Lynn Realty Company Building No. 2 and Lynn Realty Company Building No. 4

Lynn Realty Company Building Nos. 2 and 4 are former factory buildings that represent the last phase of Lynn's importance as a major shoe-manufacturing center, examples of the industrial redevelopment initiated by the Lynn Realty Company following the 1889 fire. Separated from adjoining buildings by twenty-foot alleys, the red brick buildings with segmental arches were built of mill construction with interior firewalls, metal shutters, fire alarms, and sprinkler systems. Separate boiler plants provided power to factories, which were rented to a variety of tenants. The exteriors were largely without ornament. The last period of expansion for the Lynn shoe industry, in 1900–1910, led to the construction of several giant factories. Building No. 4, called the Vamp Building because it resembled in plan the upper portion of a shoe or boot, was the last of the giant factories built in the first decade of the century. After it was enlarged in 1907, it was considered the largest shoe factory in the world. Both buildings were converted to apartments in 1980 using tax incentives under the Historic Preservation Certified Rehabilitation Program.