Commercial Buildings Archives - Page 51 of 75

Center Street, Rutland Vermont (2)

June 2, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Another view looking east on Center Street from Merchants Row in Rutland, taken around 1907-1920. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company collection.

Center Street in 2015:

These photos were taken from nearly the same location as the ones in this post, but the historic photo here shows the north side of Center Street as it appeared in the years following the 1906 fire that destroyed most of the left-hand side of this scene. Since the first photo was taken, though, not much has changed. Some of the buildings have been altered, such as the Rutland Savings Bank building on the far right, but otherwise all of the prominent buildings from the early 20th century are still there today, including the Mead Building on the left, which is situated at the corner of Center Street and Merchants Row and replaced the earlier Bates House Hotel that had been destroyed in the fire. Today, the entire area is part of the Rutland Downtown Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

Center Street, Rutland Vermont (1)

June 2, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Looking east on Center Street from Merchants Row in Rutland, around 1904. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company collection.

Center Street in 2015:

This view of Center Street has seen plenty of changes over the years, but some of the original buildings are still there. The most obvious one is probably the Rutland Savings Bank building on the far right. It was built in the 1860s, but was substantially renovated in the 1950s. Most of its 19th century architectural detail was lost during this renovation, including the mansard roof, which was replaced with a fourth floor, and the pillared entrance, which was replaced with marble along the entire first floor of the building.

Across the street, several other 19th century buildings survive. The long, three story commercial blocks in the center date to the 1860s (left) and 1880s (right), and further up the hill is the red brick steeple of the 1872 First Baptist Church. However, none of the buildings in the left foreground of the first photo survive; these buildings were destroyed in a massive fire in February 1906, just a year or two after the photo was taken. The losses included the Bates House Hotel on the far left, which was replaced with the present-day building in 1907. The other two buildings on the left-hand side of the 2015 photo were also built in the immediate aftermath of the fire, in 1906-1907.

Elm Street, Westfield Mass

May 31, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Elm Street in Westfield, around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892)

Elm Street in 2015:

When the first photo was taken, Westfield was a significant industrial center, with factories that made everything from buggy whips (hence the city’s nickname as the “Whip City”) to organs, and as a result the town had a fairly prosperous downtown. In the years since the first photo was taken, the town has become a city, most of the factories have closed, and much of the city’s commercial activity has left the downtown area. However, many of the historic commercial blocks from the 19th century survive today, and the city has been making an effort to revitalize the downtown area, including a complete renovation of the town green and the rotary that surrounds it, part of which can be seen here in the 2015 photo.

The most prominent building in both photos is the commercial block to the right, at the corner of Elm and Main Streets. Known as the Morrissey Block, it was built in 1842 as a boarding house, and by the time the first photo was taken it was operated as the Westfield House Hotel. After the hotel closed, the second floor was used as the Westfield District Court in the early part of the 20th century, and today the historic building is used for a variety of commercial and office spaces.

State and Main Streets, Springfield Mass

July 21, 2015May 29, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Foot’s Block at the southwest corner of State and Main Streets in Springfield, around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The location around 1910. Image from View Book of Springfield (1910)

The building in 2015:

The site now occupied by 1200 Main Street has had its share of historic buildings over the years. Thomas Bates built a tavern here in 1773, which operated well into the 19th century. On the surface, it was a popular stagecoach tavern that regularly entertained visiting dignitaries like Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. However, it also operated clandestinely a stop on the Underground Railroad. It stood here until 1847, when it was moved a few lots west on State Street, as seen in this post, which gives more details about its history.

After the old tavern was moved in 1847, businessman Homer Foot built Foot’s Block, the building seen in the 1892 photo here. It didn’t take long for Foot to find tenants for the commercial and office space in the building; in 1851,the newly-incorporated Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company rented office number 8 in the building as their original company office. The company would later move to their own building a few blocks up Main Street, but by the first decade of the 20th century they had moved back to the corner of Main and State. However, instead of renting a single suite as they had some 50 years earlier, they demolished Foot’s Block and replaced it with the 12-story tower that stands there today.

The building was completed in 1908, and at 125 feet it is the same height as the steeple of Old First Church. In response to the construction of this building. and because of fears that the city would be overtaken by modern skyscrapers, the Massachusetts legislature set 125 feet as the height limit for any building in Springfield, a law that stood until 1970. As a result, despite being over a century old it is still tied for 7th tallest building in the city. MassMutual didn’t stay here for too long, however. In 1927 with a continually-expanding company and little room in downtown, MassMutual moved to their present-day home a few miles up State Street in the Pine Point neighborhood. Menawhile, the historic office building here at the corner of State and Main is now owned by MGM Springfield, who plan to preserve the building for MGM’s offices once the casino is built adjacent to it.

Old Town Hall, Springfield Mass

July 8, 2016May 28, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Springfield’s old town hall building on State Street near Main Street, around 1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The scene in 2015:

The building in the first photo once served as Springfield’s town hall before it was incorporated as a city. It was built in 1828, and Springfield became a city in 1852, at which point a more substantial building was needed for the municipal government. So, in 1855 Springfield City Hall opened across from Court Square, in approximately the same location as the present-day City Hall. Meanwhile, this building on State Street continued to be used for a variety of purposes. The first floor was home to several different businesses, including a meat market and wallpaper store, as seen in the first photo. By the 1880s, the second floor was still owned by the city, and the third floor by the Masons. It was demolished around 1937, and today the location where it once stood is now part of the MassMutual Center.

Market Street, Springfield Mass

July 21, 2015May 28, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Looking north on Market Street from East Court Street in Springfield, c.1892. Image from Picturesque Hampden (1892)

Market Street in 2015:

Market Street once ran parallel to Main Street from State Street to Harrison Avenue, and these two photos show the northern section of the street toward Harrison Avenue. This was never a major thoroughfare in the city – in fact, in the 1892 photo it looks more like an alley running behind the buildings on Main Street. Today, the southern section of Market Street no longer exists at all; the section from State Street to East Court Street is now part of the MassMutual Center. North of here, the street still exists, but it is a pedestrian-only walkway.

Most of the buildings from the first photo no longer exist. On the right-hand side, F.B. Taylor once supplied builders with doors, windows, lumber, and paint; today this spot is occupied by the MassMutual Center. In the distance is the steeple for Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, which once stood on Bridge Street. Today, the congregation still exists at the large stone church on Sumner Avenue. The only building in the first photo that survives today is the Springfield Five Cents Savings Bank building, seen on the far left. The Main Street facade of this building has since been substantially altered, but from the rear it is still recognizable as being the same one.