Tarr and wonson paint factory, Alexis Doyle

Tarr and Wonson
2008

James G, Tarr and Augustus Wonson established Tarr and Wonson in 1863, they expirimented with creating a paint that would protect the bottoms of the boats and prevent barnacles and ect. Sitting in Rocky Neck a total of 18,000 square feet, a copper mill. Granite was used as foundation on the slate roof in 1877-1879. The boiler room put in 1878-1880 also had granite foundation. They built a wooden frame manufacturing building that stood 4 stories tall. Then the paint was mixed and prepared for shipment. In 1884 the warehouse was a timber structure that sat on wood piles and connected to the manufacturing building by a bridge. Then got added on to in the 1950's. In 1960 and 1972 it served as storage buildings for fuel and solvent. Back then during these ties these structures were built is different then how it would have been constructed now.

They ended up settling on a mixture containing copper, the companies paint in an advertisement saying "A perfect substitute for metal stelthing for one year. Then in the 1890's Tarr and Wonson paint was recongnized as a most effective anti-fauling mixture that was on the market. It was said that the Tarr and wonson paint factory was built in 1874 bur i think it was built most likely in 1863. The company closed in 1980's, after it became a symbol of Gloucester's long-standing industry, that has been struggling over decades. In 2008 the ocean alliance had purchased the Tarr and Wonson to house its new headquarters and future state of the art whale research facility.

"Historic American Engineering Record Tarr and Wonson Paint Factory." Justine Christianson, n.d. Web. May 2009. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ma/ma1700/ma1716/data/ma1716data.pdf.