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Lynn Realty Company Building No. 2

Buildings and structures in Lynn, MassachusettsCommercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in MassachusettsNational Register of Historic Places in Lynn, Massachusetts
Lynn Realty Company Building No. 2, Lynn MA
Lynn Realty Company Building No. 2, Lynn MA

The Lynn Realty Company Building No. 2 is a historic commercial building at 672-680 Washington Street in Lynn, Massachusetts. A long rectangular eight story brick building, it was built in 1902 to a design by local architect Henry Warren Rogers. The building is three window bays wide and seventeen long. Although it originally formally fronted on Washington Street, it extends on its long axis for most of a city block along Farrar Street. The original Washington Street entrance has been filled in, and the present entrance is now at what was the rear of the building, the southeast side, where there is a metal awning leading to a modern glass door. Windows on the street-facing sides are paired, with granite sills and header arches of a lighter-colored brick than the main body of the building. Brick pilasters rise between these paired windows the full height of the building, to a modestly-corbelled cornice.The Lynn Realty Company was a company formed to redevelop Lynn after a disastrous fire in 1889 destroyed much of the downtown, along with major shoe factories. The Company had this building built in 1902, when the shoe business began to show signs of recovery. The building provided space for all manner of businesses related to the manufacture of shoes, providing power and a fire-safe environment. Although the building was fitted for steam power, it was designed with an electrical system (then a novelty) as a backup. However, the low cost of the electrical power meant that the steam system was apparently never used.The building has been converted to residential use. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and is one of three registered buildings in Lynn designed by Henry Warren Rogers.

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Lynn Realty Company Building No. 2
Washington Street, Lynn

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N 42.461944444444 ° E -70.944722222222 °
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Vamp Building

Washington Street 3-15
01903 Lynn
Massachusetts, United States
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Lynn Realty Company Building No. 2, Lynn MA
Lynn Realty Company Building No. 2, Lynn MA
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G.A.R. Hall and Museum
G.A.R. Hall and Museum

The G.A.R. Hall and Museum is a historic museum at 58 Andrew Street in Lynn, Massachusetts. The four story Romanesque brick building was built in 1885 by contractor Frank G. Kelly to the design of the Lynn firm Wheeler & Northend for the General Frederick W. Lander Post 5 of the Grand Army of the Republic, an American Civil War veterans organization. It has two storefronts on the ground floor, offices and a library with spaces for 1500 volumes on the second floor, and a large 46'10" x 56'4" meeting hall on the upper two floors. The roofline originally had ornate brick crenellations, but these were removed in the mid 20th century. The first two floors have also been altered over time, but the meeting hall remains in nearly original condition.The building was constructed with incandescent electric lighting by the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, which had moved to Lynn two years prior.With declining membership in the organization, the building was turned over to the city in 1919 by a Special Act of the Massachusetts Legislature. The city operates it as a museum.The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.The building is the earliest known work by Holman K. Wheeler, who designed and constructed more than 400 structures in Lynn and surrounding towns, including residences, schools, commercial and factory buildings, and monuments. A total of five H. K. Wheeler structures in Lynn are listed on the National Register. The father of co-architect William Wheelwright Northend, Massachusetts State Senator William Dummer Northend, while attending Governor Dummer Academy as a child, became longtime friends with General Frederick W. Lander for whom the Lynn G.A.R. Post is named. In 2018, a fundraising campaign was started to raise as much as $10 million for needed repairs, renovations, and preservation of the museum's collection. Plans include making the building ADA compliant with additions such as an elevator. An updated climate control system is also needed to preserve the museum artifacts.The museum was named one of the top 11 most endangered historic resources in Massachusetts for 2018 by Preservation Massachusetts.