Dorchester-Milton Lower Mills Industrial District (Boundary Increase)

Along the Neponset River at Pierce Square, the Lower Mills Industrial District spans Dorchester in Boston and the town of Milton. It holds 16 industrial buildings, nearly all built for Walter Baker & Co., the chocolate maker, plus the Mason Regulator Co. building. This amendment adds the Baker Warehouse at 4 River Street, completed in 1947 as the last major building of the Baker complex. It is a large L-shaped brick and concrete structure with a flat roof, few windows, brick quoins and paired piers on the north facade, and a 1958 brick addition along River Street. Its rear once carried a conveyor bridge linking it to the manufacturing plant. The warehouse is tied to the company's growth under Henry L. Pierce, the later corporate period, and ownership by General Foods from 1927. Because it fits the district's architectural and historical character and retains its integrity, the district's boundaries and period of significance were extended to include it.