Historic Commercial Building

Custom House Block // 1853

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This stately commercial block is found on Main Street in Rockland, Maine. The block originally housed the local custom house (before a larger, purpose-built custom house was erected nearby in 1873) with other retail and commercial spaces at the ground floor with offices and meeting space above. The block is a great example of the Italianate style with an intricate brick corbeled cornice and cast iron and marble storefronts. The commercial space occupied by the First National Bank also exhibits a stone medallion with deer set within a wreath over the entrance. The detail that stood out to me most was the cast iron lintels over the windows, with the second floor lintels including a man’s face! The building is well preserved and is today occupied by local businesses.

Rankin Block // 1853

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The Rankin Block is a significant early commercial building in Rockland, Maine. The brick block was built in 1853 by Samuel Rankin, a descendant of one of the area’s first European settlers. Its location was near the center of the city’s shipbuilding industries, and replaced an earlier commercial building destroyed by fire. Its early tenants included a ship chandlery, shipping offices, and a sail loft. The vernacular Greek Revival style building is constructed of brick and granite, showcasing the no-frill architecture that working Maine sailors preferred. The building is now occupied by a senior living facility. Talk about a great adaptive reuse!

Bray’s Hall // 1893

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As Newton Centre’s new railroad station and following development boom transformed the once sleepy village into the main commercial center for the city, landowners capitalized on the opportunity by developing commercial blocks to serve the community and line their own pockets. Mellen Newton Bray (1856-1946) became a major landholder in Newton Centre and would develop the areas directly surrounding the new train station there. On a curving site, he built Bray’s Hall, this three-story commercial block renting out spaces to local banks and stores with a large assembly hall and bowling alley in the building as well. Initially, Bray planned for an eight-story structure, having contracted a solid foundation that could support such a structure, pending the success of the initial construction. That is mixed use before it was “cool”. The building was designed by the firm of Kendall & Stevens, likely led by Henry H. Kendall, who resided in Newton Centre. Kendall would also design the apartment block across the street for Mr. Bray. The building is constructed of light Tuscan bricks and is notable for the bracketed cornice and dormers all in copper. The building was restored in the 1970s by owner David Zussman, and rebranded as Piccadilly Square, following his recent trip to London being impressed with by the atmosphere of Piccadilly Circus.

William L. Lockhart Company Building // 1887

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This six-story brick and sandstone building at Causeway and Staniford streets near North Station in Boston was built in 1887 as the headquarters and sales center for William L. Lockhart & Co., manufacturers and wholesale dealers of coffins, caskets, and undertakers’ supplies, which at the time was considered the largest establishment of its kind in New England. The company had its factory in East Cambridge and built this structure as offices and sales rooms. The building is an excellent example of the Romanesque Revival style, which is typified by the use of round arched windows at the top floor and the use of inlaid carved stone panels. Frederick Nason Footman a relatively unknown architect is said to have designed the building for the Lockhart Company, with the building serving as an important piece of the company’s portfolio. Shop space was created on the street level, with the company’s offices, salesrooms and casket hardware department occupying the second floor, show rooms on the third floor, shipping department on the fourth floor and storage on the fifth and sixth floors. While the adjacent parcels have been razed and are still vacant, this building serves as an important visual gateway into what was once the West End, a neighborhood that was almost entirely demolished during urban renewal.

Sylvia Store // 1879

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This charming commercial store was built in 1879 as one of five similar commercial buildings constructed on Nantucket as investment properties by Robert McCleave (1809-1878), a retired whaling captain. Located on Orange Street, this store was long occupied as a neighborhood grocery store, before the days of supermarkets with seas of parking. Antoine Sylvia Jr. (1835-1906), an Azorian-born merchant on the island purchased the property 1879 from McCleave and operated a grocery store at this location until his death in 1906. His wife, Elizabeth C. “Lizzie” Sylvia (1850-1929), retained the property and operated a shop where she sold wallpaper. In 2015-16, the façade was restored with the installation of a salvaged façade of nearly identical detail and dimensions built at 106 Main Street in 1869 also by McCleave. This façade was salvaged for re-installation here when that building was demolished in 2001. The Sylvia Store was given a preservation easement after the restoration, preserving it for another 150+ years to come!

Grader Block // 1885

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Commercial districts and Main Streets in historic New England towns are full of amazing architecture that is meant for pedestrians. Strolling through these areas, the varied styles, materials, storefronts, and signage provides a sense of artistry and community that is impossible to achieve in suburban strip-malls and shopping centers. Historic buildings serve not only as visible anchors to communities, but are more often occupied by local, women, and/or minority-owned businesses compared to modern buildings and districts. Marblehead has many historic (sometimes Revolutionary-era) buildings that are commercial and contribute so much to the town’s vibrancy. This building was constructed in 1885 as a high-style Italian Renaissance Revival style commercial block, replacing a late 18th or early 19th century building. The Grader Block features a rounded corner, scored siding to resemble ashlar masonry construction, and Classically inspired design features like pilasters and pediments. Today, the storefronts are occupied by local small businesses.

Printer’s Exchange Building // 1866

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Why is commercial architecture from the second half of the 19th century so perfect? This structure in Downtown Portland is known as the Printer’s Exchange Building and was built in 1866, amongst the ashes of the buildings lost in the Great Fire of 1866. Charles Quincy Clapp is credited as the designer of the structure, which is Italianate in style with the paired round arched windows set into larger openings. The rounded corners are a really subtle but splendid touch in the design. The building got its name as it was home to the Eastern Argus and the Portland Daily Press, among other newspapers who rented the space from owner, Horatio Nelson Jose. I really like this one!

Paine Furniture Building // 1914

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Located on Arlington Street between St. James and Stuart streets in Boston’s Back Bay, this gorgeous masonry commercial block stands as a testament to the amazing architecture built in Boston in the early 20th century. The Paine Furniture Building was constructed in 1914 to house the extensive showroom, offices, and manufacturing operations of the Paine Furniture Company. Founded in 1835, the company was at one time the largest furniture manufacturer and dealer in New England and had a nationwide business. The company was founded by Leonard Baker Shearer, who was joined in business in 1845 by John S. Paine. Upon the death of Shearer in 1864, the name of the firm was changed to Paine’s Furniture Company, a name which stuck until the company closed in 2000. The architects for the building, Densmore & LeClear, were very busy in the early decades of the 20th century and designed many iconic buildings nearby and in towns surrounding Boston through the 1940s.

Commonwealth Trust Company // 1908-c.1974

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Ca. 1910 image courtesy of Boston Public Archives.

Located at the corner of Summer and Devonshire Streets in Downtown Boston, the Commonwealth Trust Company’s two-story marble banking house commanded the corner, despite its short stature. The building, completed in 1908, was constructed with Lee marble and decorated with ornate wrought and cast-iron grilles over windows. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Parker, Thomas & Rice in the Classical mode with large, fluted Corinthian columns and boxed corner pilasters framing the recessed center entrance, Corinthian pilasters ran along the side facade. At the inside, the building was coated with Cararra and Blanco marble with paneled oak offices. At the ground floor, offices and banking stations framed the outer walls, with the safety deposit boxes located on the second floor. The building was demolished by the 1970s and replaced with a one-story minimalist Modern building (I could not figure out why the former building was razed). The new building was demolished after a few decades with a larger building, better fitting the commercial district.