Bowker Place is a historic commercial building at 144–156 Essex Street in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

. Built in 1830 by William Manning, this handsome two-story

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

brick building has had a significant role in the civic and economic history of Salem. It was acquired by Joel Bowker in 1844 after Manning went bankrupt. Its tenants have included banks, insurance companies, and the Salem Police Court. One prominent retailer who began operations in this building was William Filene, founder of the

Filene's Filene's (formally William Filene & Sons Co.) was an American department store chain; it was founded by William Filene in 1881. The success of the original full-line store in Boston, Massachusetts, was supplemented by the foundation of its off-p ...

department store chain. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1983. It is immediately adjacent to portions of the

Downtown Salem District Downtown Salem District is a historic district roughly bounded by Church, Central, New Derby, and Washington Streets in Salem, Massachusetts. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and represents a major expansion of ...

References

Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Salem, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Salem, Massachusetts {{EssexCountyMA-NRHP-stub

See also

References