it.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. Museums hold 10,542 specimens
collected within 10 miles of Fabens Building between 1800 and 1975: 5,073 Plantae, 2,936 Animalia, 1,006 Chromista, 815 Fungi, 411 Unrecorded, 286 Bacteria, 15 Protozoa.
12 distinct Species records are shown.
Collected by A B. Proper, A. A. Eaton, A. B. Hervey and others. Each is a
physical object with a catalogue
number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was
collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be
concluded from a species being absent.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists
11 workings within 5 miles of Fabens Building: 3 past producers, 3 producers, 2 unknowns, 2 plants.
5 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Gold. Distance is straight-line from the
map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring
settlement's page as well.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The National Weather Service names
Lynn, the town this property stands in, in 37 storm reports between 2006 and 2023: 16 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 5 flood, 5 flash flood.
No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office
filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date
opens the federal record of that event.
Numerous trees and wires were downed throughout Lynn, closing thirty to forty streets. An amateur radio operator recorded a wind gust of 60 mph on their home weather station on Centre Street.
At 9:16 AM EST, cars on Monroe Street in Lynn were floating in the street. At 9:18 AM EST, water was rising in a building on Monroe Street, causing people to stand on chairs. At 9:31 AM cars were trapped in flood waters on Chatham Street under a bridge; the road was impassable. At 10:03 AM the basement door to a building on Union Street had collapsed due to the flooding, and water was pouring in. At 10:18 AM, large sections of Boston Street in Lynn were flooded and impassable, and several cars were trapped in the floodwaters. At 10:32 AM state route 107 on the Lynn/Salem border was closed due to flooding. At 10:59 AM EST, manhole covers were reported coming off the road on Seymour Avenue. A car was trapped in three feet of water on Wilfred Street; the road was impassable. At 11:42 AM EST, street flooding on Erie Street reached several feet.
Lightning struck a three family home on Washington Street, setting fire to the house. Damage was to the front roof in the third floor unit. Residents in the third floor unit were unable to return to their unit due to water damage. Other units were not damaged.
In Swampscott, a car was stuck in flood waters at the Santander Bank parking lot. Crowinshield Street was flooded in Peabody. A car was stuck in flood waters on Endicott Street. Leather City Common was flooded with six to twelve inches of water.
In Peabody, a car was stuck in two feet of water on America Drive. A car was stuck in flood waters on the ramp for the Northshore Mall from Route 114 to Route 128. In Lynn, four to six inches covered all three eastbound lanes of the Lynnway. Other streets in Lynn were flooded with three feet of water and the fire department responded to two calls of people stuck in their cars. In Beverly, Federal Street between MacPherson Drive and Rantoul and Lothrop Street at Route 127 were closed due to flooding. The fire department reported several streets flooded with at least 3 feet of water. They responded to about a half dozen calls of people stuck in their cars. In Salem, Highland Avenue was flooded out.
In Lynn, large branches and wires were downed by thunderstorm winds. In Marblehead, trees and wires on Green Street and Kenneth Road were downed by thunderstorm winds. One of the trees on Kenneth Road landed on a house.
A tree and wires were downed onto a fence on Warwick Street in Lynn. Also, an eight inch diameter tree branch was downed and blew into a house, the house sustained minor damage. Several other tree limbs were downed on Lynnfield Street and Savory Street.
In Swampscott, several cars were stuck in street flooding on Paradise Road (Route 1A). |Also, a car was stuck at the intersection of Stetson Avenue and Norfolk Avenue.
United States Geological Survey topographic
sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then
testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.
When this property was proposed for the
National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is,
and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain.
It is quoted below word for word, never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the
occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s
typewriter's.
Description of the property
The Fabens Building, with its rounded corner and "flat iron" plan, stands at the head of the Lynn Shoppers Mall which was formed by the closing of Union Street to automobile traffic between Silsbee Street and Central Square. The building dominates the entrance to the Mall and is visible from many vantage points in Lynn's downtown. The elevated section of the Boston and Maine Railroad runs near the southeast side of the building while the Mall lies to the northwest. The overall orientation of the building is to the south. The design of the Fabens Building, like other business blocks in the downtown, was the result of a design competition to which several local architects submitted plans. A design by H.W. Rogers & Son was chosen and was illustrated in the Lynn City Item of August 22, 1890.
This design originally called for a beveled corner at the building's south end. However, this detail was changed prior to construction since a downtown map of October 1890 shows the foundation laid and the building under construction with its present curved configuration. The main section of the Fabens Building is designed in a commercial adaptation of the late Romanesque Revival style with the rear section executed in a straightforward, late nine- teenth century commercial mode. The entire building is constructed of smooth, hard-fired brick with 1/8" joints executed in red-tinted lime mortar. The exterior masonry bearing wall surrounds an interior mill-type structural system of 3 X 14 wood joists supported by 8 X 14 wood girders.
The roof construction is tar and gravel on wood decking, pitched to interior drains. The Fabens Building is 4 stories high and 33 bays wide with 19 bays comprising the main facade and 14 bays comprising the rear facade.
/Architect Henry W. Rogers & Son Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) The Fabens Building possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship, and is significant as a good local example of the Romanesque Revival commercial design. The building features two story arches with sandstone trim and brick pilasters in an unusually fine adaptation of a common motif in Lynn architecture of this period It 15 one of the most prominent buildings in the Burned District, the area of downtowt Lynn devastated by the great fire of 1889 and is further enhanced by its distinctive carved "flat iron" plan and its prominent location in the downtown. The Fabens Building meets criterion C of the NRHP.
The Fabens Building replaced two brick buildings and sheds which were destroyed in 1889 and was the case with several other business blocks in the area as the Fabens Building's plan was the result of a design competition to which several local architects submitted plans. A design by H.W. Rogers & Son was accepted and was illustrated in the Lynn City Item of August 22, 1890. The plan originally called for a beveled corner at the building's south end, resembling the H.A. and G. K. Pevear Block at Washington and Munroe Streets. However, this detail was changed prior to construction, for the downtown map of October 1890 shows the foundation laid and the building under construction with its present rounded corner. The building was built for William C.
Fabens, a local judge, who was born in Marblehead. Fabens, whose father was also a judge, attended Harvard Law School and opened a law office in Lynn early in his career. By 1889, he had been made an associate justice of the Lynn Police Court.
Quoted from the National Register nomination
for reference 82001879, 17 pages, held by the National Archives in Record
Group 79. See the
catalogue record.
Listed places nearby
6 within 8 miles
Other National Register properties close
enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both
positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties
to their map sheets.
Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.
Block
