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The Somerville Journal Building is a historic commercial building in
Class Record of '88, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
' (Concord: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Class of 1888, 1924): 54-55. Its styling is typical of other small commercial buildings built in Union Square, which was then the city's commercial business center. Administrative and editorial offices were on the first floor. Production and typesetting were on the second floor, and printing presses and equipment were located in the basement. The ''Somerville Journal'' vacated the building in approximately the 1950s. Through the 1960s, the building was used as a
Somerville, Massachusetts
Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 81, ...
. It was built in 1894 as offices and the printing facility for the '' Somerville Journal'', a weekly publication that continues to exist as part of the "Wicked Local" franchise of GateHouse Media
GateHouse Media Inc. was an American publisher of locally based print and digital media. It published 144 daily newspapers, 684 community publications, and over 569 local-market websites in 38 states. Its parent company, New Media Investment Group ...
. The building, a somewhat typical example of late 19th-century commercial architecture, 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 1989.
Description and history
The Journal Building is set on the west side of Walnut Street, near its southern end in Union Square. It is a two-story brick structure, with a single storefront on the ground floor that has plate glass windows flanking a recessed entrance. The second story has six round-arch openings originally filled with sash windows, which were updated with double hung windows in 2012. A corbelled cornice is set below the roof, and a brownstone stringcourse separates the basement from the ground floor. The ''Somerville Journal'' was founded in 1870, and had this building constructed in 1894 to house a new generation of printing equipment. The building was designed by William H. Gerrish (1865–1915), a Lowell engineer."William Henry Gerrish" inClass Record of '88, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
' (Concord: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Class of 1888, 1924): 54-55. Its styling is typical of other small commercial buildings built in Union Square, which was then the city's commercial business center. Administrative and editorial offices were on the first floor. Production and typesetting were on the second floor, and printing presses and equipment were located in the basement. The ''Somerville Journal'' vacated the building in approximately the 1950s. Through the 1960s, the building was used as a
Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...
facility offering developing, printing, and enlarging. During the 1970s the building was used as a youth recreation center for the city of Somerville. It has been used as artist studios since the 1970s. It now houses a vintage retail store, in addition to studios.
See also
*National Register of Historic Places listings in Somerville, Massachusetts
This is a list of properties and historic districts in Somerville, Massachusetts, that have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The locations of National Register properties and districts (at least for all showing latitud ...
References
Commercial buildings completed in 1894 Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Somerville, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Somerville, Massachusetts {{SomervilleMA-NRHP-stub