Former Mill Complex Now Apartments, Artist Space and Museum

From Dave Brigham:

The Boston Manufacturing Company holds a vital place in America's industrial and financial history, and the textile operation's mill complex has been nicely restored as apartments for traditionally underserved populations, as well creative spaces for local artists and a cool museum. I can't tell you why, but I'd never walked through here with my camera until recently. I'm glad I did. This post kicks off a mini-series about former mills and factories in Waltham, Mass.

Located hard by the Charles River between Moody and Elm streets, the old mill buildings date from the early 19th century to the early 20th. Boston Manufacturing was founded in 1813 by Francis Cabot Lowell, a Harvard-educated member of Boston's Brahmin class whose various family branches made money from shipping (rum, opium and slaves) and the legal world (his father was a judge). FCL got the idea to set up what became known as the "Waltham-Lowell system" -- in which "mill girls" worked long hours and led regimented lives and often dwelled in company-owned housing -- after a trip to England, where he "paid particular attention to the power loom, a device for which there was yet no equal in America," per Wikipedia. "Upon his return trip to Boston in 1812, he committed the plans to memory, disguising himself as a country farmer, since the British banned export of the new technology at the time. In September 1813 The Boston Associates purchased the Boies Paper Mill site in Waltham."

The Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, was the first water-powered textile spinning mill in America, according to Wikipedia. Lowell built on this idea, and was the first to integrate all aspects of the production of cloth into one facility. His efforts wouldn't have been possible without the technical know-how of Paul Moody, who built the power loom and supervised construction of other machinery for the mills

In addition to creating a new mode of operation for textile mills, Lowell also transformed the way such operations were financed.

"He revolutionized how corporations might be financed to fund this endeavor," according to this article from the web site of the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, which is located in the mill complex (more about this below). "Individual or partnership ownership, as was the method in the United States and England, was inadequate to the needs of large-scale industry. Lowell proposed a joint-stock arrangement, and if 'a shareholder died or sold his stake, the company could continue to function.' And, when shareholders reaped dividends, they might be motivated to invest even more money in the company. The use of publicly traded stocks (individuals could own a share of the company and their investments would pay of dividends, hopefully) by the BMC contributed to the evolution of modern financing and modern corporations."

There's more history, but you can look that up if you're interested. Let's see the photos!

The first building I saw, below, had a plaque dating it to 1813.

I felt sure this brick behemoth wasn't more than 200 years old, as that carving indicates. As I mentioned above, Boston Manufacturing Co. was founded in 1813, and was built on the site of an older mill. My hunch about the date was correct, based on my online research, but I'm not sure how old this large building is. Another section of the building has the date "1878" carved into it, so perhaps that's when the entire structure rose.

I didn't realize until I started researching Boston Manufacturing, that the company used to own more buildings in this area, including across Moody Street, at the corrner of Felton Street, and at the corner of Moody and Main streets. Still, there are plenty of cool old structures on the main site to check out.

The largest building on the site has been home to the Francis Cabot Lowell Apartments for many years. The complex is "a project-based section 8 community for individuals who are 62 years old or older and individuals with disabilities 18 and over," per the web site. Amenities include community rooms, a wellness center, a hair salon, a gym, a game room and more.

At the rear of the property, facing the Charles River, is the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation.

The museum, which opened in 1988 (I'm not sure if it's always been in this location) and whose vast collection includes items related to industry, tranportation, genealogy and much more, is located directly underneath the old mill's towering smokestack. The museum also hosts live music acts, discussions and other events, although most, if not all, of that has taken place online in the past year.

In a few of the windows near the museum, I spied some cool art showing what the mill environment looked like in its heyday.

As I mentioned, the museum faces the river. Below is a shot of the boardwalk that connects to Moody Street and takes folks under the Elm Street bridge.

(Old fire hydrant located between the apartment building and the river.)

(Front entrance to the museum.)

There are several buildings on this site, some more interesting than others. Below is arguably the least intriguing, home to Arr-Max, a general contracting company.

The building is more interesting, however, along the side and back, where creative agency Egg Design Partners is located.

I like the building below -- Building 24 -- despite the second-story addition. I believe it's home to a realty office, among other businesses.

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, there are artist studios on site here as well. Below are photos of the rear of a building and an old pedestrian bridge that I think are from one of these buildings.

Below, on the left, is the rear of an artist space, complete with industrial-sized hoist apparatus.

Building 18, below, is home to Moody Station Studios, Steamchine Sculpture, S.B. Lowell Lighting Design and other operations.

In between Building 18 and 4 is a remnant of the train tracks that used to serve the Boston Manufacturing Co.

(Train bumper.)

Building 4 is the largest of the artist spaces, home to Waltham Studios, River Street Artists and Artists West. I'm not sure how many individual artists are represented by those groups. Every year, these groups and many others take part in Waltham Open Studios, an event that I always tell myself I will visit, but to date I have not.

The east side of Building 4 is a little rough-looking, which of course is exactly what I was looking for.

The west-facing side, however, is a different story.

The Ira B. Gordeon Center for the Arts, as Building 4 is officially known, was named for "Ira B (Sonny) Gordon, a prominent local businessman, and a leader in the transformation of the downtown Waltham area," per the Waltham Open Studios web site.

So, that's a wrap on a former mill complex gone good (although I suspect this place had more than a few "bad" years before its transformation). Stay tuned in the near future for photos and a profile of the former factory that gave Waltham its nickname: the Watch City.