The Homestead Building, at 82-86 Worthington Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Photo courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust
The building in 2014:
According to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, this building on Worthington Street was built in 1903, although its architectural style makes it look more like something built in the 1880s, like a scaled-down version of the Chicopee Bank Building. The building was the home of Phelps Publishing Company, which produced the Springfield Homestead newspaper as well as several other weekly publications. In 1932, the building was sold to Blue Line Transportation Company, as seen in the first photo. From here, passengers could take buses to cities around New England and beyond; the Worthington Street side lists Hartford, New York, and Boston as destinations. Most recently, the building was used as a nightclub, which closed in 2014 following a shooting outside the building.
There’s another building that appears in both photos, although it isn’t as obvious. The tall, “L” shaped building that seems to loom over the Homestead Building was built in 190, and in the first photo it was home to the Springfield Photo Engraving Company. The building is still there today, although in 1949 it was trimmed down to three floors and now blends in with the Homestead Building.