The Baystate Corset Block is a historic commercial block at 395–405 Dwight St. and 99 Taylor Street in
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...
, United States. Built in 1874 and twice enlarged, it was from 1888 to 1920 home of the Baystate Corset Company, one of the nation's largest manufacturers of
corset
A corset /ˈkɔːrsɪt/ is a support garment worn to constrict the torso into the desired shape and Posture correction, posture. They are traditionally constructed out of fabric with boning made of Baleen, whalebone or steel, a stiff panel in th ...
s. The building was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1983.
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Description and history
The Baystate Corset Block stands on the north side of Springfield's downtown area, at the northeast corner of Dwight and Taylor Streets. The main portion of the building, facing Dwight Street, was built in 1874 by Marsh & Robinson. It is a four-story brick structure, whose original styling, visible on the side elevation, includes segmental arch windows and a corbelled cornice. The front facade, which was redone in 1918, consists on the upper level of five bays of tripled windows, separated by brick piers. The storefronts are largely unaltered.[
The first tenants of the building were woodworking shops, who occupied it until 1883, when it was occupied by a paper products business. P. P. Kellogg, its owner, expanded the premises, building an extension along Taylor Street in 1888. In 1886, the Baystate Corset Company, founded two years earlier in ]West Brookfield, Massachusetts
West Brookfield is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,833 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Lucy Stone was born in West Brookfield, and George Merriam, Ge ...
, leased space in the building. Baystate grew rapidly, and purchased the building in 1895, occupying it until 1920. It was one of the nation's largest corset
A corset /ˈkɔːrsɪt/ is a support garment worn to constrict the torso into the desired shape and Posture correction, posture. They are traditionally constructed out of fabric with boning made of Baleen, whalebone or steel, a stiff panel in th ...
manufacturers at the time, shipping products all across the country. Baystate used the top floor of the building as a cutting room, with the second and third floors arrayed with sewing machines at which its products were manufactured.
See also
* Kraus Corset Factory, NRHP-listed in Derby, Connecticut
* Strouse, Adler Company Corset Factory, NRHP-listed in New Haven, Connecticut
* Worcester Corset Company Factory, NRHP-listed in Worcester, Massachusetts
*
References
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Commercial blocks on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Commercial buildings in Springfield, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Springfield, Massachusetts
Textile mills in the United States
Industrial buildings and structures in Massachusetts
Economy of Springfield, Massachusetts