Smith, Alexander, Carpet Mills Historic District

Along the Saw Mill River in Yonkers, a thirty-eight acre complex of nineteen industrial buildings and six rows of workers' housing preserves the home of the Alexander Smith carpet company. Construction ran from 1871 to 1930. The earliest building, a worsted yarn mill, is a three-story red-brown brick French Second Empire structure with two mansard-roofed towers. Later additions include print mills, a castellated 1903 extension, and 1920s concrete post-and-beam mills with brick and glass infill that echo Bauhaus factory design. The complex matters for its role in Yonkers' industrial growth and in carpet manufacturing. Smith and his associate Skinner perfected a power loom for Axminster (Moquette) carpet, patented in 1877, which cut production costs by seventy-five percent and fueled rapid expansion. The river supplied water for washing wool and for power. The company closed in 1954, yet the buildings remain largely intact and now house varied commercial and industrial tenants.