{"nrhp_refnum":"80000668","name":"United Shoe Machinery Corporation Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"138-164 Federal St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.35404783600006,"lon":-71.05580744799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-08-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A twenty-four story Art Deco office skyscraper at 138-164 Federal Street in Boston's financial district, built in 1929-1930 as headquarters of the United Shoe Machinery Corporation. Designed by Parker, Thomas and Rice, with Henry Bailey Alden as associate in charge.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is tied to the consolidation of a major Massachusetts industry, since the United Shoe Machinery Corporation was formed in 1899 by merging shoe machinery companies. It is also presented as a major Boston example of Art Deco design by a prominent architectural firm, with an essentially unaltered lobby and ground-floor storefronts.","narrative":"Rising twenty-four stories in Boston's financial district, this office tower at Federal and High Streets was built in 1929-1930 as headquarters of the United Shoe Machinery Corporation. Parker, Thomas and Rice designed it in the Art Deco style, with Henry Bailey Alden as associate in charge. Its stepped, ziggurat massing in sand-colored brick and limestone ends in a gold terra cotta hip roof. Ground-floor storefronts keep original bronze surrounds decorated with cattle heads, a reference to leather used in shoemaking, and bronze entrances show figures of workers and shoe machinery. The lobby retains gilded ceilings, bronze elevator doors and frosted glass light fixtures, and has been restored. The building is significant for its link to the 1899 merger that united several shoe machinery firms into a company that came to control most of the American shoe machinery business, and as a leading Boston example of Art Deco by a respected firm. It remains in office and commercial use.","period_of_significance":"1929","architect_builder":"Parker, Thomas and Rice (associate in charge Henry Bailey Alden); contractor George W. Fuller Co.","architectural_style":"Art Deco","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied; used for offices and ground floor commercial establishments, as when built. Condition listed as excellent and unaltered; the lobby has recently been restored.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.87095-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/96/7967/63796796/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000668.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000668/ee04e53b8e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000668/ee04e53b8e-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Biruitorul","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMCBostonL.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Biruitorul</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMCBostonL.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796796","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Shoe_Machinery_Corporation_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7889141"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/united-shoe-machinery-corporation-building-80000668/"}