Bradford-Union Street Historic District

[photo]
Bradford-Union Street Historic District streetscape
Photo by Lee Hartmann, courtesy of Town of Plymouth Planning and Development
The Bradford-Union Street Historic District, consisting of approximately 6 acres of land and more than 30 buildings, was once an active commercial harbor area dominated by industrial buildings. It is now primarily a residential area characterized by closely clustered, modest 19th-century houses built for sea captains and waterfront workers. The Bradford-Union Historic District best retains its 19th-century character along the hillside south of Union Street. Along the waterfront however, forming the northern boundary of the district, the 20th-century construction of a yacht club and a marine company have generally replaced most of the 19th-century industry and commerce that once were located here. Several types of residential buildings can be found in the district including three-bay vernacular dwellings, early to mid-19th-century cottages and multiple family dwellings. The district also includes many commercial buildings.

[photo] Houses within the Bradford-Union Street Historic District
Photos by Lee Hartmann, courtesy of Town of Plymouth Planning and Development

The buildings at 7, 13 and 17 Bradford Street and 5 and 33 Union Street are representative of the three-bay vernacular residential dwellings. The clapboarded, two-and-one-half-story dwellings are generally Greek Revival in design and feature a side hall plan. Thirteen buildings in the district are early to mid-19th-century cottages. Except for a couple of one-and-one-half-story Cape Cod-style cottages, the majority are one-and-one-half-story Gothic Revival houses built in the late 1840s. Multiple family dwellings are located at 8-10, 15 and 9 Bradford Street, 8 Emerald Street and on Water Cure Street. Most of these wood-framed buildings are late 19th-century two-and-one-half-story tenement buildings, and early 20th-century three-family dwellings. Three of the four commercial buildings in the district combined business use with residential space and echo the character of the Bradford-Union Historic District's other cottage dwellings. The mid-19th-century two-story brick portion of the present-day Plymouth Marine Company is all that remains of the iron foundry, which was once an important industry in the area.

The Bradford-Union Street Historic District is roughly bounded by Sandwich, Bradford, Union, Water and Emerald sts. in Plymouth. Houses within the district are primarily private residences and are not open to the public.

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