Maple Street Historic District (Southbridge, Massachusetts) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Maple Street Historic District
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Houses on Maple Street
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | Maple St., Southbridge, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 1.15 acres (0.47 ha) |
| Built | 1915 |
| Architect | Loring & Leland |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| MPS | Southbridge MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 89000597 |
| Added to NRHP | June 22, 1989 |
The Maple Street Historic District is a special group of ten similar houses on Maple Street in Southbridge, Massachusetts. These homes were built around 1915. They were part of a plan by the American Optical Company to create better places for its workers to live. This historic area was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
Discovering the Maple Street Homes
The American Optical Company was a very important business in Southbridge for many years. It provided many jobs. The company's owners, the Wells family, often built homes for their employees. They would rent these houses to the workers.
Later, the company also bought existing houses to use for worker housing. Around 1915, the company decided to build many new homes. The houses on Maple Street are part of this building project. Other similar housing areas built by the company include Windsor Court and Twinehurst Place. These other areas have buildings with multiple apartments.
What Makes These Houses Special?
The ten houses in the Maple Street Historic District are almost identical. They are made of wood and have a special roof style called a gambrel roof. This style is part of the Colonial Revival design, sometimes called Dutch Colonial. The company built these specific homes for its foremen, who were like supervisors.
Each house faces the street with its narrow end. The main doors are on the sides of the houses. They are often arranged in pairs, with their main entrances facing each other. The houses look like they are 1-1/2 stories tall. However, they have long windows built into their roofs called dormers. These dormers make the second floor feel like a full story.
All the houses have roofs made of slate. Their outside walls are covered in stucco, which is a type of plaster. Each house also has an enclosed porch, which is like a sunroom. The designs for these unique homes were created by Loring & Leland. This company was an architect firm from Boston. They also designed other housing areas for workers.
