The Worcester Corset Company Factory is an historic factory building at 30 Wyman Street in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...
in the
Main South
Main South (or South Main) is a neighborhood in southern Worcester, Massachusetts. The area's eponymous feature is Main Street, the central roadway of the city. Main South experienced rapid economic development from the 1890s until the 1950s.
...
neighborhood. The oldest part of the factory was built in 1895, with expansion of the facilities taking place up to 1909. The buildings were designed by
Arthur F. Gray for the Worcester Corset Company, whose origins date to an 1861 business by David Hale Fanning making
hoops for skirts, but shifted to manufacturing
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 after fashions changed. Fanning's business was immensely successful, and he became one of Worcester's larger employers. At one point it employed over 2000 women. After the Corset Company folded in 1940, the facility was used to manufacture military-style boots.
The factory is now an apartment complex.
The factory 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 1984.
See also
*
Baystate Corset Block, NRHP-listed in Springfield, Massachusetts
*
Kraus Corset Factory
The Kraus Corset Factory is a historic industrial property at 33 Roosevelt Drive in Derby, Connecticut, United States. The oldest portion of the large brick building, built in 1879, faces Third Street, while a c. 1910 addition extends along Roos ...
, NRHP-listed in Derby, Connecticut
*
Strouse, Adler Company Corset Factory, NRHP-listed in New Haven, Connecticut
*
References
External links
Waist Cincher Corset
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Industrial buildings completed in 1895
Buildings and structures in Worcester, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Worcester, Massachusetts
Textile mills in the United States
Corsetry
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