The house at 283 Longhill Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.
The house in 2017:
This elegant English Revival-style house was built in 1927 for Harry B. Slingerland, a stock broker who also served as vice president and general manager of the General Ice Cream Company. During the 1930 census, he lived here with his wife Etta, their two daughters, and a servant, and the house was valued at $60,000. Equivalent to nearly $900,000 today, this value was comparable to the value of most of the surrounding homes, which were located on what was one of Springfield’s most desirable streets.
By the time the first photo was taken in the late 1930s, this house was the home of Dr. Alfred M. Glickman and his wife Rose. A Springfield native, Dr. Glickman graduated from Tufts in 1921 and worked as a surgeon here in Springfield. He also served as chairman of the school committee, becoming the first Jewish person to hold the position, and he later became the namesake for the Alfred M. Glickman School in Ashland Avenue. Rose was also very involved in civic life, and served as a director for a number of organizations, ranging from the Massachusetts Health Council to the Girls Clubs of America.
Dr. Glickman died in 1954, but Rose continued to live in this house until her death in 1980. Since then, very little has changed with the exterior of the house, and it it continues to stand out among the predominantly Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival mansions on Longhill Street. Along with the other homes in the neighborhood, the house is now part of the Forest Park Heights Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Harry B Slingerland was my maternal grandfather. My mother is his daughter, Phyllis, who grew up in the house. I have pictures of the interior of the house and the furnishings when Harry B Slingerland had the house built and furnished. I also have the list of the original furnishings and what was paid for them. Some of the furnishings are still owned by the family.
I just bought the house and would love to talk..Keith kccele@gmail.com
I would love to speak with you Liz. I recently purchased Rivendell and absolutely love it. kcc. https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-celebrezze-b494b420
Harry Slingerland built my home, Rivendell, in 1926 and lived there into the mid-30s. They sold the home to the Glickman’s. The good Alfred died in the ’50s, and Rose died here in 1980. Her family sold my home to Reverend Riddle, a very accomplished minister, who lived here with his wife for over 20 years, when they sold my home to Michael Gulish, who lived here another 20 years until 2020, when he sold Rivendell to my friend Johnny Assencio, who was kind enough to sell me my beautiful home, designed by Hermes himself. OA Hermes, architect
https://youtu.be/UjjWdlPTWPc?si=F-8do9uqpw-B51Kz
Rivendell is a place of love and peace, and always has been. The owls are battling as I write this..
I should have said the owls are deliberating Parliament matters. A group of owls is a parliament of course. The owls don’t fight here..
Someday I want to deserve to live here in my beautiful home Rivendell..
My parents purchased the house in 1980 from Mrs Glickman’s estate. They lived there until the late 90’s. It is a beautiful house with lots of unique features. I believe it was recently sold and the owners did a nice job restoring/maintaining the home.
I would love to speak with you Doug. I recently purchased Rivendell and absolutely love it. kcc. https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-celebrezze-b494b420
Reverend riddle was the communications director for Martin Luther King Jr’s March at Selma. Harry slingerland was an accomplished painter, and you can see his works online. He loved pretty women and fast cars. He was also a very good writer and Harvard grad, and you can read some of his writings in the Harvard yearbooks, a story called 50 Below is memorable. I am most fortunate to have been here these last 40 months, and I look forward to many more to follow..