Main Street Springfield Archives - Page 9 of 11

Main Street & Harrison Ave, Springfield, Mass

August 26, 2017January 27, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Main Street in Springfield, looking south from near Harrison Ave., around 1910-1913. Photo from Progressive Springfield, Massachusetts (1913).

The same scene in 2017:

These views show some of the changes that have occurred on the east side of Main Street, south of Harrison Avenue. The buildings in the foreground of the first photo are long gone; Today, Harrison Ave passes diagonally through those lots to cross Main Street where Boland Way (formerly Vernon Street) intersects. The building just to the right of Harrison Ave in the first photo is also gone, replaced by the 10 story building in the 2014 photo.

However, most of the other buildings in the first photo are still there, including the former Johnson’s Bookstore building, which was built in 1861, around the same time as the two buildings on either side of it. The facade was remodeled in 1908, but it once matched the buildings on either side of it. To the right of the bookstore building is the oldest in the scene, the 1858 Republican Block. This was the home of the Springfield Republican newspaper from 1858 to 1867, during the era when the paper was endorsing Abraham Lincoln for president and reporting news on the Civil War and Lincoln’s assassination. Beyond the Republican Block is the Union Trust Building, with its distinctive arch over the main entrance. It was built in 1907, and both it and the Republican Block are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Game Day in Springfield, Mass

July 18, 2018June 4, 2014 by Derek Strahan

A banner in downtown Springfield advertising the Brown-Dartmouth football game at Hampden Park on November 25, 1905. Photo from Springfield: Present and Prospective, published in 1905.

The same view in 2018:

In terms of sports, Springfield may be best known as the birthplace of basketball, but it was also once the site of several significant college football games. Hampden Park, located near the North End Bridge, was once used for Ivy League games such as Harvard-Yale and, as is the case here, Brown-Dartmouth. The history of Hampden Park is discussed further in this post, and the game pictured in the first photo on that post is likely the game referenced here on this banner, which Dartmouth ultimately won 24-6.

Not much else has stayed the same in this scene; all of the buildings are gone, although parts of the Massassoit House (far left) were incorporated into the Paramount Theatre. However, the 1890 railroad bridge still exists, although the road grade has had to be lowered to accommodate larger vehicles. I have re-created a few other photos of this general area, which can be seen here and here.

Memorial Square, Springfield, Mass

February 9, 2018March 23, 2014 by Derek Strahan

Memorial Square and Memorial Congregational Church in Springfield, Mass., around 1908. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2014:

Built in 1869, the former Memorial Congregational Church has been home to St. George Greek Orthodox Church (now Cathedral) since 1940. In the foreground is a monument to Massachusetts veterans from the Spanish-American War. Neither the church nor the statue have changed much in appearance, although the quiet elm-lined streets have changed; Memorial Square is now the intersection of Routes 20 (left) and 116 (right), and the on-ramp for Interstate 91 is visible just beyond the church, on Route 20.

Corner of Main & State Streets, Springfield

January 24, 2016January 13, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The northeast corner of Main and State in Springfield, sometime in the 19th century. Photo from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The same location, around 1892. Photo from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The corner in 2014:

Many of these Springfield street scenes follow a predictable pattern over the past 150 years or so – first, a pre-Civil War Federal style commercial block, followed by a larger, more ornate building in the latter part of the 19th century, and finally some sort of modern, 20th century structure. In this case, we clearly see all three generations of commercial development at the corner of Main and State, culminating with the MassMutual Center of the 1970s. Of particular interest is the building in the second photo – above the entrance is a sign that reads “G. & C. Merriam & Co Publishers,” the publishers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Today, the company is still headquartered in Springfield, just up the hill on Federal Street. See this post and this post for a few other angles of the neighborhood that is now the MassMutual Center.

Chicopee Bank Building, Springfield

January 24, 2016January 12, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The Chicopee Bank Building, at the corner of Main and Elm, sometime before 1889. Photo from Springfield Present and Prospective (1905).

The same location, between 1889 and 1895. Photo courtesy of James Ward Birchall Collection.

The scene in 2014:

The original building was built in 1835, at the same time as the other three-story commercial buildings on and around Court Square. It was demolished in 1889 and replaced by the current structure, which survives with minimal changes. The building to the left, however, has been trimmed down in height. On the other side, along Elm Street, the 1835 Byers Block survives as a remnant of what the old Chicopee Bank building once looked like.

Court Square, Springfield (6)

January 24, 2016January 12, 2014 by Derek Strahan

Springfield’s Court Square, sometime in the 1880s or earlier. Photo from Springfield Present and Prospective (1905).

The scene in the 1890s. Photo from Our County and Its People: A History of Hampden County, Massachusetts (1902).

The scene in 2014:

The three photos show the progression of the appearance of Court Square in the past 125+ years. In the first photo, the buildings along Elm Street are all 1830’s-era three story commercial buildings, most of which were replaced by the Court Square Theater in 1892, which can be seen in the second photo, a rare view of the building before the 1900 expansion on the right side. That is essentially the only change between the second photo and today’s scene – not much has changed with the four major buildings in this angle. One notable survivor on the far left is the Byers Block, which was built in 1835 and is the last remaining part of the Elm Street commercial blocks from the first photo. Wedged in between two much larger late 19th century building, it is the oldest surviving commercial building in the city, although not the oldest building in the photo – Old First Church on the far right dates to 1819.