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| UMC in 1920 and Cumming Properties in 2013 |
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| Foundry and Powerhouse in 1996 and restoration in 2013 |
Hello from Dmitri! The Cummings Center in Beverly, Ma has a big history. It was once the United Shoe Machinery Company (UMC) was a combination of three major shoe companies: Goodyear Machinery Company, Consolidated Hand Lasting Machinery Company, and McKay Shoe Machinery Company. The Beverly factory was begun in 1902 and was fully operational by 1906. The company was a monopoly but it was a way of life for many Beverly area citizens. Between 1900 and 1910, immigrants quickly swelled Beverly's population from 13,888 to 18,650. The factory grew from 3,000 employees to 4,500 in 1910 and the company reportedly paid its workers the highest average wages in the country. By 1911, according to the old Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics,
Beverly residents as a whole had higher annual earnings than the residents
of any other city in the state.
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During World War 1 USM assembled special mobile shoe repair vehicles for military use.Between 1899 and 1960, USM developed and marketed nearly 800 new and improved shoe machines and patented more than 9,000 inventions in widely disparate areas. After decades of the company running successful, the old monopoly was finally broken up but its attempts to diversify in the 1960s brought it deeply into dept for the first time. The factory was sitting for many year inoperative until Cumming Properties bought it in 1996. Now thousands of companies lease offices there. The Cumming Center now still hold much of United Shoe Machinery Company history on it walls throughout the massive complex. Many large pieces of machinery are in the parking lot as you drive through the plaza. Even an original IBM time clock that was used in "The Shoe" in the early 1900s. Additional extensive USM archives are maintained at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.
Cummings Properties Main Site
Beverly, Ma History
United Shoe Machinery Company history
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| World War 1 mobile shoe repair vehicle |
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| Many artifacts and glass display cases around the complex |
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| Old machinery room in one of the buildings kept preserved |
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During World War 1 USM assembled special mobile shoe repair vehicles for military use.Between 1899 and 1960, USM developed and marketed nearly 800 new and improved shoe machines and patented more than 9,000 inventions in widely disparate areas. After decades of the company running successful, the old monopoly was finally broken up but its attempts to diversify in the 1960s brought it deeply into dept for the first time. The factory was sitting for many year inoperative until Cumming Properties bought it in 1996. Now thousands of companies lease offices there. The Cumming Center now still hold much of United Shoe Machinery Company history on it walls throughout the massive complex. Many large pieces of machinery are in the parking lot as you drive through the plaza. Even an original IBM time clock that was used in "The Shoe" in the early 1900s. Additional extensive USM archives are maintained at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. .jpeg)
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I have been to the Cummings Center before but I've never been down in the old machine room. Next time I go I have to check it out.
ReplyDeleteThis is really cool. Also about the Cummings Center, one of my ear, nose and throat doctor office is located there.
ReplyDeleteThat is pretty cool. I am glad that the people who are currently taking care of that building had the idea to preserve some of its history. Lynn used to be known for its many shoe shops and factories as well. Proof of this shoe history is the fact that the Lynn Common is shaped like a giant shoe print. Google Earth.....check it out
ReplyDeleteThis is very cool. You have great pictures to go along with it. You can really see the enormous amounts of people that it took to me these types of places run at full steam. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDelete