In 1971 the New England Wireless and Steam Museum built the first part of the Merriam Steam Building. The William A. Harris engine with the Tangye bed had recently been donated by National Laundry in Dorchester Massachusetts and it needed a home. As you can see from the following four photographs the foundation for the Harris engine was built and the engine was assembled on the foundation before the building was built. The National Guard (Dark Coat, Dark Pants) did the heavy work while Robert Merriam (Light Coat, Dark Pants) and Nancy Merriam (Light Coat, Light Pants) supervised.
The following photographs show the Merriam Steam Building in the summer of 1971 during construction. In the foreground of the fourth photograph you can see the disassembled Fitchburg engine that powered the Noone Textile Mill in Peterboro, NH.
In the picture to the above right you can see the Fitchburg engine that powered the Noone Textile Mill in Peterboro, NH in the foreground and the American Ball engine that generated electricity for the National Laundry Company in Dorchester, MA at the left.