Centre and Montello Streets Historic District

The Centre and Montello Streets Historic District encompasses an area of well-preserved commercial buildings in Brockton, Massachusetts. The district extends west along Centre Street from the junction of Centre and Montello Streets in downtown Brockton, and includes a few buildings on Montello south of that intersection. The district was selected for historic status because it was thought to preserve Brockton's past as the "Shoe City". In the early 20th century Brockton was the largest manufacturer of shoes in the United States of America.[1]

Centre and Montello Streets Historic District
Anglim Building, constructed 1906. Known as "Brockton's First Skyscraper" it was designed by J. Williams Beals. Upon opening the bottom three floors were the United Shoe Machinery Corporation, and the top floors were leased to printers, shoe-pattern designers, and shoe-material manufacturers, etc.
Location43–51, 53–61, 63–77, 91–93 Centre & 95, 124–126 Montello Sts. Brockton, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°5′3″N 71°1′3″W
AreaDowntown Brockton, MA
Built1880s to early 1900s
NRHP reference No.15000352 [2]
Added to NRHPJune 15, 2015


Style
View of 43–77 Centre Street, location of W.B. Mason headquarters. From right to left: Smith Building (1899), Bay State Block Building (1887), Howard-Tolman Building (1909).

The buildings are typically three to five-story brick or brownstone buildings, with commercial styling characteristic of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[3] The Lily, Brackett & Co. Shoe Factory at 124–126 Montello Street is believed to be the oldest brick shoe factory building in the city.[4] The district has been home to many types of tenants including, but not limited too: messianic lodges, shoe factories, insurance agencies, rubber stamp companies, and more.

The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.[2]



See also

References
  1. Galvin, William (May 8, 2015). "CENTRE AND MONTELLO STREETS HISTORIC DISTRICT, BROCKTON, APPROVED FOR NOMINATION TO THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES" (PDF). MA.gov.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  3. "MACRIS inventory record for Centre Street". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  4. "MACRIS inventory record for Lilly, Brackett and Company Shoe Factory". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved July 5, 2015.


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