Central Square Historic District

Central Square Historic District is the commercial heart of Lynn, Massachusetts, a manufacturing city about ten miles north of Boston. Covering roughly one acre, it holds 15 mostly masonry buildings of three to eight stories along Central Square and Munroe, Union and Willow Streets. Nearly all rose after the Fire of 1889 destroyed much of the downtown, when new codes required masonry construction. The area had been the city's commercial center since the railroad arrived in the 1830s and was tied to Lynn's shoe and leather industries. Buildings such as the Woodbury Building, Keith Building, Pevear Building and Dagyr Building show Romanesque Revival design, while the 1914 Security Trust Company and 1916 Lynn Manufacturers' Bank reflect Classical Revival style. Local architects, notably Henry W. Rogers, Penn Varney and the firm of Wheeler and Northend, designed most of the earlier buildings. Alterations have been mostly limited to storefronts and upper-floor remodeling, so the district keeps much of its historic character.