{"nrhp_refnum":"83001832","name":"Smith, Alexander, Carpet Mills Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Saw Mill River Rd., Orchard St., Lake and Ashburton Aves.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Yonkers","county":"Westchester County","state":"NY","lat":40.942757376500026,"lon":-73.88136173819784,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-08-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A thirty-eight acre factory complex in Yonkers, Westchester County, New York, made up of nineteen industrial buildings and six rows of workers' housing along the Saw Mill River, built between 1871 and 1930 for the Alexander Smith carpet company.","why_significant":"The complex is significant in the industrial development of Yonkers and Westchester County and in the history of carpet manufacturing. The Smith firm developed the power loom for Axminster (Moquette) carpet here, which cut production costs by seventy-five percent and led to rapid expansion. The buildings show the growth of the works from the 1870s to the 1920s.","narrative":"Along the Saw Mill River in Yonkers, a thirty-eight acre complex of nineteen industrial buildings and six rows of workers' housing preserves the home of the Alexander Smith carpet company. Construction ran from 1871 to 1930. The earliest building, a worsted yarn mill, is a three-story red-brown brick French Second Empire structure with two mansard-roofed towers. Later additions include print mills, a castellated 1903 extension, and 1920s concrete post-and-beam mills with brick and glass infill that echo Bauhaus factory design. The complex matters for its role in Yonkers' industrial growth and in carpet manufacturing. Smith and his associate Skinner perfected a power loom for Axminster (Moquette) carpet, patented in 1877, which cut production costs by seventy-five percent and fueled rapid expansion. The river supplied water for washing wool and for power. The company closed in 1954, yet the buildings remain largely intact and now house varied commercial and industrial tenants.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Possibly Skinner (probable principal architect of early Smith buildings, per the form)","architectural_style":"Varied industrial styles, including French Second Empire, castellated, and early twentieth-century concrete post-and-beam","criteria":[],"status_note":"Smith Company ceased operations in 1954; the well-preserved buildings are now occupied by various commercial and industrial uses. Four of nineteen buildings are non-contributing due to alterations.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:42.586691-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/83001832.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001832/934867571d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001832/934867571d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:YonkersNY_AlexanderSmithCarpetMills2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:YonkersNY_AlexanderSmithCarpetMills2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75323215","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Smith_Carpet_Mills_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4720108"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/westchester-county/smith-alexander-carpet-mills-historic-district-83001832/"}