Martin guitar’s original factory hits a high note
Nazareth site that produced guitars for more than 100 years gets national honor
The Nazareth-based company announced this week that its first manufacturing building is now a national historic landmark.
News 13
Guitar manufacturer C.F. Martin & Co.’s original factory in Nazareth has landed on the National Register of Historic Places, the company announced this week.
Martin Guitar’s North Street Complex, which includes the company’s former manufacturing buildings, powerhouse, and Martin homestead, has been named a National Historical Landmark.
National Historic Landmarks are the register’s pre-eminent designation, reserved for places that possess “exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States” in a variety of areas, according to National Park Service criteria.
“I am very proud that my family’s original factory in Nazareth has been selected for National Historic Landmark status,” Chris Martin, company chairman and CEO, said in a news release.
“For well over 100 years, this facility produced many of the guitars, ukuleles, and mandolins used by professionals and amateur musicians across the U.S. and around the world. The music made on Martin instruments was and is a very significant part of musical culture for generations.”
“The music made on Martin instruments was and is a very significant part of musical culture for generations.” — Chris Martin, company chairman and CEO
C. F. Martin Sr. left his homeland of Markneukirchen, Germany, in 1833 and emigrated to the United States, where his family settled in New York City. He set up shop at 196 Hudson Street on the Lower West Side, where the earliest Martin guitars were made.
The modest structure included limited guitar production in the back room with a retail store up front, selling everything from cornets to sheet music.
A few years later, C. F. Martin’s wife traveled to eastern Pennsylvania and fell in love with the tranquil countryside that reminded her of home. Upon returning to New York, she convinced her husband to make the move, and, in 1839, he sold his retail store in New York City and moved to the outskirts of Nazareth.
In 1856, the Moravians opened the town of Nazareth to outsiders and agreed to sell land within its borders. In 1857, Martin purchased the block of land at North and Main streets and began building what would become this historic landmark.
The North Street plant, with its multistory construction and numerous additions, was operational through 1964, when, to keep up with rising demand, the company moved to a new facility on Sycamore Street in Upper Nazareth Township.