April 18, 2022
Worcester 300 trivia
Worcester 300 trivia contest, part 8: The Blake Building
Photo | Courtesy of Worcester Historical Museum
The Blake Building
WBJ has partnered with the Worcester Historical Museum to run a year-long trivia contest in celebration of the 300th anniversary of Worcester’s founding on June 14, 1722. Readers should email their answer to the question below by April 14 to bkane@wbjournal.com or complete the Google Form below to compete for a special year-end prize package.
The Blake Building
The Blake Building was located at the corner of Foster and Mechanic Streets. It was occupied by the business of George Fordyce Blake, manufacturer of and dealers in iron, sheet, and other heavy metals. Born in 1859 in Medford, Worcester’s G.F. Blake was the son of renowned mechanical inventor George Blake, Sr. and Martha Skinner. After graduating from MIT, he joined his father’s business making steam pumps and engines. In 1884, Blake Jr. established his own business with partner Sumner Boutwell under the name of Blake, Boutwell, & Co. In 1891 Boutwell departed the firm, and it became George F. Blake Jr. & Co. In addition to the Blake Building, the company had an industrial supply department at the corner of Commercial and Exchange Streets, and a plant (and later, offices) on Quinsigamond Avenue.
Trivia question: What is the name of the public facility currently at Foster and Mechanic streets, where the Blake Building once stood?
And the answer to last edition’s question: The name of the Rockwood Sprinkler Co. factory today, which has most recently been used as an art gallery, is The Sprinkler Factory.
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