Maxwell's Green

Maxwell's Green. . , The Agar Manufacturing Company of Whippany, New Jersey, developed the Maxwell's Green site in 1927 as the northeast location for its corrugated box production business. This Somerville parcel was valued for its proximity to the Lexington and Arlington branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad; a spur connected the factory to B and M's extensive northeast fright network. , The Agar box factory exemplified the contemporary industrial building style of its time, creating a soaring aesthetic effect with its steel structure, glass curtain walls, and low brick bases, designed by Harry Ramsay. Similar wide span structures transformed mundane industrial sheds into gravity defying temples. German-born architect Albert Kahn perfected this industrial building type in his works throughout the U.S., from New York to California; his bet known example is the Ford Motor Company's Crane Pavilion, built in 1930 in Richmond, CA. , Although the Somerville factory changed ownership several times over the decades, it steadily produced quality corrugated boxes and sheets. In 1941, under International Paper management, the factory was enlisted to help in the war effort. Of note, the factory produced packaging for the Army's K-Ration, an individual easy-to-carry ration used by troops during short combat operations - the K-Ration accompanied regiments across the European and Pacific theaters between 1942 and 1945.