Athenaeum Press
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Athenæum Press
| image = Athenaeum Press building.jpg
| image_size = 180px
| alt = View of the Athenaeum Press in 2009.
| caption = View of the Athenaeum Press in 2009.
| location = 215 First Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142
| coordinates = {{coord|42.364200|-71.0793|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Massachusetts#USA
| built = 1895
| architect = Lockwood, Greene, and Company
| added = April 13, 1982
| mpsub = Cambridge MRA
| refnum = 82001917{{NRISref|2008a}}
}}
Athenæum Press is an historic building located at 215 First Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The structure occupies the entire block between First Street, Second Street, Athenæum Street, and Linskey Way, which was formerly known as Munroe Street. Topped by a statue of Athena sculpted by Adio diBiccari, the building is visible from the nearby Charles River and the Longfellow Bridge.
History
File:Athenaeum Press statue.jpg.|View of the sculpture of Athena atop the Press.]]
The Athenæum Press was designed by the architecture firm, Lockwood, Greene, and Company, with tile vaults designed by the Guastavino Company. The building was completed in 1895.{{cite web|url=http://architecture.mit.edu/class/guastavino/projects/cambridge%20thumbnails/athenaeum/projects_location_cambridge_athenaeum.htm |title=Guastavino.net |accessdate=2011-08-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927060908/http://architecture.mit.edu/class/guastavino/projects/cambridge%20thumbnails/athenaeum/projects_location_cambridge_athenaeum.htm |archivedate=2011-09-27 }} The structure was built for Edwin Ginn and Ginn & Company, owners of The Athenæum Press, to house its printing operations, and was built using principles of late nineteenth-century textile mill construction. Due to its highly visible location, the building was given a number of stylistic embellishments, including a large sculpture of Athena designed by Adio diBiccari.{{cite web|url=https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=cam.147|title=NRHP nomination for Athenaeum Press|publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts|access-date=2015-05-22}} The front of the building resembles an Ancient Greek temple implemented in brick, patinated copper, and glass. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The building was the third major printing house built in Cambridge (after those of Harvard University Press and Riverside Press), and one of the first major industrial sites on Cambridge's riverfront.
The building has {{convert|380,000|sqft|m2}} of floor space and was renovated circa 2005. The facility was used for many years to print textbooks.{{Cite web|url=http://silentbeauties.blogspot.com/2011/08/ginn-and-company-athenaeum-press-1925.html|title = Silent Beauties: Ginn and Company (Athenaeum Press) - 1925|date = 12 August 2011}} Ginn & Company later became part of Pearson Education.
As of 2019, occupants include the Cambridge Athletic Club, Partners HealthCare Innovation, the Lean Enterprise Institute, SAGE Therapeutics, Constellation Pharmaceuticals and several other small businesses.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=BKZrMGprZoYC Souvenir of the Athenaeum Press] by Ginn and Company, 1903. A 24-page book with descriptions and photographs, available for free download.
- [http://silentbeauties.blogspot.com/2011/08/ginn-and-company-athenaeum-press-1925.html Silent movie] showcasing printing activities in the building in 1925. Moviecraft archive.
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1895
Category:Buildings and structures in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Cambridge, Massachusetts