Hardy & CoMpany

The article proclaims that Hardy & Co. goods were in high demand by architects and builders, implying a standard of exceptional quality desired by experts in the fields of carpentry and design. The writer goes on to recommend the business and its goods “wholeheartedly”. 

The writer continues to boast of Hardy and Company's perpetual expansion of stock to meet customer demands, yet again projecting positive discourse about the business to the general public in an attempt to attract new customers. The piece includes extensive valuable factual information despite its clearly boosterish bias. 

Furthermore, this same article gives confirmation that in the year 1876 the business was housed at 173 and 175 Blackstone Street, verifying its presence on my defined parcel of land prior to the construction of the Central Artery.

At the newer 173 and 175 Blackstone Street location, each level of the building held a particular purpose. 

On the basement level, blinds, window frames, stair balusters, framing pins and more were stored in a tightly packed arrangement, allowing the maximum amount of inventory to be accessible at all times.

The first floor housed over one hundred different sized doors as well as a variety of glazed windows and on the second floor, there was a packing room for product shipment. 

The third floor housed a large glazing room where windows were crafted and sashes were stored. Sash and other miscellaneous storage extended into the 4th story and attic of the building, again displaying the range of products kept on hand. 

William W. Hardy is listed at the top of the above image in the 1862 Boston City Directory for Hardy & Co. blinds and sashes at 181 Blackstone Street. This confirms that the 181 Blackstone location was in operation prior to 1876. Within the same listing in the city directory, it reads that Hardy was a resident of Malden, Massachusetts. 

Furthermore, in the bottom listing labeled Hardy, William W., the description marks Hardy as a glazier located at 181 Blackstone Street Boston with a home in Salem. 

These two semi-conflicting listings raise questions if Hardy owned multiple homes in Massachusetts located roughly 16 miles apart, if the listings hold inaccurate information about his place of business or residence, or if one listing is for business and the other for personal affairs.

A business card from the initial 181 & 183 Blackstone Street shop holds similar information to the business flyer shown at the very top of this webpage. The back of the card includes product listings and measurements, again showing the variety of offered goods. This primary source continues to display Hardy's great range of products even prior to the business' expansion.

The 1862 Boston City Directory listed a William W. Hardy as a resident of Salem, yet I was unable to find any associated information to connect him to Hardy Brothers. Was this was a far fetched coincidence of two men with the same job and name? 

I was able to find the location of the Hardy Brothers building from a Salem Sanborn map, included above, to confirm that this company existed at 9 & 11 Washington Street as noted in the Salem Directory. Although it is possible that Hardy Brothers was an extension of Hardy & Company, I was unable to find any information on Charles G. Hardy or confirmation that the two companies were infact related.