260 Merrimac Street

History

The Towle Building is located on a 5.76-acre parcel of land on the eastern side of Merrimac Street in the City of Newburyport.

The site is bound by Merrimac Street to the west; the Merrimack River and 266 Merrimac Street to the east; Sally Snyder Way to the south, and 262-264 Merrimac Street and 282 Merrimac Street to the north. In addition to the Towle Building, the property includes a paved surface parking lot at the eastern and southern ends and a c. 2008 brick maintenance building to the south. The Towle Building fronts on Merrimac Street to the west and can be accessed at the rear via Sally Snyder Way and a driveway entrance north of 268.

Initially constructed in 1866 as the Merrimac Arms Manufacturing Company, the building expanded with subsequent additions to form the building’s present configuration. The main 1866 building’s west elevation (Merrimac Street façade) was constructed as a four-story building with a mansard roof at the southern portion of the building. According to historic images, the mansard roof was removed between 1905 and 1910 and replaced with the existing fourth floor and flat roof. The four-story brick Italianate factory building rests on a brick foundation. It extends to a flat roof defined by a brick header course and dentil molding. The 35-by-7 bay wide façade features the retained original 1866 portion of the building at its center. The original portion of the building features a red brick exterior laid in a common bond with Flemish headers. The façade contains regularly spaced bays of 18-light, simulated divided-light aluminum fixed-sash windows with brick segmental arch lintels and rectangular wood-aluminum clad sills. The façade’s defining feature is the five-story, two-by-one-bay-wide stair tower projecting from the center of the original building block. The tower is capped by a mansard roof, represented by brick modillions and segmental-arched dormers. The tower connects the building to the sidewalk on Merrimac Street on the second floor. A modern aluminum-glazed panel double door is located at the center of the tower’s east elevation and is accessed at street level.

A circa 1926 four-story two-bay wide brick addition extends north from the original building’s north elevation. Projecting slightly west from the original plane of the building, the addition’s façade is framed by projecting brick piers and capped by a simple brick stepped cornice. The windows on this elevation of the addition are consistent with the fenestration of the original façade: 18-light replacement windows with brick segmental-arch lintels. This northern block extends two bays to the east. Its north elevation is laid in common bond with Flemish headers; the elevation features bays of large, divided, fixed sash windows set on cast stone sills, divided by brick piers resting on a concrete base.

A subsequent three-story, five-bay wide brick addition extends the north elevation of the 1926 addition two bays to the east. According to the Sanborn Insurance Atlas, this addition was constructed by 1946. Continuing the fenestration and brickwork of the north elevation, the 1946 addition follows the parcel’s slope to the rear surface parking lot. The three-story features prominent, divided, fixed sash windows set on cast stone sills. The elevation is framed by brick piers set on a concrete base. The westernmost two bays of the 1946 building’s north elevation have an EFIS one-story fourth-floor addition atop them. Recessed from the brick elevation, the addition features four paired single fixed sash windows and is capped by a flat roof. A single-story, single-bay EFIS headhouse is located at the east end of the roof and contains paired fixed sash windows with a transom sash.

The southern end of the 1866 building was enlarged with the addition of a four-story, six-bay-wide brick building constructed in 1947. A stone date block located in the southwest corner of the addition’s foundation dates the addition to 1947. The fenestration and brickwork of the west elevation of the 1947 building are consistent with those of the west elevation of the 1866 building. The west elevation features regularly spaced bays of 18-light, divided replacement fixed sash windows with brick segmental arch lintels and rectangular wood-aluminum clad sills. The brick header course and dentil detail forming the cornice of the building are aligned with the matching cornice of the 1866 building. The south elevation of the 1947 addition extends 7 bays to the east and features fenestration similar to that of the building’s north elevation: regularly set, large rectangular windows with vertically divided sashes and transoms. Resting on a concrete foundation, the 4-story elevation has a red brick exterior laid in common bond. It extends to a brick header cornice with brick dentil detail. A one-story, two-bay-wide brick loading dock extends from the eastern end of the south elevation. The loading dock features an overhead garage door and an aluminum door accessed by a set of wood stairs. Infilled window openings are located throughout the loading dock’s east and south elevations.

The three-bay-wide east elevation of the 1947 addition rests on a raised concrete foundation. It extends four stories to a flat roof. The elevation features a single-glazed aluminum-paneled door in the northernmost bay. Set at grade, the entrance is accessed by a concrete path extending from a concrete sidewalk. The southern bay of the elevation features large, vertically divided, rectangular, fixed replacement sash windows capped by transoms. The two northern bays contain narrow single- and divided-light fixed-replacement sash windows with transoms. The cornice of the south elevation continues onto the east elevation of the addition.

A nine-by-five bay four-story brick building abuts the north elevation of the 1947 building, forming a continuous east elevation. According to the Sanborn Insurance Atlases, the building was constructed as a free-standing three-story building before 1894. According to the 1946 Sanborn Atlases, the building’s fourth floor was built between 1924 and 1946. The brick exterior of the lower three levels is laid in common bond with Flemish headers. Resting on a brick foundation, two basement-level window headers are partially visible at grade. A projecting brick cornice extends along the east and west elevations of the building, delineating the former roof line of the three-story building. The exterior brick of the fourth floor is laid in a stretcher bond, further differentiating it from the lower levels. The fenestration of the overall building features single fixed sash windows with brick segmental arch lintels and rectangular sills. The roofline of the building is enhanced by a simple brick header-course cornice. The five-bay wide north elevation of the building contains an entrance set within the westernmost bay of the first floor. Set at grade, the glazed aluminum frame door contains a side light and a transom. The building also has an entrance on its west elevation within the courtyard. The glazed aluminum frame west elevation entrance features a sidelight and a transom. The entrance is sheltered beneath a metal-and-glass sawtooth roof portico supported by concrete piers.

A courtyard is located to the west of the 1894 building, enclosed to the east by the 1866 building, to the south by the 1947 addition, and to the east by the 1894 building. Open to the north, the courtyard is accessed by a concrete path extending from the surface parking lot east of the building. The rear (east) elevation of the original 1866 building is laid in common bond, with Flemish headers and a fixed single-sash window with brick segmental arch lintels. At the courtyard’s southern end, the four-story north elevation of the south 1947 addition features a brick exterior laid in common bond, with two bays of rectangular, vertically divided replacement sash with transoms.

A six-story brick water tower projects from the center of the 1866 building’s east elevation. Constructed between 1900 and 1906, the tower first appeared on the 1906 Sanborn Insurance Atlas. The square tower is laid in a common brick bond and features four vertical recessed panels capped by brick segmental arches. The two center recessed bays contain narrow fixed sash windows at the fifth and sixth floors. A 4-story modern EFIS addition encloses the tower, obscuring the first through fourth floors of the east elevation from view. The EFIS addition was constructed ca. 2000 following the demolition of two brick one-story structures. Lacking detail, the east elevation of the EFIS addition features a single bay of single fixed sash windows. The southeast corner of the EFIS addition is defined by a former free-standing brick smokestack that projects slightly above the EFIS addition’s roof. The brick of the smokestack is laid in a common bond with Flemish headers. An aluminum-glazed double door is located within the northernmost bay of the EFIS addition. Currently functioning as the building’s main entrance, the entry is accessed via a set of concrete stairs and a brick-and-concrete handicap ramp. The entrance and ramp are covered by a modern portico formed by concrete piers supporting a metal-and-glass arched sawtooth roof, constructed ca. 2010 according to historic aerials.

A modern ca. 2000, one-story brick and EFIS addition extends from the east elevation of the four-story EFIS addition. The addition is set on a brick foundation and has a low-pitched roof. The brick exterior of the east elevation is laid in common bond with Flemish headers. A large glazed aluminum frame opening is located at the center of the elevation and contains a single glazed door. The entrance is flanked by fixed-sash vertical-divided replacement windows. The three openings feature brick segmental arches enhanced with brick dentil detail and two brick header courses. The south elevation of the building is sheltered by the sawtooth roof of the entrance portico. The lower half of the elevation is covered in EFIS.

In contrast, the upper half retains a brick exterior laid in a common bond with Flemish headers. Within the EFIS elevation, two window openings feature a vertically divided sash with segmental arch transoms. A single-glazed aluminum frame door is located at the eastern end of the elevation. A set of concrete stairs is situated to the north of the one-story addition, providing access to an entrance on the east elevation of the four-story EFIS addition.

The property contains a one-story brick maintenance building at the southwest corner, at the intersection of Merrimac Street and Sally Snyder Way. According to historic aerials, the building dates to ca. 2008. Resting on a concrete foundation, the T-shaped one-story building is capped by intersecting hip roofs covered with asphalt shingles. The east elevation features a vehicle-overhead garage door set within a brick-arched opening. Set into the slope of the property, the south and west elevations feature simple fenestration of fixed-sash divided windows set within brick-arched openings.

The Towle Building is located in the North End neighborhood of the City of Newburyport. It is included in the Newburyport National Register Historic District. It was initially constructed in 1866 by the Merrimac Arms Manufacturing Company. In 1872, the site was owned by the Brown Manufacturing Company, and in 1883, the property was acquired by the Towle Manufacturing Company, a silversmith manufacturer.

Recognized as a national leader in sterling silver production, Towle Manufacturing specialized in solid-silver tableware in colonial, classic, and modern styles. The company was a vital contributor to Newburyport’s economy, employing over 300 operatives during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Towle Manufacturing began in 1857 as the partnership of Anthony F. Towle and William P. Jones, called “Towle and Jones Silverware.” Both apprenticed under Newburyport silversmith Joseph Moulton, purchasing his business to form their firm. In 1870, Edward P. Towle joined, and the name changed to “Towle, Jones and Company.” The partnership dissolved in 1873, and Anthony and Edward Towle reestablished the company as “A.F. Towle & Son,” which became the Towle Manufacturing Company in 1882. The company was headquartered on Pleasant Street before relocating to the Merrimac Street building in 1883.

According to an 1884 Newburyport Atlas, the building at the time consisted of a c. 1866 L-shaped brick structure set adjacent to Merrimac Street. By 1894, the building had been enlarged and the former northern section removed. At that time, the 1866 building was noted as three stories with a four-story center section and a projecting five-story central stair tower. Interior operations included production on the first floor, packing and burnishing on the second, finishing on the third, and storage on the fourth. A one-story L-shaped coal house extended from the east elevation of the four-story section, attaching to a c. 1894 rectangular three-story brick building. The 1866 building contained a machine shop on the first floor, wood-working on the second, and fancy case-making on the third. A second-floor walk connected the machine shop to the main production building. A one-story melting room was located adjacent to the southern side of the coal house and east of the 1866 building. A two-story storage and corporate. The shop was located to the east of the main complex and connected by a third-story connector. A two-story rectangular storage building stood further east, while a smaller storage shed was to the north.

By 1900, according to the Sanborn Insurance Atlas, the main building’s operations had altered slightly, with production continuing on the first floor; office and general work on the second; packing and finishing on the third; and burnishing, plating, and storage on the fourth. A six-story water tank had been constructed on the east elevation at the north end of the 1866 building. The coal house was extended eastward in line with the 1866 building’s east elevation. The melting room was relocated to this enlarged one-story building, while the former melting room became a cleaning room. The 1866 building continued to house a machine shop, wood-working, and fancy case-making. A one-story shed was constructed south of the second-floor walk.

The 1906 Sanborn map shows a new one-story building at the east end of the coal house’s north elevation. The western section of the coal house had been extended to four stories, while the eastern section remained one story. The six-story water tower was present between the 1866 building and the cleaning room. The storage shed north of the building had been demolished. A two-story rectangular stock house was built northeast of the building. The previous two-story east outbuilding was demolished, replaced with a three-story structure at the center of the 1866 building, connected by a one-story second-floor walk. This stucco-covered outbuilding contained a machine shop on the first floor, a box shop on the second, and case-making on the third. The outbuilding at the south end of the complex functioned as a laboratory.

The 1906 configuration remained into the 1940s, though interior operations changed. In 1914, the 1866 building contained storage in the basement, hollowware production on the first floor, offices on the second, finishing on the third, and engraving and finishing on the fourth. By 1924, the southern one-story laboratory building had been removed, and a one-story rectangular addition had been built on the western elevation of the three-story southeast building. By 1946, a four-story brick addition was constructed at the north elevation of the 1866 building. A three-story rectangular addition was built on the east elevation of the two-bay-wide addition. The east outbuilding was enlarged with a one-story north addition.

According to historic aerial photographs, the eastern free-standing three-story building was demolished between 1995 and 1998 for the existing paved surface parking lot. Many interior components of the complex were destroyed by 2001 for the construction of the two existing EFIS additions, the one-story brick addition, and the sawtooth entrance portico. The existing maintenance building was constructed in 2008.

In 1990, Towle Manufacturing Company changed its name to Merrimac Corp., which later closed and sold the property in 1997 to The First Republic Corporation of America. According to the Newburyport Assessors Department, the mill building was rehabilitated and converted to office space in 1997. In 2004, a first-floor restaurant was established in the one-story east building. In 2006, the building was sold to FRCA of Newburyport LLC, the current owners. Under its ownership, the maintenance building was constructed in 2008.