Athenæum Press is an historic building located at 215 First Street in Cambridge,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. The structure occupies the entire block between First Street, Second Street, Athenæum Street, and Linskey Way, which was formerly known as Munroe Street. Topped by a statue of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

sculpted by

Adio diBiccari Adio diBiccari (1914 – January 1, 2009) was an American sculptor. Career DiBiccari was born in Revere to Italian immigrants, but grew up in East Boston and graduated from East Boston High School in 1932. He received a full scholarship to the ...

, the building is visible from the nearby

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles bac ...

and the

Longfellow Bridge The Longfellow Bridge is a steel rib arch bridge spanning the Charles River to connect Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood with the Kendall Square area of Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, ...

History

The Athenæum Press was designed by the architecture firm, Lockwood, Greene, and Company, with tile vaults designed by the Guastavino Company. The building was completed in 1895. The structure was built for

Edwin Ginn Edwin Ginn (February 14, 1838 – January 21, 1914) was an American publisher, peace advocate and philanthropist. Biography Ginn was born in Orland, Maine, on February 14, 1838, into a Universalist farming family who were descendants of early se ...

and Ginn & Company, owners of ''The Athenæum Press'', to house its printing operations, and was built using principles of late nineteenth-century textile mill construction. Due to its highly visible location, the building was given a number of stylistic embellishments, including a large sculpture of

. The front of the building resembles an

Ancient Greek temple Greek temples ( grc, ναός, naós, dwelling, semantically distinct from Latin language, Latin , "temple") were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. The temple interiors did not serve as m ...

implemented in brick, patinated copper, and glass. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 1982. The building was the third major printing house built in Cambridge (after those of

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the reti ...

and

Riverside Press Riverside Insights is a publisher of clinical and educational standardized tests in the United States; it is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It is also a charter member of the Association of Test Publishers. Riverside Insights was establishe ...

), and one of the first major industrial sites on Cambridge's riverfront. The building has of floor space and was renovated circa 2005. The facility was used for many years to print textbooks. Ginn & Company later became part of

Pearson Education Pearson Education is a British-owned education publishing and assessment service to schools and corporations, as well for students directly. Pearson owns educational media brands including Addison–Wesley, Peachpit, Prentice Hall, eColleg ...

. As of 2019, occupants include the Cambridge Athletic Club, Partners HealthCare Innovation, the Lean Enterprise Institute, SAGE Therapeutics, Constellation Pharmaceuticals and several other small businesses.

References

External links

Souvenir of the Athenaeum Press
by Ginn and Company, 1903. A 24-page book with descriptions and photographs, available for free download.

showcasing printing activities in the building in 1925. Moviecraft archive. {{Authority control Commercial buildings completed in 1895 Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Cambridge, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Cambridge, Massachusetts

History

See also

References

External links