1910s Archives - Page 46 of 57

Springfield Hospital, Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016January 8, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Springfield Hospital, around 1905-1915. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The site in 2014, now the home of Baystate Medical Center:

From its humble beginnings as Springfield Hospital in 1883, this location has grown into one of the largest hospitals in the state. The first major expansion happened within 20-30 years of when the first photo was taken, when the building in the 2014 photo opened. Since then, the hospital has significantly expanded the area behind this building, and the large, grassy area in front of the hospital is now a parking lot.

Chestnut Junior High School, Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016January 4, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Chestnut Junior High School in Springfield, around 1905-1915. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2014:

Chestnut Junior High School opened in 1903, at the corner of Chestnut and Prospect Streets in the North End of Springfield. The building was used as a school for 101 years, before closing in 2004. In the years after its closing, several redevelopment proposals were floated, including a seemingly promising plan to convert the school into condominiums, much like what was done with Classical High School on State Street in 1986. Built only a few years before Chestnut, the school was successfully converted into condos, but that would not be the case with this school in the North End. The building suffered from water damage and other deterioration, so the renovation costs, combined with a less than desirable neighborhood, meant that the proposal went nowhere. It was vacant until September 2013, when it was destroyed by a fire. The site has since been cleared, and nothing remains of the historic school building.

The Post Master and His Corps, Springfield, Mass

November 26, 2016December 13, 2014 by Derek Strahan

A group of postal employees on the front steps of Springfield’s Central High School (later Classical High School) around 1910. Photo from View Book of Springfield (1910).

The building in 2014:

All that I know about the first photo is that it was taken on the front steps of the former high school, which can be seen in this post, and that it was titled “The Post Master and His Corps” in the View Book of Springfield. I’m assuming that means that all of these men are Springfield’s postal employees from a century ago, but the location of the photo puzzles me. It would seem to make more sense to have a group photo of postal workers at, say, the Post Office, but in any case the front entrance where they did pose is still there, mostly unchanged, although the building itself is no longer a school. The school closed in 1986, and today it is a condominium building.

Art Museum, Springfield, Mass

November 26, 2016December 13, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The Art Museum in Springfield, around 1912-1920. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The museum in 2014:

Known today as the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, it was established in 1896 and is the oldest of the museum buildings in The Quadrangle, which consists of two art museums, a science museum, and a Springfield history museum. The building is named after its benefactor, a New York City carriage maker who left the business when he was 35 to collect art. Today, the building is still there and it still houses his collection, although at some point it was expanded to the left, making this facade more or less symmetrical. In the foreground is the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden, which celebrates the work of the Springfield native who was attending high school across the street from here around the time that the first photo was taken. On the far right of both photos is the back of the Central Library building, which opened in 1912.

Springfield Municipal Group, Springfield, Mass

November 26, 2016November 22, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The Springfield Municipal Group in Springfield, Mass., around 1913. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2014:

Springfield’s former City Hall burned down in 1905, allegedly after a monkey overturned a kerosene lamp. The site remained vacant for a few years, as seen in this c.1908 photo, but by 1909 construction began on the Noe-Renaissance complex, which consisted of not just a new City Hall (located on the left-hand side), but also an auditorium, known as Symphony Hall, and 300 foot bell tower in between. Construction was still ongoing in the first photo, as evidenced by the fencing around the building. It was dedicated on December 8, 1913, probably soon after the photo was taken, with former president William Howard Taft presiding over the ceremonies. Taft had previously visited Springfield just a year and a half earlier, to campaign in an ultimately unsuccessful re-election effort.

When they opened 101 years ago, the buildings of the Municipal Group symbolized the prosperity of the city. Today, its surroundings have changed, as has the rest of the city, but the three buildings are still there. One of the major changes has been the skyline – the bell tower was the tallest in the city from the time of its construction until 1973. This was due to a 1908 state law that limited Springfield’s buildings to under 125 feet in height – the height of the steeple of Old First Church. It wasn’t until 1970 that the law was repealed, which is one of the reasons why Springfield has a comparatively smaller skyline than other major cities in New England.

Another major change is the Court Square extension, which opened not long before the first photo was taken. It extended from the back of Old First Church all the way to the railroad tracks along the Connecticut River, and appears in the foreground of the first photo. Today, not much is left of the western extension of the square; I-91 now passes over it, and East Columbus Avenue, seen in the foreground, now cuts diagonally through it.

Springfield Institution for Savings, Springfield, Mass

November 26, 2016November 21, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The Springfield Institution for Savings building on Elm Street in Springfield, around 1910. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The site in 2014:

The first photo shows the former home of the Springfield Institution for Savings, one of Springfield’s first banks. Today, the building no longer exists, and neither does the company. SIS is now part of TD Bank, and the site of the building is now part of the Hampden County Courthouse. Even the street that the bank was once on, Elm Street, no longer really exists. It used to extend from Main Street to present-day East Columbus Avenue, but the construction of the new courthouse in the 1970s caused the street to be truncated, and today it is a street in name only, as the section along Court Square is gated off, and the section next to Old First Church is essentially a parking lot for courthouse employees.

What really interested me in this picture, though, is the car parked outside. Here is a close-up of it:

Along with giving us a clue as to the date (the license plate appears to read “1910”), it also shows an intriguing and long-forgotten part of Springfield history. The car was made by Springfield-based Knox Automobile Company, who made cars in the city from 1900 until 1914, and trucks until 1924. Their factory was on Wilbraham Road in the Mason Square neighborhood, right across the street from the Indian Motorcycle factory. The Knox building is still there, although it is in pretty rough shape and was included in the 2014 list of Springfield’s most endangered buildings.

I am fairly certain that the car in the photo is a 1909 Model “O,” although I am no expert on early 20th century automobiles, so if someone more knowledgeable than me knows otherwise, let me know. Assuming it was a Model “O,” though, it would’ve been $3,000 car 1909. Adjusted for inflation, that would be over $75,000 in 2014 dollars, so the owner would’ve been a fairly wealthy person. Today, though, cars don’t look like that, as the pickup truck and station wagon bear witness to in the 2014 photo. However, at least one 1909 Knox Model “O” still exists today; this article explains the process of restoring the car and includes plenty of post-restoration photos.