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.

Mount Tom Summit House View, Holyoke, Mass.

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The view of Easthampton from the Summit House on Mount Tom, around 1908. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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Approximately the same view in 2014:

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It’s almost impossible to get an identical view, because the Summit House no longer exists, and the actual site of it has radio towers that are behind fences.  However, these two photos both show the same general section of the boardwalk that once went across the summit. The 2014 photo was probably taken around the spot in the lower left of the 1908 photo where a flat rock protrudes above the boardwalk. Compare to a similar “before” view, and a 2010 view of the location.

Grace Coolidge at home in Northampton Mass

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First Lady Grace Coolidge at her home in Northampton in 1928. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

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The view in 2014:

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Massasoit Street, where the Coolidges lived from 1906 until 1930, remains largely unchanged – even the concrete slabs on the walkway appear to be the same ones that Mrs. Coolidge stepped on in the 1928 photo.  See also this post and this post for other photos of the Coolidges at their home.

Grace & John Coolidge, Northampton Mass

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First Lady Grace Coolidge and her son John, at their Northampton home in 1928. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

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The view in 2014:

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According to the caption, this photo was taken during Mrs. Coolidge’s visit to her mother, who was apparently staying in their half of the duplex on Massassoit Street in Northampton while Calvin Coolidge was serving as president and living in slightly different accommodations.  Presidency aside, the Coolidges lived here from 1906 until 1930. Calvin died in 1933 at their new Northampton home, The Beeches, and Grace died in 1957. John Coolidge, however, lived until 2000, when he died at the age of 93.

Calvin & Grace Coolidge at home in Northampton

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Calvin & Grace Coolidge in March 1929, after returning home from Washington DC. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

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The view in 2014:

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After serving as president from 1923 to 1929, Calvin Coolidge and his wife Grace returned to their home at 21 Massasoit Street in Northampton Mass.  They lived here in the left-hand side of the duplex from 1906 until 1930, and the first photo above shows them after they returned home from Washington DC, following the conclusion of Coolidge’s second term as president.  In 1930, they moved into a much larger and more secluded house, The Beeches, located at 16 Hampton Terrace, where Calvin Coolidge died in 1933.

Draper Hotel, Northampton Mass

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The Draper Hotel in Northampton, around 1907. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The building in 2014:

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This building was built in 1871, on the site of the earlier Warner House hotel, which had burned the year before. The new building was originally known as the Fitch House, hence the “F” at the top of the building just below the pediment, but by the time the first photo was taken it had become the Draper Hotel. Today, only the westernmost third of the building remains; the hotel closed in 1955, and the two sections on the right side were demolished and replaced with the present-day one-story building.

Hampshire County Courthouse, Northampton Mass (2)

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Hampshire County Courthouse in Northampton, around 1904. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The building in 2014:

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Taken around the same time as this photo of the building, this view shows the courthouse from a different angle, looking at it from the southwest corner of Main and Pleasant Streets (today Routes 9 and 5/10). Incidentally, it is entirely possible that the small tree barely visible behind the men standing along the fence in the 1904 photo is the same one that is now partially obscuring the view of the building in the 2014 photo.