(2018)
Binwood Condominium (Unit 5).
Provincetown buildings have been noted for their portability at least since the days of the Long Point diaspora, before the Civil War. So it’s not surprising that a firm in Lynn called the Whittredge Portable Buildings Company should have made some inroads here. The garage for 98 Commercial — which stands on Tremont Street and looks at first glance as if it’s part of 112 Commercial Street — was a Whittredge kit. The embossed label still can be made out on each of the three door bays. Whittredge was founded in 1919, just after World War I. Besides garages, it specialized in small stores and stands, factory lunchrooms, gasoline stations, storage sheds, and even airplane hangars. Frequently, Whittredge buildings were purchased by tenants on leased land who preferred not to build permanent structures for the ultimate benefit of their landlords. “These buildings are doubly attractive because they are portable and can be removed in a few hours,” a 1922 advertisement said. The two-bay garage unit sold in 1922 for $350, or slightly more than $5,000 in today’s dollars. Whittredge seems to have remained in business at least through the early 1950s.
For an overview, please see 98 Commercial Street.
For a view of Unit 1, please see 98 Commercial Street.
¶ Last updated on 27 August 2018.
A Whittredge pamphlet from 1920. Historic New England, Document 267101.