Derek Strahan

Aside from running the Lost New England blog, Derek Strahan is the author of two books: Lost Springfield, Massachusetts and New England Then and Now, along with being the host of the Western Mass History podcast. Derek is a graduate of Westfield State University, with degrees in English and Regional Planning, and he currently works as a land use and environment planner in Western Massachusetts. Derek also serves on the board of directors of the Springfield Preservation Trust, and he lives in Western Massachusetts with his wife Melissa and their two sons.

State Street from the Armory, Springfield, Mass

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The view looking east on State Street from the sidewalk along the Armory grounds, sometime in the late 1800s. Photo from Springfield: Present and Prospective (1905).

The scene in 2019:

The buildings in these photos are the same as the ones in the previous post; the only difference is that they are seen from the opposite direction.  Although these two photos were taken well over 100 years apart, many of the buildings are still there, including the Gunn Block and the two adjacent buildings in the background, which date to the 1830s, and the three buildings in the center of the photo, which likely date to around the time of the Civil War.  Even one of the businesses from the first photo almost made it to the present-day; the sign for William Kavanagh is barely visible on the sign above the awning on the building to the far right.  Today, the building is gone, having long-since been replaced by a newer Kavanagh building, with a newer sign.  However, Kavanagh Furniture closed in 2008, although it was probably the longest-lasting of all of the businesses from the first photo.

 

 

State Street from Walnut Street, Springfield, Mass

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State Street looking west from Walnut Street, around 1895. Photo courtesy of James Ward Birchall Collection.

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The view in 2019:

As with the photos in this post, the historic Gunn Block (far left) is visible, along with the other two adjacent buildings, which also date back to the 1830s, making them among the oldest commercial buildings in Springfield; only Byers Block at Court Square and the Guenther & Handel’s Block on Stockbridge Street are of similar ages.  Further down State Street is another historic block of buildings; I couldn’t find specifics on these buildings, but based on the architecture they likely date to around the 1860s.

Corner of State and Walnut Streets, Springfield, Mass

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The corner of State Street and Walnut Street, looking east, sometime around 1892. Photo from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The scene in 2019:

The building on the left in the first photo is the Rockingham House, which is discussed in this post. To the right is the Gunn Block, which was built in 1836 and has served a variety of purposes over the years, originally as a store selling “West Indies Goods” but later as a meeting place, offices, a bar, and apartments. The building is now vacant, but it is owned by the organization Develop Springfield, and will hopefully be restored in the near future.

 

Rockingham House, Springfield, Mass

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The Rockingham House, on the southeast corner of State Street and Walnut Street, sometime around 1892. Photo from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The scene in 2019:

Built in 1796 diagonally across from the Armory, the Rockingham House was originally called the Armory House, for obvious reasons.  Along with being used as a lodging place for people associated with the Armory, it was primarily used by teamsters in the early part of the 19th century.  Long before railroads and Jimmy Hoffa, teamsters were the primary means of overland transportation from Springfield to Boston.  It was common for them to bring loads from riverboats up the hill.  The inn was conveniently located right at the top of the hill, so they would often stay overnight there before heading out the next morning.

Once the railroads linked Springfield to Boston in 1839, this part of the inn’s business declined, and it began to be used instead as a boarding house.  As mentioned in the 1884 King’s Handbook of Springfield, “It ceased to be a stopping-place for transient guests some time ago, but is still a pleasant home for some residents who do not care to keep house.”

Obviously, the Rockingham House no longer exists, although it wasn’t demolished to build a Burger King.  Rather, it was replaced by a gas station – a 1974 article from the Springfield Republican indicates that it was demolished “several years ago.”

Corner of State & Dwight Streets, Springfield Mass

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The view looking at the northeast corner of Dwight Street and State Street, sometime in the 1870s.  Photo from Springfield: Present and Prospective, published in 1905.

The same scene in 2014:

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The church on State Street in the first photo is the old Episcopalian Christ Church, which was built in 1839. When the congregation outgrew the building, the present-day church was constructed just up the hill (visible just to the right of the old church in the distance). I don’t know when the old church was demolished, but the location is now home to Springfield’s tallest apartment building.

State Street from Elliot Street, Springfield Mass

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The view looking east on State Street from near the intersection of State & Elliot, around 1908. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The view in 2015:

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As with the previous post, State Street in Springfield looks very different before and after Dutch Elm Disease.  However, far more has changed than just that.  This stretch of State Street, leading up the hill to the Armory, was once predominantly residential, mostly single-family homes.  Some of these historic homes are still here, and for the most part have been converted to commercial use.

The present-day photo actually appears to be a few steps ahead of where the 1908 photo was taken; the pillars on the extreme left-hand side of the 1908 photo appear to be those of the rectory of St. Michael’s Cathedral, which is directly across Elliot Street from the courthouse.  Barely visible through the trees in the left-center of the photo appears to be the Alexander House, which was built in 1811.  It is one of Springfield’s oldest existing buildings, although the construction of the federal courthouse, which now occupies the space along State Street between Elliot and Spring Streets, required it to be moved around the corner to a new location on Elliot.  However, the architect of the courthouse designed the building around the two massive trees that once stood next to the Alexander House, and one of the trees is visible on the left-hand side of the 2015 photo.  The trees are almost certainly there in the 1908 photo as well, but it’s hard to pick them out among all of the other foliage.  One other landmark that exists in both photos is the entrance to the Armory grounds at Byers Street; the gates are barely visible in the distance on the left-hand side of State Street.