263-265 Union Street, Springfield, Mass

The duplex at 263-265 Union Street, seen around 1938-1939.  Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

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The building in 2015:

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Like its neighbor in the previous post, this duplex was built in the 1870s in the Second Empire style that was popular in the United States during this period.  As this area was developed in the late 1800s, many middle class professionals moved in, including Dr. S.W. Bowles, a physician who, according to the 1882 city atlas, lived in the unit to the right.  The same atlas also indicates that J.H. Appleton lived on the left side; this appears to have been Julius H. Appleton, who was a railroad executive and later became president of the Springfield Institution for Savings and a member of the state Governor’s Council.  Assuming this is the same J.H. Appleton listed on the map, he didn’t live here for too long, though; by the late 1880s he was living in his new mansion at 313 Maple Street.

In the 2015 view, the house is partially hidden by the tree in front, but on the exterior it still retains most of its original features, including the asymmetrical bay windows on the right side and the two-story Victorian over the front doors  From this angle, the only real difference is the minor change to front steps and the addition of handrails.

247-249 Union Street, Springfield, Mass

The duplex at 247-249 Union Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

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The building in 2015:

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This Victorian duplex is one of several along this section of Union Street that were built as the city’s population began to spread out from the original downtown area.  Many middle class professionals lived in this area, including music store owner Levi M. Pierce, who lived in the unit on the right side.  He appears to have been the original owner, living here from its construction in 1870 until his death in 1908.  His two children, William and Leona, grew up here, and William went on to become the president of Kenyon College in Ohio, serving from 1896 until 1937.  Leona also distinguished herself in academia; she graduated from Smith College and later received her Ph.D from Yale in 1899, with scintillatingly-titled doctoral thesis: “On Chain-Differentiants of a Ternary Quantics.”  Leona took over her father’s music business after his death, and she was probably still living here when the first photo was taken.  Today’s scene shows a few modifications to the house, especially the front porch and the steps, but otherwise it is a good example of Second Empire architecture from the Victorian era in Springfield.

Berkeley Building, Boston

The Berkeley Building at the corner of Boylston and Berkeley Streets in Boston, around 1908. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The building in 2015:

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Not to be confused with the old John Hancock Building a block away, which is also known as the Berkeley Building, this building was completed in 1905 and is an excellent surviving example of Beaux-Arts architecture in Boston.  It was designed by Stephen Codman and Constant-Désiré Despradelle; the latter was a noted architect and professor at MIT, which at the time was located diagonally across from here.  Over a century later, the building is still in good condition, with even the original 1905 storefronts still intact.

Also of note in the first photo is the group of rowhouses just to the right of the Berkeley Building. These were built in 1861 and were among the first houses to be built in the newly-filled Back Bay area.  Over time, Boylston Street became a major commercial center, and most of the original homes were demolished.  These ones survived into the early 20th century, but the first photo shows drastic changes on the ground level to create storefronts.  The one in the middle would be demolished soon after the first photo was taken, but the houses on either end are still standing today, although they are mostly hidden behind 20th century alterations.

First Baptist Church, Boston

The First Baptist Church in Boston, at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Clarendon Street in the Back Bay, as seen around 1890-1901. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The church in 2015:

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The First Baptist Church was one of many prominent Boston churches that relocated to the Back Bay in the late 1800s, although this building wasn’t originally built for them.  It was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson, whose later works would include Trinity Church a few blocks away at Copley Square.  The top of the tower features carvings by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who also designed the Statue of Liberty.  The building was completed in 1875 for Brattle Street Church, a Unitarian church that had previously been located where City Hall is today.  However, the church didn’t last long here; they disbanded in 1876 and sold their new building to the First Baptist Church in 1882.  They are one of the oldest Baptist congregations in the country, dating back to 1665, and they are still located here on Commonwealth Avenue over 130 years later.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The old Museum of Fine Arts building at Copley Square in Boston, probably sometime in the 1880s. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

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The building around 1890-1901. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The location in 2015:

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Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts was established in 1870, and six years later it moved into this Gothic Revival building on the south side of Copley Square.  Because of the museum’s presence here, it was originally named Art Square, but in the 1880s it was renamed in honor of colonial Boston painter John Singleton Copley.  The museum has a substantial collection of his works, including portraits of prominent figures such as John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere.

In 1909, the museum relocated further down Huntington Avenue in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood, on a larger plot of land that allowed for more expansion as the museum grew.  Today’s museum is many times larger than the original Copley Square building, and it is among the most visited art museums in the world, attracting over a million visitors each year.  The old art museum was demolished soon after the museum moved, and in 1912 the Copley Plaza Hotel, which is still standing today, was built on the site.

Trinity Church, Boston (2)

Another view of Trinity Church at Copley Square, taken around 1909. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The scene in 2015:

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As mentioned in the previous post, Trinity Church has been a prominent landmark at Copley Square since its completion in 1877, and this scene shows the view from in front of the Boston Public Library facing east across Copley Square and down Boylston Street.  It is essentially the opposite direction of the photos in this post, which were taken from the steps of Trinity Church. The church itself is still standing, but not much else from the first photo survives today.  The original MIT campus, seen in the distance on the left side of Boylston Street, is gone; the school relocated across the river to Cambridge a few years after the first photo was taken.  The other buildings behind the church to the left and right have also since been replaced with modern skyscrapers, so today the only other buildings that remain are the ones on the far left on Boylston Street, which were featured in this post.