The Mechanical Fabric Company is a historic factory complex on Cromwell and Sprague Streets in the
West End neighborhood of
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 ...
.
Description
The complex consists of six brick buildings, arranged in roughly parallel rows in a city block bounded by Cromwell, Sprague, and Dexter Streets, and Elmwood Avenue. They were built between 1891 and about 1925. The Mechanical Fabric Company was a major player in the city's rubber industry, and was particularly notable as the site of innovations in the development and manufacture of pneumatic bicycle tires.
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 2014.
Renovations
The former mill space was renovated to include several businesses. The larger building at 55 Cromwell Street has been rebranded as "Rooms & Works."
It was briefly home to a food incubator, and in 2019 a local gourmet doughnut company moved in with a 5,000 square foot commercial kitchen.
Also in 2019, the former mill building at 40R Sprague Street welcomed a two-level, 3,500-square-foot bar and brewery.
See also
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References
See also
*
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
Buildings and structures in Providence, Rhode Island
National Register of Historic Places in Providence, Rhode Island
Industrial buildings completed in 1891
1891 establishments in Rhode Island
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