United Shoe Machinery Corporation Building
- Style
- Art Deco
- City
- Boston, MA
The United Shoe Machinery Corporation Building at 160 Federal Street was built in 1929-1930 as headquarters for the company that then controlled 98% of the nation's shoe machinery business. George W. Fuller and Parker, Thomas & Rice designed the steel-frame skyscraper, which rises 24 stories plus a penthouse and ranks among Boston's finest Art Deco office towers.
the building
The lobby. The building's ground floor holds an elaborately decorated Art Deco lobby, singled out along with the exterior for landmark protection - a rare instance in Boston of interior spaces receiving the same preservation status as the facade.
the style
Art Deco defines the tower, one of the style's finest local expressions - a fitting look for a corporation that dominated its industry as thoroughly as United Shoe Machinery controlled shoe-machinery manufacturing nationwide.
More on Art Decosignificance
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In 1983 the Boston Landmarks Commission designated it a Boston Landmark with protection extending to the lobby as well as the exterior - rare interior protection for a commercial building.
nearby
- Bedford Block
- Holy Cross Church, Boston
- Richardson Block
- South Station Tower
- Compton Building
- International Trust Company Building