History of FX Masse Hardware in Observatory Hill
The Apartments at Masse Corner pays homage with its name to the iconic Cambridge hardware store that stayed open for 125-years. Benjamin Harrison was elected president in the year of 1888 when Francis Xavier Masse opened his hardware store at the corner of Sherman and Walden streets in the Observatory Hill neighborhood of Cambridge.
F.X. Masse Hardware Co. was a local retail staple throughout the decades, known for great advice and personal service, and the go-to place to pick up an emergency repair goods or have keys made.
Unlike the big box retailers of today, FX Masse Hardware Co. was an old-fashioned corner hardware store known for their down-to-earth staff that could point you in the right direction with a variety of tools and loose screws, bolts and fasteners for sale in bins and drawers.
The hardware store closed its doors in 2013 with the retirement of the owner who converted the building into apartments.
After working 60 years at the hardware store founded by his grandfather in 1888, he sold the open parking lot across the street. This is now the home of the Apartments at Masse Corner.
The signage of FX Masse Hardware Co. still adorns the building as a historical reminder of the business that once served the community with its hardware goods for over a century.
The Observatory Hill area has undergone many pivotal transformations throughout the years like the development of St. Peters Field and Danehy Park, which used to be the Cambridge landfill 60 years ago.
Residents at the Apartments at Masse Corner will now be apart of that rich history, adding a new chapter as locals who love and enjoy the Cambridge, MA neighborhood.
Learn more about the F.X. Masse Hardware story with this story in the Boston Globe.