Download Wadsworth Building Wall brick w/rock faced brownstone

P
Massachusetts Historical Commission
8 0 Boylston Street
Boston, Massachusetts 0 2 1 1 6
Town-Winthrop
Winthrop Center
P l a c e ( n e i g h b o r h o o d or village)
Address
214-224 Winthrop Street
Historic
N a m e Wadsworth Building
Use: Present
Original
commercial
commercial/club rooms
D a t e of C o n s t r u c t i o n
C. 1887-1895
Winthrop Map/Atlas
Source
Style/Form
Queen Anne/Romanesque,rectangular
Architect/Builder
undetermined
Exterior Material
F o u n d a t i o n brick
Wall
R
o
o
f
brick w/rock faced brownstone trim
flat-tar and gravel
Outbuildings/Secondary
Structures
M a j o r A l t e r a t i o n s (with dates)
N/A
Modern store fronts
appear to date to 1950's and 60's. Cornice hidden behind
metal screen.
Condition
fair-good
Moved
| yes
Acreage
Recorded by
Organization-
Edward W. Gordon
Winthrop CDO+Historic Comm
c ...
Setting
[
|x
| no
less than one acre
Overlooks Metcalfe Sguare and Methodist
church; adjacent to Police Station; located at heart of
Winthrop Center.
ARCHITECTURAL
Describe architectural
the
community.
DESCRIPTION
features.
[X
|
see continuation
Evaluate the characteristics
sheet
of this building in terms of other buildings
within
Architecturally, the Wadsworth Block at 214-224 Winthrop Street is a unique Winthrop example of a
Late Victorian Era commercial block. In terms of historic architectural style, this building represents a
restrained foray into the Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival styles. Blocks like the Wadsworth
Building that combined space for professional offices, social and civic organizations as well as street
level commercial concerns were built in considerable numbers in Massachusetts cities like Lynn and
Boston and to a lesser extent in small towns like Winthrop. The Wadsworth Building , upon completion
c.early 1890's , struck a decidedly urban note in a suburban town which was still rural in appearance
in many areas. Evidently, Winthrop never again had a commercial block of this size and architectural
pretention. The Wadsworth Building is characrerized by a boxy, rectangular, 11-bay x 3-bay
form.This 3-story building is composed of yellow brick on the main facade, red brick on the side walls
and is accented by rock faced brownstone trimmings. The ground floor exhibits four store fronts which
have been modified overtime. The arched center entrance features a handsome rusticated and rock
faced enframement. Above this entrance is a brown stone plaque which reads "Wadsworth Block".At
either end of the main facade are rock faced brownstone piers. The 12 brick work piers of the upper
floors temper this buildings overwhelming horizontality as vertical elements. Directly above the center
entrance is a pair of arched windows flanked by small, square headed windows. The second floor
windows rise from continuous brownstone sill courses that are interrupted by four piers at the (cont'd)
)
NARRATIVE
see continuation
Discuss the history of the building.
Explain its associations
HISTORICAL
the building and the role(s) the owners/occupants
sheet
with local (or state) history.
played within the
Include uses of
community.
The Wadsworth Building occupies the site of the old Charles Burrill House . The Burrill House was
said to have been one of the oldest houses in Winthrop and judging by an old photograph appears to
date to the late 18th or early 19th cenury. It was a 5-bay x 1-bay center hall plan farm house with 6/6
wood sash and a hip roof. The Burrill House actually faced Fremont Street. The 1886 Floyd map
shows another T-shaped house and a stable on the Burrill lot.The Burrill House was said to have had
the first coal-burning stove in Winthrop.This house's site is now occupied by the portion of the
Wadsworth Building containing Brown's Drug Store. The Wadsworth Building is first shown on the
1896 Winthrop Atlas and was probably built c. 1890-95. Further research may identify the architect of
this building. The 1896 Winthrop Atlas shows this building divided into 4 segments (indicating the four
ground floor commercial spaces). At that time it was owned by a Susan Wadsworth. Winthrop Center
was long associated with the Wadsworth family. This house is adjacent to Wadsworth Street. It is
unclear as to how Susan Wadsworth, first owner of this commercial block, is related to this family,
(over)
1
B I B L I O G R A P H Y and/or R E F E R E N C E S [
)
Winthrop Maps/Atlases-1886,1896,1906 and 1914
ChelseaAA/inthrop Directories-1890,1895/96,1906
Winthrop Directories-1911,1913,1916/17,1924,1936,1942 and 1947
Winthrop Library photo files
|
see continuation
sheet
Community:
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
Office of the Secretary, Boston
Form No:
P r o p e r t y N a m e : 214-224 Winthrop Street
Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below.
Architectural Description continuedcenter of the main facade.The windows exhibit rock faced brown
stone lintels and contain 1/1 wood sash. All of the main facade's piers culminated in brownstone urn
and ball ornamentation which extended above the roof line and maybe still extant behind the c. mid
20th c. metal screen. In all probability, the cornice with its brownstone courses and vertical stretcher
brick banding is still extant behind this metal screen. Still visible are the ornamental stone balls at
either end of the main facade.This building is enclosed by a flat roof. The Wadsworth Building, at
Metcalfe Square, would be an important component of anf future Winthrop Center Historic District.
Historical Narrative c o n t i n u e d
The Wadsworth Building, overtime, became an important focus of the town's commercial,social, and
even religious life. From 1916 until 1922,the Wadsworth Building played an important role in the
beginnings of Winthrop's first Christian Science church. Here, worship services and a Sunday School
were conducted, additionally, a Christian Science Reading Room was established in one of the store
fronts. During the early 1900's, this building housed Henry F. Rich and George F. Sweeney Grocers
as well as Clarence A. Nevers, dentist and other unidentified commercial concerns. A more
comprehensive picture of this commercial block's tenants is revealed in the 1916/17 Winthrop
Directory. At that time, its occupants included the Winthrop Board of Trade, Christian Science Church,
Coles Sisters Dry Goods, Rich and Co. Grocers, K.C.Brown, druggist, George W. Lane, jeweler, R.A.
Lang, boots and shoes, Charles A. Nevers, dentist.the Children's Tailoring Co.,Columbia Hall (Metcalf
Square was originally called Columbia Square), Wadsworth Hall, and H.W. Mayo, Dentist. During the
1920's, the Winthrop branch of the Red Cross was located here along with commercial concerns and
proffessional offices. Underling the important role of this building in the life of the town was the fact that
the Crystal Bay Lodge, IOOF and Carpenters Local 821 were located here during the 1920's.By the
1930's, tenants of the Wadsworth Block included K.C. Brown Druggist,Prosperity Cleaners and Dyers,
San Lee Laundry, Spanish American War Veterans Hall, Clarence A. Nevers, dentist, Bernard G. Fitz,
optomotrist., The Coles Sisters Dry Goods and Joseph Baresi, shoe repair.