Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company Complex, Rochester
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NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places DRAFT Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional certification comments, entries, and narrative items on continuation sheets if needed (NPS Form 10-900a). 1. Name of Property historic name Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company Complex other names/site number Aqueduct Building name of related multiple property listing n/a Location street & number 52 & 28-50 Aqueduct Street, 40-50 E Broad St, 38-46 Graves St, 11 Race St N/A not for publication city or town Rochester N/ A vicinity state New York code NY county Monroe code 055 zip code 14614 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this X nomination _ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property X_ meets _ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance: national statewide X local Signature of certifying official/Title Date State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. Signature of commenting official Date Title State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government 4. National Park Service Certification I hereby certify that this property is: entered in the National Register determined eligible for the National Register determined not eligible for the National Register removed from the National Register other (explain:) _________________ Signature of the Keeper Date of Action 1 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company Monroe County, NY Complex Name of Property DRAFT County and State 5. Classification Ownership of Property Category of Property Number of Resources within Property (Check as many boxes as apply.) (Check only one box.) (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Contributing Noncontributing x private x building(s) 5 1 buildings public - Local district 0 0 sites public - State site 0 2 structures public - Federal structure 0 1 objects object 5 5 Total Name of related multiple property listing Number of contributing resources previously (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing) listed in the National Register N/A 0 6. Function or Use Historic Functions Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) (Enter categories from instructions.) INDUSTRY/manufacturing facilities Vacant INDUSTRY/warehouse 7. Description Architectural Classification Materials (Enter categories from instructions.) (Enter categories from instructions.) No style foundation: stone, concrete walls: brick, stone, concrete roof: asphalt other: 2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company Monroe County, NY Complex Name of Property DRAFT County and State Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance of the property. Explain contributing and noncontributing resources if necessary. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, setting, size, and significant features.) Summary Paragraph The Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company Complex is a printing and warehouse complex in Rochester, New York consisting of five contributing buildings, one non-contributing building, and a large parking area, all located on the north side of East Broad Street where the Broad Street Bridge crosses the Genesee River. The river runs along the east side of the complex, and to the west are the 1927 Gannett Building (NR listed 1985) at 55 Exchange Boulevard and the 1930 Times Square Building (NR listed 1982) at 45 Exchange Boulevard. In 1974, Aqueduct Park was created to the north of the complex as a visual hub for the area; the project included closing the south end of Graves Street to traffic and making access to the complex through a south-facing, off- center entrance that fronts onto East Broadway. A large asphalt parking lot is located at the south end of the complex and can only be accessed from Bank Place, which runs parallel to East Broad Street. Except for a non-contributing 1973 garage, the company’s buildings all date from the late nineteenth century and were gradually acquired by the Lawyer’s Cooperative Publishing Company beginning in 1901, when it moved into the ca. 1892 Aqueduct Building. The Aqueduct Building was expanded in 1910 and again in 1948 when it was connected to a newly acquired 1884 mill building, giving the entire building its distinctive L-shape. The company also built an enclosed walkway to connect the 1884 mill building to an 1891 warehouse on Graves Street that was acquired by the company ca. 1913. An 1870 flour mill was acquired around 1950, north of the warehouse on Graves Street, and doors were installed to internally connect the two buildings. An 1875 mill building at 11 Race Street was acquired in 1953 for use by a company subsidiary and is not contiguous to the rest of the buildings. The contributing buildings are examples of different types of factory construction that include common mill, structural iron, steel frame, and reinforced concrete construction. The buildings are unified through the use of brick exteriors, stone and concrete foundations, and brick and stone features such as repeated segmental arches, even fenestration, and corbeled brick cornices. Interiors reflect the dates of expansion and acquisition to include a variety of historic materials such as wood floors, plaster ceilings, and support columns of wood, cast iron, and reinforced concrete. The company occupied the buildings until 1961, when it moved its production operation to nearby Webster, New York. A 1971 renovation of the property replaced the walkway to the warehouse, added another to section 1, and added a statue of Mercury, recycled from an unrelated building, and is therefore non-contributing to the complex. 3 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company Monroe County, NY Complex Name of Property DRAFT County and State ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Narrative Description Location and Setting The Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company Complex is a late-nineteenth and mid-twentieth century factory complex located on the north side of East Broad Street along the banks of the Genesee River in downtown Rochester. This area of the city was historically a manufacturing center that developed initially around flour mills in the early to mid-nineteenth century. In 1974, Aqueduct Park was created as a visual hub for the area by demolishing two buildings just north of the complex and closing the south end of Graves Street to traffic. The complex is now accessed by an off-center entrance that fronts onto East Broadway and from a large asphalt parking lot at the end of Bank Place, which runs parallel to East Broad Street. Other buildings near the complex are the large mid-twentieth-century Blue Cross Arena at 100 Exchange Boulevard, the Gannett Building (1927, NR 1985) at 55 Exchange Boulevard, the Times Square Building (1930, NR 1982) at 45 Exchange Street, and the mid-twentieth century Monroe County Hall of Justice and jail on Exchange Boulevard and South Plymouth Street. To the north is the historic Four Corners neighborhood, which features elaborate and highly detailed buildings such as the 1869 Powers Building (NR listed 1973) at 16 West Main Street and the 1932 Reynolds Arcade (NR listed 1985) at 16 East Main Street. Development of Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company Complex When viewed from East Broad Street, the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company Complex (LCPC) is a brick commercial building of five to seven stories in height that is a combination of factory additions and acquired buildings constructed between 1870 to ca. 1892 and incorporated into expansions that took place between 1910 and 1953. Two buildings, a six-story brick warehouse and a three-story mill building, are on the west side of the property, and the north end contains a detached five-story brick building. The acquisition and expansion history of the complex is outlined as follows: • 1901: ca. 1892 factory and office building (the Aqueduct Building) is acquired by LCPC. • 1910: first factory expansion. The factory is extended