# 37 182 Common St., Lawrence

This was a parking garage in city's horse-and-buggy era

Most of the buildings around Lawrence Common are quite elaborate, so you might wonder why 182 Common St. is so simple. And why has it only three floors when the building beside it, though the same height, has four.
This was a livery stable. It was here that you left your horse and carriage when you came into town, or rented a horse - and a carriage if you didn't own one - when you went out.
The first stable, on the right, was built about 1870. The left side was wood, then rebuilt of brick around 1900.
Horse are taller than people. So the ceilings had to be higher, and doors too, so there was only space for 3 floors.
Mills were built on a bay system, a length of building with a window centered on the space, repeated until the factory was long enough. Here the stable, framed like a mill, was only as many bays long as the lot allowed. This simple construction system is very handsome. The brick itself is attractive. The proportions and rhythms of the windows are appealing. Their granite sills and arched openings keep the facade from being so severe.
The granite band at the second floor line gives the building a base: the first floor. The simple corbels at the roof line define the top.
When trucks and cars replaced wagons and carriages, the livery stables became manufacturing spaces and stores.
In 1981, the current owners restored this building to its original appearance. It now houses law offices.

note: The drawing was made for "Around and Through the Common", a brochure produced jointly by Immigrant City Archives and Lawrence High School.