The Danvers Butchery Meat Market and Cold Storage (Danvers, Massachusetts - August 13, 2002) » Building History and Construction

The Danvers Butchery dates back to the early 1900’s when the original building was constructed as a typical New England agricultural barn. It does not appear on the Danvers Town Map of 1897, but is referenced in the early part of the 20th century. The original “Barn” was of post and beam construction and measured 36' wide by 53' deep (approx. 1908 square feet). Although the building is often referred to as 10 Donegal Lane, its official street number is 11. Many official records still have it listed improperly.

Over a period of years, several single story additions were constructed resulting in a complex with 9,385 square feet of retail, storage, kitchen, and office space. The basic footprint of the complex has not changed since 1979. (See Appendix A for site plan and Appendix B for floor plan) The complex had 147' of frontage, 18,000 square feet of paved parking, and a land area of .729 acres or 31,750 square feet. In fiscal year 2003, the property was assessed at $518,100. Of this, $285,300 was for the building, $211,100 was for the land, and $21,700 was for the paving.

The Barn had 2" x 4" walls throughout with exterior sheathing of 1" boards. The exterior finish was vinyl siding over tar paper, and the interior was 1/2" gypsum board. The vinyl siding was nailed directly to the sheathing with no added insulation. Additions were primarily wood frame construction, but concrete block was used at the east end. This was part of a renovation and replaced wood framed walls insulated with sawdust during early cold storage use. Prior to their replacement, the sawdust filled walls would expand and contract depending on the moisture content of the sawdust. They had lost their structural stability over time. During another renovation, the entire first floor east wall of the Barn was opened up to what became the retail store. A heavy timber beam and columns supported the Barn’s east wall.

The ceilings in the retail and office areas were suspended. In some areas, the drywall extended just slightly above the ceiling channel, and open joist spaces were present for the convenience of running wires, pipes and communication cables. The original ceiling of the Barn’s first floor was wood and was still present in many areas. Much of the Barn’s second floor had open rafters to the attic and was only separated by the hung ceiling.

The complex sat on a series of concrete slabs. Slight differences in elevation demanded the construction of concrete ramps to allow for easy movements of products. There were no basements or crawl spaces. The roof of the barn was asphalt and the rest of the complex had a mix of asphalt and rolled roofing depending on pitch. Only the Barn’s roof was affected by the fire.

The complex had a three phase electrical service to power the numerous cooling compressors. The supply was a pole with three can transformers located 40 feet southwest of the Barn’s C/D corner. Cables ran to a drip loop and continued down via conduit on the C side of the Barn. The electrical room was in the B/C corner of the Barn on the first floor. The conduit and service entrance were directly above the area of origin.

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