{"nrhp_refnum":"90001757","name":"Textile District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly, Essex St. from Phillips Sq. to Columbia St. and Chauncy St. from Phillips Sq. to Rowe Pl.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.35254150000006,"lon":-71.05976292903675,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-11-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly three-acre historic district in the southern part of Boston's Central Business District, covering buildings on Chauncy, Essex, Edinboro and Kingston Streets. It holds 18 contributing late 19th and early 20th century mercantile and light manufacturing buildings built between 1888 and 1922.","why_significant":"The district is argued to be significant for its link to Boston's dry goods industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and for its rare concentration of well-preserved, architecturally distinguished buildings. Most are in Classical Revival style, with Romanesque and Renaissance Revival examples. The buildings are works of leading Boston architects of the period.","narrative":"Located in the southern part of Boston's Central Business District, this roughly three-acre district takes in buildings along Chauncy, Essex, Edinboro and Kingston Streets. Most are five to eight stories, built between 1888 and 1922 of red or yellow brick with trim of brownstone, terracotta, cast stone and granite. Classical Revival detailing dominates, with Romanesque Revival and Renaissance Revival examples among them. The area grew into the center of Boston's dry goods trade, and textile businesses still occupied several storefronts when the district was documented. Its streets lie partly over land that was once waterfront, where Colonial wharves along Essex Street were buried when South Cove was filled between 1804 and 1833. The buildings are works of well-known Boston architects, including William Ralph Emerson, Stephen Codman and Fehmer & Page. The district was listed for its commercial history and for the quality and consistency of its architecture. Original storefronts survive on most buildings, while some have been modernized at street level.","period_of_significance":"1888-1922","architect_builder":"Multiple architects including Benjamin Fox, Winslow, Wetherell & Bigelow, Blackall, Clapp & Whittemore, Allen & Collens, Stephen Codman, George W. Pope, Frederick Pope, Kendall, Taylor & Stevens, William Ralph Emerson, Theodore Minot Clark, J. Merrill Brown, Fehmer & Page","architectural_style":"Late 19th Century Revivals/Classical Revival; Late Victorian/Romanesque Revival; Renaissance Revival; Gothic Revival; Modern Movement/International Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Buildings largely retain integrity; upper floors of several restored buildings are used as offices and storefronts continue commercial use. The Edinboro Building was destroyed by fire in October 1989, and the Pelham Building was damaged by fire but still stands.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.521326-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/35/7968/63796835/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/90001757.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001757/8481f8d93a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001757/8481f8d93a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Essex_Street_Boston.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Essex_Street_Boston.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796835","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textile_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7708455"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/textile-district-90001757/"}