{"nrhp_refnum":"89001533","name":"O'Hara Waltham Dial Company","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"74 Rumford Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Waltham","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.36845030300003,"lon":-71.24329815399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-09-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story, L-shaped brick industrial plant at 74 Rumford Ave., Waltham, Massachusetts, built in 1897 for the O'Hara Waltham Dial Company on the shore of Cram's Cove.","why_significant":"It is one of Waltham's many buildings tied to 19th-century watch manufacturing and was the only company in the city devoted exclusively to plain and hand-decorated watch dials and precision glass, enamel, china and porcelain work. It is also a somewhat altered but distinctive example of late 19th-century brick industrial architecture with panelled corner towers. It was found to meet criteria A and C.","narrative":"Built in 1897 at 74 Rumford Ave. in Waltham, this three-story, L-shaped brick plant housed the O'Hara Waltham Dial Company, the only firm in the city devoted exclusively to making watch dials. Daniel O'Hara, a Cincinnati native, and Edwin Wetherbee, both former American Watch Company employees, founded the business, which also produced enamel dials for gas, electric and water meters, counting wheels and even political campaign buttons. Employment peaked near 2,000 during World War I, and the firm closed in the late 1950s, after which Eagle Signal Corporation took over the factory. Architecturally, the building shows brick piers, multipane wood windows, header brick lintels and an arched center entrance. Panelled corner towers were added after 1900, and a one-story west wing came later. The plant is valued for its place among Waltham's watch-industry buildings and as a late 19th-century industrial design, and it is in good condition.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late 19th century brick industrial","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Condition is described as good; the building is in industrial use and was later owned by a canvas and luggage manufacturer after the dial company closed in the late 1950s.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.1537-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/86/7921/63792186/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89001533.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001533/e069a376fb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001533/e069a376fb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WalthamMA_OHaraWalthamDialCompany.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:WalthamMA_OHaraWalthamDialCompany.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"89001501","name":"American Waltham Watch Company Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/american-waltham-watch-company-historic-district-89001501/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792186","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Hara_Waltham_Dial_factory","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7071813"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/ohara-waltham-dial-company-89001533/"}