Houses Archives - Page 98 of 125

Rufus Chase House, Springfield, Mass

February 24, 2017February 24, 2017 by Derek Strahan

The house at 5 Madison Avenue in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2016:

In the late 1800s, the Maple Street area of Springfield became the home to some of the city’s wealthiest residents, and some of the finest homes. Here at the corner of Central Street and Madison Avenue, lumber dealer Rufus Chase built this large brick house. It was designed by Perkins and Gardner, the same local architectural firm that also designed many of the houses on Mattoon Street, and it was completed in 1872.

Chase did not live here long, though, and by 1880 it was owned by John C. Alden, who was listed in the census as a “manufacturer of woolen goods.” He was 34 at the time, and lived here with his wife Henrietta and an Irish servant, Helen Lynch.

John Alden died in 1900, but this house had already changed hands before then, and by the 1900 census it was owned by John S. Sanderson, who lived here with his daughter Carrie, her husband William O. Day, and their 18 year old daughter, Hazel. Day was a longtime employee of Morgan Envelope Company. In 1871, after his sophomore year in high school, he left school to work for the company, and two years later they achieved prominence as the first company to manufacture postcards. He eventually became a director of the company, and after it was absorbed by the United States Envelope Company in 1901, he became that company’s treasurer.

In 1910 the Days were still living here, although John Sanderson had died in 1903. Their daughter Hazel also lived here, along with her husband, George W. Pike, a stock broker. Like many other upper middle class families, they also employed a live-in servant, Rose Waramac, a 22 year old biracial woman from Virginia. Carrie Day died in 1918, and by 1920 William was remarried and living in a different house at 54 Ridgewood Place. Hazel and George remained here at this house, though, along with their eight year old daughter Hazel and a different servant, Mary O’Connell, a 32 year old Irish immigrant.

George Pike died in 1932 while still living at this house, and William O. Day died in 1939. By the time the first photograph was taken, George’s widow Hazel was still living here, and the only other resident in this massive house was Augusta Larson, a Swedish maid. The census records are unavailable after 1940, so it is unclear how long Hazel lived here, but she died in 1952. She and her husband are buried in Springfield Cemetery, which is located directly behind the house where she spent most of her life.

Now nearly 150 years old, this historic house has seen few significant changes to the exterior, aside from the enclosed front porch. No longer a single family home, it has been used for many years as the Marathon House, a group home for treating drug and alcohol addition, and is currently operated by Phoenix House.

Merrick-Phelps House, Springfield, Mass

April 9, 2017February 23, 2017 by Derek Strahan

The Merrick-Phelps House at 83 Maple Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2017:

This house at the corner of Maple and Union Streets was built in 1841 as the home of Solyman Merrick, a tool manufacturer who, six years earlier, had invented the monkey wrench. He sold his patent to Stephen C. Bemis, and had apparently made enough money off the sale to afford this elegant house. The same year he moved into this house, Merrick married Henrietta Bliss, and the couple lived here until her death, just three years later. In 1847, Merrick sold the house and had another new one built, this time nearly across the street at 104 Maple Street.

The second owner of this house was Ansel Phelps, an attorney who served as mayor from 1856 to 1858. He died in 1860, and for many years this section of Maple Street continued to be the home of some of the city’s most prominent residents. This house remained as a single-family home well into the 20th century, but gradually fell into decline along with the rest of the neighborhood, suffering from years of neglect.

By the early 2000s it was badly deteriorated. The interior had significant water damage, and the exterior porches and pillars were collapsing. However, it was purchased by DevelopSpringfield in 2013, and the organization restored the home to its original condition. The restoration was completed in 2016, with the interior being converted into offices. Along with this house, DevelopSpringfield is also working on restoring the adjacent 1832 Female Seminary, visible in the background of both photos. When complete, these two restored buildings, along with the carriage house of the Merrick-Phelps House, will form an office park of historic 19th century buildings.

Country Club, Pittsfield, Mass

February 18, 2017 by Derek Strahan

The Country Club of Pittsfield, on South Street, around 1900-1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2016:

The Country Club of Pittsfield was established on this site on South Street in 1900, but the building that became the clubhouse actually dates back more than a century earlier. It was built in 1785 by Henry Van Schaack, who lived here until 1807. During this time, he entertained visitors such as Alexander Hamilton, Chief Justice John Jay, and Senator Philip Schuyler. From 1816 to 1837, it was the home of author Herman Melville’s uncle, Thomas Melville.By this point, Pittsfield was becoming a popular destination for some of the great writers of the era, and Thomas’s son Robert took advantage of this. He purchased the house from his father in 1837 and opened Melville Hall, a resort whose guests included literary figures such as Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

In 1850, the house was sold to the Morewood family, who renamed it Broad Hall and lived here for the next 50 years. Prominent guests continued to visit here during this time, including former president John Tyler. After the Morewoods sold the property to the country club in 1900, the house very nearly hosted another president. Theodore Roosevelt was in Pittsfield on September 3, 1902, and was traveling in a horse-drawn carriage on South Street, heading for the country club. With him was governor Winthrop M. Crane, along with several others. Shortly before reaching the country club, the carriage was hit by a speeding trolley, throwing the occupants out of the carriage. Roosevelt suffered a bloody lip and bruised face, and was reportedly only two inches away from being crushed by the wheels of the trolley, but was otherwise unhurt, and later remarked that “It takes more than a trolley accident to knock me out.” However, Secret Service agent William Craig was killed in the accident, making him the first agent to be killed in the line of duty.

Today, the country club is still located on this property, although the clubhouse has significantly expanded from its original 18th century building. The historic structure is still easily distinguished from the modern additions, though. It still has its distinct Federal architecture, and aside from its connection to so many historic figures, it also serves as a rare example of an 18th century mansion in Pittsfield.

Thomas Colt House, Pittsfield, Mass

January 29, 2017 by Derek Strahan

The Thomas Colt House at 42 Wendell Avenue in Pittsfield, around 1900. Image from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and Vicinity (1900).

The house in 2016:

This house was built in 1866 by Thomas Colt, an industrialist who was, at the time, one of the largest paper manufacturers in the state. In 1856, he had purchased a paper mill on the eastern edge of Pittsfield, in the neighborhood that later became known as Coltsville. The business was soon successful, and a decade later he built his house here. It had a prime location just a short walk away from downtown Pittsfield, and the 15-room Italianate mansion cost an estimated $40,000 for him to build.

Unfortunately for Colt, he did not get to enjoy it for very long. The nation’s economy, particularly in the north, was booming in the years following the Civil War. However, it was followed by the Panic of 1873, which caused a serious economic recession. Many wealthy businessmen lost their fortunes, including Thomas Colt, whose factory soon closed. By 1874, he was a half million dollars in debt – over $10 million today – and he died two years later.

The house was subsequently owned by Alexander Joslin and his family, and later by Simon England, a businessman who owned the England Brothers store in Pittsfield. In 1937, he donated the home to the Women’s Club of the Berkshires, and this organization became, by far, the house’s longest owner. They remained here until 2011, and sold the house the following year. It is now the Whitney Center for the Arts, and it is a contributing property in the Park Square Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

Elm Knoll, Pittsfield, Mass

January 16, 2017 by Derek Strahan

Elm Knoll, at the corner of East Street and Appleton Avenue in Pittsfield, around 1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The site in 2016, now Pittsfield High School:

This house on East Street in Pittsfield was built in 1790, and by 1800 it was owned by Thomas Gold. It remained in his family for many years, and was a summer home for his son-in-law, Nathan Appleton, a prominent merchant from Boston. Appleton’s daughter Frances married poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1843, and the newlyweds spent part of their honeymoon here in this house. During their stay, Longfellow wrote a poem, “The Old Clock on the Stairs,” based on a clock in the house.

By the time the first photograph was taken, the house had evidently undergone some changes. Earlier photos show a very different looking house, so in the late 19th century it was apparently brought into line with Victorian tastes, with a bay window over the front entrance and a mansard roof in place of the earlier hip roof.

The prominent Plunkett family owned the house by the time the first photo was taken. Its last resident would be Harriet E. Plunkett, who lived here until 1929, when the house was demolished to build Pittsfield High School, which now stands on the site. However, a replica of the house was built for her at 20 Crofut Street. This house is still there, showing what Elm Knoll looked like prior to its Victorian renovations.

Prospect Street, Providence, RI

February 9, 2018November 27, 2016 by Derek Strahan

Looking north on Prospect Street near Olive Street in Providence, around 1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2016:

Providence’s College Hill neighborhood is the city’s premier residential area, featuring Brown University as well as numerous historic 19th century homes. This section of Prospect Street is just a few blocks north of Brown, and includes one of the city’s largest homes, the Woods-Gerry House on the left side of the photo. It was designed by prominent architect Richard Upjohn and completed in 1863, and was built as the home of Dr. Marshall Woods, a Brown graduate of 1845 who remained involved in his alma mater for the rest of his life, including serving as the school’s treasurer from 1866 to 1882.

After Dr Woods’s death in 1899, the house remained in his family’s ownership until 1931, when it was sold to Peter Goelet Gerry. It was subsequently sold to the Rhode Island School of Design in 1959, who planned to demolish it. The irony of a design school wanting to demolish the work of a pre-eminent 19th century architect was apparently lost on the school administration, but after many years of calls for its preservation, the school finally decided to restore it. Today, it remains in use as offices for their admissions department, and overall very little has changed in this scene during the past 110 years.