Walcott Building, Natick (1888)

The last building to be constructed in the aftermath of the 1874 Natick fire is the Walcott Building, also known as the Desban Building, built in 1888 in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. It replaced the Walcott shoe factory on the same site, at the corner of Main and Summer Streets, which burned in 1874. Again quoting from the History of Middlesex County, Vol. I (1890):

The new block is by far the most beautiful and elaborately finished structure in Natick. The lower story on Main Street is constructed of iron and plate-glass, and on Summer street of red sandstone. The upper stories are of brick, with sandstone trimmings. The staircase to the second story is wholly of polished marble, while the flagging-stones of the two fronts are very large and costly stones from the Hudson River Valley, perfectly cut and fitted in the best possible manner. On the lower floor, at the corner, is the spacious, well-lighted and finely decorated store of Leamy & Tilton, with a large stock of new dry-goods and small wares. On the same floor is the Bay State Clothing Store of Hastings & Lowell. On the second floor are six rooms for offices, with a large hall. Above are the elegant quarters of the Red Men, comprising a room for the ladies of the order with ante-rooms.; also the large hall for the society’s gatherings, and their banqueting-hall, with tables and a kitchen and pantry, furnished with ranges and crockery. The walls throughout have been treated with fresco or beautifully-tinted paints, and the entire establishment would be deemed ornamental in any city of our land.