547 Central Street

Scripture’s Bakery at 547 Central St., Lowell
  • Historic Name: Scripture’s Bakery
  • Uses: Bakery, club, residential
  • Date of Construction: Late 1820’s
  • Style/Form: Greek Revival
  • Architect/Builder: Unknown
  • Foundation: Granite
  • Wall/Trim: Brick
  • Roof: Gable
  • Major Alterations: Windows replaced, some bricked up; yellow shutters added after 1981 and a canopy over the front door
  • Condition: Good
  • Included in Hengen survey? Yes
  • Related oral interview? No
  • Portuguese owned? Yes
  • Recorded by: Gregory Gray Fitzsimons and Marie Frank
  • Organization: UMass Lowell
  • Date: July 2023

Description

The quality of the design and building materials in this building for its time attest to the architectural character Back Central in its early development. A rectangular brick structure with a gable roof, two stories with a third habitable space in the gable. Greek Revival dentil moldings along the gable and roofline cornices. Five double hung windows on the second story symmetrically placed and two windows in the gable; all have substantial granite sills and lintels. Two double hung windows on the first floor with brick sills and lintels frame the entry door which is set off center to the right. There is no window on the south end of the first floor because that corner of the building held the ovens for the bakery. Around 1933 the entrance was altered: granite blocks frame the door and the lintel above includes an arched relief carving with the letters Italian American Civic Club (IACC). The north elevation has six windows on the second story similar to the front façade. The first story north elevation had six smaller windows but three have been bricked up. There is a brick extension off the back of the building; originally the lot had several outbuildings, but these were demolished in the 20th century. On the south elevation a staircase provides entry to a wood frame structure that forms an “L” along the side and back of the original bakery building.

History

Not only does the architectural character of this building set it apart, it also represents one of Back Central’s original and longest occupied structures. Around 1824 John Mead and Matthias Parkhurst established a bakery on the site; Mead’s daughter Lydia married Isaac Scripture, and by 1826 the pair took over the business while using the second floor as their residence. In 1852 Isaac died and Lydia continued the business with her sons. As indicated in the 1879 atlas, the lot was substantial and included two wood frame extensions off the brick building and two free standing wood frame structures. Lydia Scripture is listed as the owner. By the 1880s Freeman T. Severance served as the proprietor. An advertisement from the 1886 city directory touted the extent of their offerings—bread, cookies, tarts, cakes, doughnuts, hot rolls every afternoon, and their specialty, crackers. The Scripture siblings resided at 535 Central by this point; Fannie Scripture taught at the Edson School. By 1900 the bakery is no longer listed as active but the property remained in the family into the 20th century. By 1924 the building and lot were owned by Mrs. William Spaulding; the 1926 city directory lists a baker on the premises, Samuel Taylor, and a resident, Charles Little. Then Scully’s bakery occupied the building in the early to mid 1930s. In 1942, Catherine and Margaret Sweeney sold the building to the Italian American Civic Club. The club, founded in 1931 and incorporated in 1933, served the purpose of helping Italian immigrants gain their American citizenship. Lowell had a relatively small Italian-American population and yet the club became a center point for regular events through the next fifty years. The club sold the building in 1994 to Joseph Simao and it now remains in the Joseph and Filomena Simao Trust. The ground floor is currently used by the Igreja Assembléia de Deus Vida (Pastor Geraldo da Silva).

Sources

  • Plan of Land and Buildings Belonging to the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, 1825.
  • U.A. Boyden, Plan of Lowell Village, 1834.
  • Beard and Hoar, Map of Lowell, 1841.
  • Sidney and Neff Map of Lowell, 1850.
  • Lowell atlases 1879, 1882, 1906, 1924 and 1936.
  • Lowell city directories, including 1886, ad, p. 807.
  • Registry of Deeds.
  • Lowell Sun, April 30, 1935, p. 18 “Club to Mark Anniversary.”