Kimball Brothers Shoe Factory facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Kimball Brothers Shoe Factory
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Location | 335 Cypress St., Manchester, New Hampshire |
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Area | 1.8 acres (0.73 ha) |
Built | 1885 |
Built by | Head & Dowst |
NRHP reference No. | 85002776 |
Added to NRHP | November 7, 1985 |
The Kimball Brothers Shoe Factory is an old factory building in Manchester, New Hampshire. It is located at 335 Cypress Street. This four-story brick building was built in different parts between 1885 and 1900. It was a very important building. Its design was used as a model for other shoe factories built in Manchester around that time.
The company Head & Dowst built the factory. They also built many other public buildings in the area, like schools. Local business people paid for the factory. They wanted to add new types of businesses to the city. The factory was rented to Kimball Brothers, a major shoe maker from Lynn, Massachusetts. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. This means it is a special place worth protecting.
About the Kimball Brothers Shoe Factory
The Kimball Brothers Shoe Factory is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of downtown Manchester. It is in an area mostly filled with homes. The building has a U-shape and is made of brick. It is four stories tall. It looks like many other factory buildings from the late 1800s.
The windows have rounded tops. The top of the building has a simple decorative edge. Even though it was built in three main stages, the whole building looks like one design. Today, the inside of the building has been changed into apartments for people to live in.
History of the Shoe Factory
The oldest part of the factory, facing Cypress Street, was built in 1885. At that time, making shoes was often a "cottage industry" in Manchester. This means people made shoes in their homes. Textile mills, which made cloth, were the biggest businesses in the city.
A group of local business people created the Manchester Shoe Manufacturing Company in 1885. They wanted to bring new types of jobs to the city. The building was quickly rented by Kimball Manufacturing. This company was from Lynn, Massachusetts.
The factory was made bigger in 1890 and again in 1900. The Kimball family had been making shoes since 1878. They moved most of their shoe making to Manchester. This happened after a fire destroyed their factory in Lynn in 1889.
The Kimball Brothers company made shoes in this building until 1929. The building continued to be used for making shoes until 1970. This factory was a model for other shoe factories built nearby. One example is the Hoyt Shoe Factory.