Hooper Paint Shop
47 Central Sq
1850
Architectural Style
Significance
Architecture, Commerce
Use Type
Other Manufacturing, Printing Shop
Neighborhood
Bridgewater Town Center
Massachusetts Historical Commission Report
Architectural Significance
Characterized by a simple rectangular plan, a variety of window sash (2/2, 6/6), and weather beaten wood shingles this frame structure rises 2 1/2 stories to a gable roof. This building is of interest as a utilitarian survivor from the mid 19th century, picturesquely tucked away behind the old Tory House. Late 19th and early 20th century maps and atlases indicate that several similar structures existed in and around Bridewater Center, (e.g. along Broad Street).
Historical Significance
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries this structure housed a paint shop. A structure appears on this site on the 1852 map of Bridgewater. In 1879 it is labeled A. Hooper's Paint Shop. Insurance maps dating from 1885-1906 show this structure labeled as "Carriage and Paint Shop". To the rear of this building was a platform and shed and Kings Livery Stables. Braman Brothers are listed as this property's owner in 1903. Their services included house, carriage and sign painting as well as ornamental work, frescoing, graining, and paper hanging. They were also dealers in "paints, oils, varnishes, window glass, etc.". By 1906 a carpenter occupied the 1st floor while the 2nd floor contained a paint shop. Since 1911 this structure has housed Dorr Print & Stationery Store.