{"nrhp_refnum":"80000677","name":"Berger Factory","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"37 Williams St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.332762065000054,"lon":-71.08254392299995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-04-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Engineering","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick factory with a one-story brick ell at 37 Williams Street in Roxbury, Boston, built in 1902 with a wing added in 1907, plus a smaller 1924 brick building on the same site.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant mainly for non-architectural reasons, tied to Roxbury's industrial development. It housed the Berger Company, one of the first American makers of precision engineering and surveying instruments, which ended reliance on imports from Germany and England. Berger instruments were used on projects such as the Panama Canal, Boulder Dam and the TVA.","narrative":"Located on Williams Street in Roxbury, this brick factory was built in 1902 for C.L. Berger and Sons, makers of engineering and surveying instruments. The main block rises three stories and measures about 100 by 45 feet. A one-story wing added in 1907 forms an ell, and both sections have flat roofs. The facade has bands of ten eight-over-eight windows with stone sills and brick arches or stone lintels, along with corbelled brick and pilaster strips at the stair bay. A smaller two-story brick and concrete building from 1924 stands on the site. The exterior has seen no important alterations. The property was listed mainly for its industrial associations. Founded in 1871 by German-born Christian Louis Berger, the company was among the first American firms to produce precision instruments that had previously been imported. Its instruments were used on the Panama Canal, Boulder Dam, the Tennessee Valley Authority and polar expeditions. The firm stayed until 1976, and the building was being converted to housing.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"George Moffette; Henry J Preston","architectural_style":"Typical turn-of-the-century vernacular factory building","criteria":[],"status_note":"Being converted into housing; the Berger firm moved to Mattapan in 1976.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.891717-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/27/7969/63796927/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000677.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000677/5f71c72e1c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000677/5f71c72e1c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Biruitorul","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BergerFactRox.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Biruitorul</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BergerFactRox.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796927","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berger_Factory","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715403"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/berger-factory-80000677/"}