Ritchie Building facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Ritchie Building
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 112 Cypress St., Brookline, Massachusetts |
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| Built | 1883 |
| Architectural style | Panel Brick |
| MPS | Brookline MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 85003308 |
| Added to NRHP | October 17, 1985 |
The Ritchie Building is an old and important factory building located at 112 Cypress Street in Brookline, Massachusetts. It was built in 1883 by a man named Edward Samuel Ritchie. This building is a great example of a building style called Panel Brick.
What makes it special is that it was the factory where Ritchie made tools for ships and planes, like compasses, that were sold all over the country. Because of its history, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. This means it's officially recognized as an important historic landmark.
Discovering the Ritchie Building
The Ritchie Building is on the east side of Cypress Street. You can find it north of Massachusetts Route 9 and south of the MBTA Green Line "D" Branch train tracks. It's also very close to the Brookline Hills train station.
What the Building Looks Like
This building is made of brick and has four stories. It has a rectangular shape and a hip roof, which means the roof slopes down on all four sides. The first floor is actually below the street level. This is because the street was raised a long time ago to build a bridge over the railroad tracks. Today, the main entrance is on the second level.
The second level looks like a raised basement and is finished with stone. The upper floors still have their original Panel Brick style. This style includes window openings that look like a series of arches and a decorative brick design near the roof called a corbelled cornice.
Edward Samuel Ritchie started his company that made navigation tools in the 1850s. By the 1880s, he had an office in Boston and a factory near Harvard Square in Cambridge.
He built the Ritchie Building in 1883 because he needed more space than his Cambridge factory could offer. It was also close to his home on Lincoln Street. This building was one of the first factories ever built in Brookline. Ritchie's company made tools for many customers, including the United States Navy. The business operated in this building until the 1950s. Since then, the building has been updated and is now used for offices.
