{"nrhp_refnum":"86001964","name":"Saco-Pettee Machine Shops","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"156 Oak St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newton","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.30994330600004,"lon":-71.21757321636039,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-12-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of about thirteen connected one-to-three story brick industrial buildings at 156 Oak Street in Upper Falls, Newton, Massachusetts, built between 1893 and 1920 as a textile machinery works. The design is attributed to Lockwood, Greene & Co. of Boston.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the shops were a key factor in the growth of Newton and Newton Upper Falls. It also cites the company's technological role in the growth of the textile industry. The buildings are noted for their unified brick design with bracketed eaves and segmental arched openings.","narrative":"Thirteen or so connected brick buildings along Oak Street in Newton Upper Falls make up the former Saco-Pettee Machine Shops, a textile machinery works. The business began in 1831 when Otis Pettee, who had earlier overseen construction of the Elliot Manufacturing Company mill, set up his own shop on South Meadow Brook. It grew to supply cotton mills across New England and in Mexico, and later specialized in the English flat card. A merger with the Saco Water Power Machine Shop in 1897 let the firm equip a mill with everything but the looms. The surviving buildings date from 1893 to 1920 and were designed by Lockwood, Greene & Company. Deep bracketed eaves and large segmental arched openings unify the red brick complex, and buildings 1-5 form an imposing row on Oak Street. The plant closed in 1932, when operations moved to York, Maine. The buildings are valued for their role in local growth, textile technology and industrial architecture.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Lockwood, Greene & Co. (Lockwood, Greene & Company) of Boston","architectural_style":"Industrial","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Condition listed as good; present use is mixed industrial/commercial. Most of the brick buildings built between 1893 and 1920 remain intact, and the former millpond is now a parking lot.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.460197-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/68/7921/63792168/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86001964.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001964/a1b515954d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001964/a1b515954d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewtonMA_SaccoPetteeMachineShops.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User: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:NewtonMA_SaccoPetteeMachineShops.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792168","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saco%E2%80%93Pettee_Machine_Shops","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7396884"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/saco-pettee-machine-shops-86001964/"}