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The Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company Complex (also known as Darling, Brown & Sharpe; Capital Industrial Center; The Foundry) is a historic factory complex in
The first building was designed in 1872 by Brown & Sharpe employee Thomas McFarlane. It was a huge 66,000 square-foot structure made of brick, cast iron, and concrete, and held space for all the company's functions. Over the years, more buildings were built on what was then a 33-acre parcel (later cut to 25 acres when
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
along the Woonasquatucket River
The Woonasquatucket River (pronounced , Algonquian for "where the salt water ends") is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe N ...
. The complex occupies most of a large city block bounded on the south by Promenade Street, the west by Bath and Calverly Streets, the north by West Park Street, and the east by Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...
. The complex was the longtime home of Brown & Sharpe Brown & Sharpe is a division of Hexagon AB, a Swedish multinational corporation focused mainly on metrological tools and technology. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Brown & Sharpe was one of the best-known and most influential machine tool build ...
Manufacturing Company, a manufacturer of precision equipment founded in 1833. The company was originally located in downtown Providence, but moved to this site in 1872, where it remained until 1964, when it moved to North Kingstown
North Kingstown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and is part of the Providence metropolitan area. The population was 27,732 in the 2020 census. North Kingstown is home to the birthplace of American portraitist Gilbe ...
. Fourteen of the company's buildings survive.
History
The first building was designed in 1872 by Brown & Sharpe employee Thomas McFarlane. It was a huge 66,000 square-foot structure made of brick, cast iron, and concrete, and held space for all the company's functions. Over the years, more buildings were built on what was then a 33-acre parcel (later cut to 25 acres when I-95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...
was built), including a carpenter shop, powerhouse, machine shops, warehouses, grinding shop, and steel storage bins. The complex was largely complete by 1920, although the last structure was built in 1941.
The company remained in the location until 1964, when it was sold for $3.2 million. The property was sold again in 1986 to Foundry Associates.
The complex 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 2003.
The Foundry
Starting in 2004, the Brown & Sharpe complex began renovations into rental units. The space re-opened as The Foundry, a mix of residential loft apartments and office space. The Foundry encompasses 26 acres and 13 restored buildings. The last apartments in the complex were completed in 2015. In 2016, theA. T. Cross Company
A.T. Cross Company, LLC. is an American manufacturing company of writing implements, based in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1846, is one of the oldest pen manufacturers in the world. Cross' products include fountain pen, fountain, ballpoin ...
, maker of writing instruments and pens, moved its headquarters from Lincoln, Rhode Island
Lincoln is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,529 at the 2020 census. Lincoln is located in northeastern Rhode Island, north of Providence. Lincoln is part of the Providence metropolitan statistical are ...
to 299 Promenade Street at The Foundry.
See also
*National Register of Historic Places listings in Providence, Rhode Island
__NOTOC__
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Providence, Rhode Island.
This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Providence, Rhode Is ...
* Brown & Sharpe Brown & Sharpe is a division of Hexagon AB, a Swedish multinational corporation focused mainly on metrological tools and technology. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Brown & Sharpe was one of the best-known and most influential machine tool build ...
References
Industrial buildings completed in 1872 Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Providence, Rhode Island Industrial archaeological sites in the United States Industrial buildings and structures in Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Providence, Rhode Island 1872 establishments in Rhode Island {{ProvidenceRI-struct-stub