The Vamp Building is a historic factory building at 3-15 Liberty Square in downtown

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by Eu ...

. The eight-story brick building was built in 1903 as the Lynn Realty Company Building #4 to a design by local architect

Henry Warren Rogers Henry Warren Rogers (1831-1915) was an American architect practicing during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Lynn, Massachusetts. Early life and career Henry W. Rogers was born November 20, 1831, in Lynn, Massachusetts, to Wa ...

, and was extended over the next four years to occupy the entire city block bounded by Washington Street, Union Street, and Liberty Square. The "flatiron" V-shape of the building was the basis for its name, as it resembles the shape of the vamp of a shoe. The building served in its early years as a home for all manner of businesses related to the manufacture of

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the Foot, human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from cult ...

s. At the time of its construction it was the largest brick building of its kind in the world. The building suffered relatively little damage in the fire of November 28, 1981, losing only its top floor. The strong construction and newly installed sprinkler system were credited with limiting the scope of destruction of the fire, preventing the blaze from reaching farther into the city. 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 1983, and is one of three registered buildings in Lynn designed by

References

Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Lynn, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Lynn, Massachusetts Industrial buildings completed in 1903 {{EssexCountyMA-NRHP-stub

See also

References