Month: September 2016

Cathedral of Saint Paul, Worcester, Mass

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The Cathedral of Saint Paul, on Chatham Street in Worcester, around 1908. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The building in 2016:

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Although now a cathedral, when the first photo was taken this building was still a Roman Catholic parish church. The first services had been held in the church in 1869, while it was still under construction. It was completed in 1874, with prominent Worcester architect Elbridge Boyden as its designer. Boyden had previously designed Worcester’s landmark Mechanics Hall, although its Italianate architecture is very different from the Gothic Revival style of this church. The only major change to the exterior of the church was the addition of the tower on the right side of the building, which was built in 1889 based on Boyden’s original designs.

Very little has changed in this view since the first photo was taken, although the role of the church has changed somewhat. In 1950, it became a cathedral, and since then it has been the mother church of the Diocese of Worcester. Because of its historical and architectural significance, it is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Pleasant Street, Worcester, Mass

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Looking west on Pleasant Street from Main Street in Worcester, around 1895. Image from Picturesque Worcester (1895).

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Pleasant Street in 2016:

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Although these two photos were taken over 120 years apart, remarkably little has changed along the north side of Pleasant Street since the late 19th century. All of the buildings on the left (south) side were demolished by the 1960s to build the current Worcester Plaza tower, but the right side of the street features a mix of Victorian architecture. Starting on the far right in the foreground is the Odd Fellows Hall, a commercial block that was built in 1880, with upper floors that were rented by the Odd Fellows for many years. Just beyond it is Lothrop’s Opera House, which opened in 1891. Despite its very plain exterior, it has an elegant interior, and although now vacant it is the oldest surviving theater in the city. Beyond the theater are three brick Victorian buildings, the first of which is the Rice Block, built in the 1870s. The next one, the Lamb Block, was built in 1888, originally with five stories as seen in the first photo. The top two floors have since been removed, but otherwise the building is still standing. Finally, on the other side of the Lamb Block is the Luther-Baker Block, also built in 1888.

The buildings further in the distance in the first photo are now gone, but the remaining buildings form a significant unbroken row of 19th century buildings extending west from Main Street. As such, they are part of the Lower Pleasant Street Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. However, the future is somewhat in doubt for Lothrop’s Opera House. Its first floor storefronts remain in use, but the theater itself has been vacant for the past 10 years, and has recently been listed by Preservation Worcester as one of the city’s ten Most Endangered Structures.

State Mutual Building, Worcester, Mass

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The Second State Mutual Building, at the corner of Main and Maple Streets in Worcester, around 1908. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The building in 2016:

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Built in 1897, this office building was the first skyscraper in Worcester, and it was originally home to the State Mutual Life Assurance Company, who relocated from their much smaller quarters just down the street at 240 Main Street. It was designed by the prominent Boston architectural firm of Peabody and Stearns, and demonstrates the Classical Revival design that was becoming popular in commercial buildings at the turn of the century. To some extent, it bears a resemblance to the taller Ames Building, completed just four years earlier in Boston. Unlike the load-bearing masonry of the Ames Building, though, the nine-story State Mutual Building had a steel frame, a development that had been introduced into skyscraper design at the end of the 19th century.

None of the surrounding buildings are still standing from the first photo. Over the past 100 years, he city has grown up around it, but the historic building is still standing, essentially unaltered from its original exterior appearance. The only major changes have been the building’s tenants; State Mutual moved out in 1957, and it was later home to Commerce Bank. Now known as the Commerce Building, it remains in use as an office building, with commercial storefronts on the first floor along the Main Street side of the building.

Boynton Hall, Worcester, Mass

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Boynton Hall at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, around 1908. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The building in 2016:

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As mentioned in the previous post, Boynton Hall and the neighboring Washburn Shops to the right were the original two buildings on the campus of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Completed in 1868 the same year that the school opened, they were named for John Boynton and Ichabod Washburn, two local industrialists who helped to establish the school. At the time, the United States was experiencing a rapid growth in industry and technology, but there were relatively few colleges that focused on mechanical and scientific training. Among the first was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, which began holding classes in 1865, but WPI soon followed, with Boynton, Washburn, and other donors recognizing the value of such an education.

As the oldest building on campus, Boynton Hall looks very different from most of the others. With its granite exterior and Gothic architecture, it looks more like a traditional university building than later buildings such as the Salisbury Laboratories, which has a more utilitarian, industrial appearance. However, both building were designed by Stephen C. Earle, a Worcester-based architect who designed many public buildings in the city and surrounding areas. He was best known for his Romanesque designs such as the Central Congregational Church, but Boynton Hall was one of his earlier works, designed at a time when Gothic Revival was still a prominent style for institutional buildings.

By the time the first photo was taken, the building was already nearly 50 years old, but its exterior appearance had not changed much, and another century later it still looks essentially the same. On the inside, however, it has changed uses several times. Originally built to house classrooms and laboratories, the labs were moved out when the Salisbury building was completed in 1888, and in 1955 it was converted into administrative offices. Today, it continues to serve in this role, with offices for the president, provost, and other administrative departments.

Salisbury Laboratories, Worcester, Mass

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The Salisbury Laboratories building at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, around 1900-1910. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The building in 2016:

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This building is one of the oldest on the WPI campus, and was completed in 1888 to alleviate overcrowding at Boynton Hall. It provided additional classroom and lab space for the school, and was built with funds provided by Stephen Salisbury III, who had the building named in honor of his father, one of the founders of the school. Local architect Stephen C. Earle designed the building in a fairly conservative Romanesque design that more closely resembled a mill than an institution of higher learning, perhaps reflecting the practical, industrial nature of the school’s programs.

Over the years, the Salisbury Laboratories building has been significantly expanded, including a 1940 addition to the right that imitates Earle’s original design. The original building is still easily recognizable, though, and remains in use for classrooms, labs, and lecture halls. Further in the distance on the left, the historic 1868 Washburn Shops building is also still standing, and just out of view beyond it is Boynton Hall, which opened the same year and was the school’s first building.

National Guard Armory, Worcester, Mass

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The National Guard Armory at the corner of Salisbury and Grove Streets in Worcester, around 1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The building in 2016:

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This castle-like design was a common element of National Guard armories in Massachusetts built in the late 19th century, and similarly imposing structures from the same time period can be seen in Springfield and Boston. Although it was never besieged by enemy armies, and no arrows ever rained down from the turrets, the building has been a landmark feature at Wheaton Square ever since its completion in 1890. It was designed by the Worcester-based firm of Fuller & Delano, and as seen in an earlier post, it is one of several prominent Romanesque-style buildings that were constructed here around the same time period.

Today, the armory building is no longer used by the National Guard. For many years, it was home to the National Guard Museum and Archives, but in 2013 the museum moved to Concord, and the following year the building was transferred to Veterans, Inc., an organization that serves homeless veterans and had leased part of the building since 1991. It is also a contributing property in the Institutional District, on the National Register of Historic Places, and aside from the shortening of the central tower the building’s exterior remains well preserved over 125 years after its completion.