Nathan Appleton Residence

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Nathan Appleton Residence
National Register of Historic Places
National Historic Landmark
Historic District Contributing Property
The building in 2008

The building in 2008

Nathan Appleton Residence (Massachusetts)
Paris plan pointer b jms.svg
location Boston , Massachusetts , United States
Coordinates 42 ° 21 '25.1 "  N , 71 ° 3' 58.4"  W Coordinates: 42 ° 21 '25.1 "  N , 71 ° 3' 58.4"  W.
Built 1821
architect Alexander Parris
NRHP number 77001541
Data
The NRHP added 22nd December 1977
Declared as an  NHL 22nd December 1977
Declared as  CP October 15, 1966

As Nathan Appleton Residence (also Appleton-Parker Houses and Women's City Club ) is the former house of the politician and entrepreneur Nathan Appleton in Boston in the US - State of Massachusetts called. It has been a Contributing Property of the Beacon Hill Historic District since 1962 , which has the status of a National Historic Landmark . Since 1977 it has been registered as a monument of independent relevance in the National Register of Historic Places and is itself a National Historic Landmark .

description

Staircase on the 3rd floor, 1940

Appleton lived from 1821 until his death in 1861 in one half of this red-brick semi-detached house that Alexander Parris had designed for him (house no. 39) and his long-time business partner Daniel Parker (house no. 40). The house became known nationwide when Appleton's daughter Frances Elizabeth married the writer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow there . Since 1914 the seat of the Boston Women's City Club has been located there , which maintains the house and resolved the previously widespread misconception that it was designed by Charles Bulfinch .

The semi-detached houses facing south with their entrance, which are connected by a fire protection wall, formed almost perfect mirror images of each other in 1821 and resembled each other except for a few details inside. They were initially three stories high and three yokes wide, with the outermost part arching forward. The roof, which was only slightly inclined, was bordered by a balustrade above the third floor . A one-story extension at the rear provided space for staff quarters and horse stables.

A large number of modifications have been made to the appearance of the buildings to this day, but the original architectural character - especially on the street side - has been retained. A fourth floor was added in the 1870s, while the balustrade was retained and moved to the new roof height. However, the original cornice was not removed and now runs around the building at the level of the third floor. The annex was also expanded in 1886 and 1914. From the street only the fourth floor and the balconies on the third and fourth floors added in 1953 are visible as changes compared to the original state.

In Nathan Appleton's house, entering through the front door, you reach a small vestibule , from which another door leads into a hallway that extends through the entire house, the first third of which is marked by a vaulted ceiling . To the right is the club's dining room, which Appleton itself used for this purpose. The jacket wall of the space is made of white marble , the inlay comprises green marble. The chairs made by Thomas Chippendale come from the former property of Oliver Hazard Perry . Behind the dining room there is the former pantry, a dressing room and a modern toilet. In the rear area, a three-room apartment was created from the former staff rooms and the stables . To the left of the corridor is the library with mahogany bookshelves and a white marble wall. Behind it is the spiral staircase that leads to the top floor.

On the second floor, a corridor, which is connected to the outbuilding via a fire protection door that is still in its original state, leads to a bathroom and another library, the wall of which is also made of white Italian marble. To the right is the drawing room where Longfellow and Frances Appleton were married in 1843. The south wall is formed by the arched outer wall, which is why the wall opposite it was also arched - albeit in opposite directions - to make the room oval. The other rooms on the second floor house a former bedroom, which is now used as an office, and a smaller reception room. On the two upper floors there are mainly bedrooms that are now used by club members. A modern elevator was installed near the main staircase to facilitate access.

The semi-detached house was classified as a Contributing Property of the Beacon Hill National Historic Landmark District on December 19, 1962 . Beacon Hill Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. Due to the importance of Nathan Appleton, the house was recognized as a separate National Historic Landmark on December 22, 1977 . On the same day, it was listed as a monument in the National Register of Historic Places .

Historical meaning

Residential building

The house was entered into the NRHP largely because of Nathan Appleton's prominent role in US industrial history . So he founded in 1815 as a sales representative of the Boston Manufacturing Company , the first sales office for textiles in the United States to be able to market successfully to the previously offered exclusively at the place of production of the products factories. This marketing strategy, which was completely new at the time, is still practiced by the textile industry today. Appleton also supported the Boston Manufacturing Company financially and helped make the company the first "modern" factory in the United States to implement fully integrated production from raw material to finished product under one roof for the first time.

Appleton was also a major driver of the industrial development of New England after 1815. As he was one of the most successful importers and exporters in the region, he recognized the potential of the textile industry and gradually shifted his business activities into this branch from 1812 onwards. By his family as "the Great Manufacturer" ( German  the Great producer ) called, Appleton was in 1850 the largest textile producer in the United States and represented the industry nationwide.

Nathan Appleton's career history

Born in 1779, Appleton decided against an academic career at the end of the 18th century and joined his older brother Samuel's company as an accountant . He learned important commercial fundamentals in daily practice and took on more and more responsibility in the company until his brother made him a partner in 1800 and they jointly ran the company “S. & N. Appleton Co. ”.

In the following nine years, until the partnership ended, Nathan made a considerable fortune through import / export transactions and trading in goods such as pots, potash salts , cotton, rice, coffee, sugar, meat and opium. In 1810 he founded the companies "Parker, Appleton & Co." and "Nathan Appleton & Co." in Boston and the company "Eben, Appleton & Co." in Liverpool with his brother Eben and Daniel P. Parker . Nathan himself mainly worked for "Nathan Appleton & Co." and was mainly a consultant for the other two companies. All three firms operated successfully despite the Napoleonic War , US federal trade restrictions, and the British-American War , and Appleton's personal wealth grew steadily.

1810 Nathan Appleton met on a trip through Scotland on Francis Cabot Lowell , who convinced him of the potential of a large-scale textile industry in New England. Lowell then founded the Boston Manufacturing Company (BMC) in 1813 , in which Appleton invested $ 5,000 (today about $ 80,000). This made him not only the largest partner, but also the most important determinant of the company's direction. However, shortly after the production of cotton textiles began in 1815, the company had problems placing its goods on the market. Appleton then used its recently founded company "Benjamin C. Ward & Co." to sell the clothing of the BMC.

In addition, the company initially carried out management and financial functions for its clients and took on, for example, the purchase of raw materials, the pre-financing of personnel costs and accounting tasks. If necessary, it also provided storage rooms and transshipment points. Even if these additional activities were gradually discontinued, the distribution of the products remained an essential business basis.

In 1820, the BMC was so successful that Appleton looked for further investment opportunities. He supported the founding of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company in East Chelmsford, which was later renamed Lowell at Appleton's suggestion in memory of its business partner . In 1837, together with partners, he gained control of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester and developed the city into a center of the textile industry. In the mid-1840s, he helped Abbott Lawrence found the city named after him, Lawrence, and was involved in the founding of 14 companies, and many others merely financially. In 1850, Appleton was the largest textile manufacturer in the United States.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c cf. Adams / Christian, p. 2.
  2. ↑ cf. Adams / Christian, p. 5.
  3. ↑ cf. Adams / Christian, p. 5 f.
  4. ^ A b Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Massachusetts. National Park Service , accessed August 4, 2019.
  5. ↑ Patricia Heintzelman: Beacon Hill Historic District: Nomination Form . In: National Register of Historic Places database . National Park Service , October 9, 1975, accessed June 14, 2016 (English, PDF 600 kB).
  6. ↑ NPGallery Asset Detail - Beacon Hill Historic District. In: NPGallery Digital Asset Management System . National Park Service , accessed April 26, 2020.
  7. ↑ cf. Adams / Christian, p. 6.
  8. ^ Entry Nathan Appleton Residence in the National Register Information System . National Park Service , accessed June 14, 2016
  9. ↑ a b cf. Adams / Christian, p. 3.
  10. ↑ a b cf. Adams / Christian, p. 7.
  11. ↑ a b cf. Adams / Christian, p. 8.
  12. ↑ a b cf. Adams / Christian, p. 9.