Boston Manufacturing Company Housing
building in Massachusetts, United States
Boston Manufacturing Company Housing are historic residential housing blocks at 380–410 and 153–165 River Street in Waltham, Massachusetts. The housing was for the Boston Manufacturing Company (BMC), the earliest modern manufacturing facility in the United States. The housing was built in the nineteenth century and the two blocks of buildings were separately added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
153–155 and 163–165 River Street
These two buildings are located on the north side of River Street, between School Avenue and Willow Street a short way east of Waltham center. Both are 2+1⁄2-story brick buildings with mansard roofs providing a full third floor. They have symmetrical four-bay facades, with a pair of entrances in the center bays. Doors and windows are set in segmented-arch openings with brickwork hoods. The building at 163–165 retains the original slate of its mansard roof. These two buildings were built by the company in about 1870, probably for upper-level employees, and are a contrast to the wood-frame worker housing (now heavily altered) that stands behind them.
380–410 River Street
380–410 River Street consists of a pair of rowhouses located on the south side of River Street, between Jackson and Elm Streets.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Boston Manufacturing Company Housing” as building in Massachusetts, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as building in Massachusetts, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4947973. Authority coordinates are 42.374, -71.232. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1989 and 1870.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Boston Manufacturing Company Housing”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Boston Manufacturing Company Housing primary sources, Boston Manufacturing Company Housing archive and Boston research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Boston Manufacturing Company Housing”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Boston Manufacturing Company Housing” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.