The Fitchburg Line Industrial Corridor errata

[tastyanagram.livejournal.com]

Hi, everyone. I'm a Somerville resident, formerly of Davis Square, and currently living on Prospect Hill. I'm contemplating starting an LJ community for the Union Square area, if anyone's interested, but in this post I just wanted to share an extremely interesting page I've found this morning: http://pixels.furiousbees.com/somind/

The author mentions LJ in the introduction so forgive me if it's already been posted here. Here's an excerpt taken from the text at the link given above:

There are at least four large businesses that I know of occupying this little cluster of industry: Ames Safety Envelope, which occupies a dwindling share of a huge complex of buildings divided by Dane Street; the Peter Forg Manufacturing Co., which does metal stamping and fabricating right across the track from Ames; L. Bornstein Flooring, which operates a large and ugly structure north of Washington Street; and the H.D. Chasen Company, which sells industrial supplies out of a small complex on Lake Street. There's also a clutch of smaller industrial businesses or former businesses operating from smaller buildings. I've collected some information on the history of the locations on this page from the Sanborn maps available through the Somerville Public Library.

I had been meaning to photograph this area for some time, but ultimately it was an LJ friend's comment that "you are near a METALWORKING plant and I haven't seen pictures?!?!" that spurred me to action. So, beginning on a beautiful day in May, I went on a series of expeditions to explore and document some of the last working factories in Somerville. (The lighting conditions weren't always great, so I've done a fair amount of quick and dirty enhancement in Photoshop to create the final images.)

I found this page extremely informative, but I found at least one error. The author states that the Paper and Provisions Warehouse currently houses "the Somerville Boxing Club and an organ repair company", but to my knowledge it's artists' studio space. I left a comment on the associated Google map but couldn't find a way to contact the author.

If anyone has any more information, I'd love to hear about it. I absolutely love this area—there's so much to learn about its history. Did you know that Union Square used to be called Liberty Pole Square, for example?

Comments

[ron_newman]

Industries I remember seeing when I first moved to Somerville, that aren't here anymore:

HK Porter tools --now the big empty field next to the Mystic River at Assembly Square. Sold to Cooper Industries who closed down the Somerville factory and moved manufacturing to another state.

Catania-Spagna vegetable oil company -- was on Kent Street just north of the Fitchburg train tracks. They were a freight customer of the railroad. I remember seeing tank cars set out for them on a siding when I lived on the other end of Kent Street. They still exist but have moved to Ayer, Massachusetts. I think the City Schemes furniture warehouse now uses their old building.

There was also an industrial complex on the south side of the tracks, east of Kent Street, but I can't remember what it was anymore. It has been replaced by apartments.

MaxPak - paper factory demolished a few months ago, between Clyde and Lowell Streets. They went out of business about 10 years ago and were also a freight railroad customer, using the former railroad spur beyond the Cedar Street end of the Community Path.

John Solomon Inc, a textile company that used to be on the north side of Somerville Ave, just east of Park Street. Sold to an out-of-state company which closed down the Somerville operation. The building was torn down a couple of years ago. I don't think anything has been built there yet. My former landlady's daughter used to work there.

Bay State Smelting Company, on the south side of Somerville Ave. An obnoxious polluting industry that was guilty of numerous work-safety and environmental violations. It was owned by Ben Sack, who also founded the Sack Theatres chain. After a lot of cleanup, the city expanded Conway Park onto this site.

Comfort Pillow, on Howard Street, backing onto the bike path -- converted to condos as part of the Davis Square Lofts project.

MW Carr picture frame company, right next to Comfort Pillow -- also converted to Davis Square Loft condos.

Vacuum Industries -- was down around Allen and Linden Streets near what is now Target (but was then Bradlees). I don't know what they made. Replaced by apartments.

Research Foods -- a fat rendering plant off South Street in the Boynton Yards industrial area. Fined for dumping grease and fat into the city sewer system. I think the city may have taken this by eminent domain to shut it down.

[svilletheatre.livejournal.com]

Other soon to be gone industries include:

-Central Steel, taken by eminent domain for Assembly Square project.

-MS Walker, a liquor distributor behind the railyards off of Washington Street that will be demolished for the recently announced "Option L" MBTA Green Line facility.

One old-school factory that remains is Rogers Foam Corp. over on Vernon and Central Streets, which shares its building with artists and has done so for decades.

The number of industries that have gone away in Somerville and in Boston in general is staggering. I recall seeing a list years ago from the late 70's of the various industries that the B&M RR served in Somerville alone and it really was remarkable how many small industrial customers existed in the city even 30 years ago.

When I was serving ever-so-briefly on the historic commission, one of the buildings that had applied for demolition was a very ugly and plain cinderblock factory on Somerville Avenue next to the Wings Over Somerville location. While the building was totally unremarkable and merely had to be reviewed since it was built in 1946, the history of the factory was interesting. It was a pocket manufacturer. Literally, this place made pockets that were sent off to various pant-makers. When NAFTA passed in '96, and you could make pockets in Mexico for pennies on the dollar, the owner of the factory closed it down, sold the building, and split the proceeds with the workers, which is a rare thing indeed. There were hundreds of places like this back in the day.

[ron_newman]

Was this the John Solomon Inc. factory? JSI's building is still visible in Google StreetView even though it has since been demolished. I mentioned it above in my list, but may have gotten the demolition date wrong.

The company still exists but now only as part of a North Carolina firm.

[svilletheatre.livejournal.com]

Yes, that is the place.

[ron_newman]

Now a construction site with a sign in front advertising 39 future condos for sale.

[ron_newman]

I hate to say it, but that one is a 'good riddance' example to me. Factories can coexist with healthy residential and commercial areas (see Rogers Foam and until recently Ames Envelope for good examples), but scrap metal yards really can't.

[ron_newman]

But perhaps not the toilets that used to be displayed along Prospect Street as you came into Union Square. Yum!

[gruene.livejournal.com]

They finally demolished that old factory? I sort of liked the decaying post-industrial feel that stretch of the community path had. Besides, where will the high school kids hang out and drink 40s now?

[ron_newman]

Yep, MaxPak was torn down in early January (or maybe late December). Some recent posts on the subject: 11/4/09 , 11/7/09 , 11/18/09 , 11/29/09 , 1/18/10 , 3/11/10 .

The developer plans 199 condos for the site. Given its proximity to a future Green Line station, i would have preferred to mix in some commercial, office, and maybe even light-industrial uses.

[postrodent.livejournal.com]

This is a depressing list, even though I'm sure many of these companies were awful, awful places to work, as well as being heavy polluters. (Looking through the old maps, you'd see tanneries, bleacheries, slaughterhouses, often all three within a one block radius. Somerville must have _stank_ in the first half of the century.)

I'd love to know how many industries have come in to Somerville in that time. The number is nonzero, but I don't expect it to remotely approach what was lost.

[ron_newman]

Independent Fabrications is a fairly recent (1995) arrival to the Joy Street Studios building. They manufacture bicycles, and are sort of descended from other craft bicycle-building companies that were around Cambridge and Somerville in the 1980s and early 90s.

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

My Dad was a first-generation Greek-American, born in 1927 and grew up in Roxbury, in an area that was then Greeks and Jews. One of the few stories I remember him telling of his youth is the lasting impression it made on him as a child when he visited a friend who lived in Somerville, I believe Union Square area. He was bowled over by the stink - like slaughterhouse stink - in the neighborhood, and that people seemed to be unaware of it; his friend certainly didn't remark on it. He found it sobering; I think for him it was a defining moment of youth when you begin to recognize that others may have different from you....and appreciate what you got.
By the way, I would be ecstatic for a Union Sq LJ, having moved from Davis closer to Union a year ago!

[avjudge]

My dad, also born 1927, grew up on Gore St in Cambridge, at a time when I believe one of the 3 big packing houses was still there. He lived there into high school. After reading the Somerville Past and Present book I mentioned, and knowing that at least one packing house was still there in his childhood, I asked him if he remembered it smelling, and he said he can't remember any smell at all!

[notnatalie.livejournal.com]

Ha! There ya go....I work for a bakery and always am surprised when, hours into my shift, people come into the shop and tell me how good it smells ( it does? I wish I could smell it!)

[ron_newman]

Which bakery? (Would you like DSLJ folks to visit you there and buy stuff?)

[ron_newman]

Taza Chocolate is another very recent new manufacturing industry in Somerville. Their About Us page says they started in 2006. They are expanding their factory (or maybe have already finished doing that by now)

Historically, there were many candy and chocolate factories in Cambridge -- not sure about Somerville. The only remaining Cambridge candy factory is the Tootsie Roll (formerly Nabisco) place on Main Street near Central Square.

[postrodent.livejournal.com]

You keep coming up with great stuff here. As well as another excuse to buy chocolate. I really have to go by their factory before I leave. o.O

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

What about the Superior Nut Company factory on O'Brien Highway near Lechmere?

[ron_newman]

I'm looking at Superior Nut's website now. Didn't realize they made candy (it's not their main product line).

Within recent memory, Cambridge had Necco (on Mass. Ave.), Haviland (across from Lechmere station), and Squirrel Brand. Necco bought Haviland, then moved all their operations to Revere where they are today.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

By the way, http://www.superiornutstore.com/about.html says they first operated out of the basement of a movie theater in Ball Square.

And their Yelp page says they have a retail store with very cheap prices, though it's only open 9-4 weekdays.

[ron_newman]

in the above list I forgot one that will be familiar to even recent arrivals here -- Russ's Donuts, aka the 'Secret Donut Factory' that used to be at the end of Highland Road next to the Community Path.