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.

Old Masonic Building, Springfield, Mass

January 24, 2016January 5, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The old Masonic Building in Springfield, around 1910, from The View Book of Springfield (1910).

The same building in 2012:

The old Masonic Building at the corner of State and Main was built around 1893, and was used by the Masons until 1924, when they built a new temple further up State Street. At some point, the ornate sandstone facade was replaced with a more bland brick appearance, and the clock tower was either moved back or replaced entirely. However, there is a small surviving part of the original facade – the sandstone arch above the doorway on the left-hand side is still there, complete with a Masonic symbol above it.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Visits Springfield

January 23, 2016January 3, 2014 by Derek Strahan

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s car travels down Elm Street past the Court Square Theater in 1940. Image courtesy of Cinema Treasures.

The same scene in 2014:

On October 30, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made a stop in Springfield on his way to Boston to give a campaign speech. Just six days before the election, he stopped to inspect the Springfield Armory and give a speech. The top photo shows him passing by Court Square along Elm Street, with the Court Square Theater in the background. The building is still there today, but the theater section itself is gone – it was demolished in 1957, and is now a parking lot. The main entrance for the theater, which is seen in the background of the 1940 photo, is now the entrance to the parking lot.

Roosevelt, however, is far from the only past, present, or future president to visit Court Square. George Washington once lodged at Parsons Tavern, which occupied part of what is now Court Square. According to one 19th century account, Washington “tasted liquid refreshments of a strong flavor” at the tavern. In addition, President William Howard Taft, several months after leaving office, presided over the dedication ceremonies for City Hall and Symphony Hall. On the day before the 1960 election, then-Senator John F. Kennedy spoke from the steps of City Hall to a crowd gathered in Court Square. More recently, just two days before the 1996 election, President Clinton also gave a speech in front of City Hall, in support of Senator John Kerry.

Arcade Theatre, Springfield

January 23, 2016January 3, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The Arcade Theatre on State Street in Springfield, around 1933. Photo courtesy of Cinema Treasures.

The same scene in 2012:

The building in the foreground of the 1933 photo is the Arcade Theatre, which opened two years earlier. The marquee advertises the film College Humor, a Bing Crosby comedy that was released in July of 1933, hence giving the approximate date of the photo. The theater closed in 1971, and was demolished a year later to allow for Dwight Street to be extended up the hill to Maple Street. This enabled Dwight Street and Maple/Chestnut Streets to function as a one-way pair to help with traffic around the newly-built Civic Center (now the MassMutual Center, barely visible on the far right of the 2012 photo). The building in the center of the photo is the Epiphany Tower, which is being renovated to become a Holiday Inn Express. Several other buildings that still exist are the c.1893 old Masonic Building at the corner of State and Main (with the green tower) and 1200 Main Street just beyond it, which was built in 1908.

Notice also the road itself – 1933 seems like a rather late date for a major road in Springfield – at the time it was part of Route 20 – to be paved with cobblestone, but apparently that was the case. Notice the trolley tracks as well, and the trolley in the distance – very different from the PVTA buses that now navigate the streets of Springfield.

Court Square Theater, Springfield

June 25, 2017January 3, 2014 by Derek Strahan

Springfield’s Court Square Theater, as it appeared between 1900 and 1910. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The building in 2015:

The Court Square Theater was built in 1892, and substantially expanded in 1900. Originally, the building was symmetrical, but the 1900 addition gave the building an extra five rows of windows on the front facade, and also extended the right-hand side of the building all the way back to State Street. A photo on this blog shows a rare glimpse of the building prior to the expansion. The other two buildings visible along Court Square are the the 1835 Byers Block, and the 1889 Chicopee Bank Building. Neither buildings have changed much in appearance since the first photo was taken.

Right now, the Court Square Theater building stands vacant. The theater section itself (not visible) was demolished in 1957, and there have been various proposals for restoring the building, but so far none have begun.

Trinity Church, Boston

January 23, 2016January 3, 2014 by Derek Strahan

Trinity Church in Boston, in 1920. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

The church in 2013:

Located at Copley Square in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, Trinity Church was built between 1872 and 1877, to replace the parish’s previous church, which had been destroyed in the Great Fire of 1872. The church was designed by noted American architect Henry Hobson Richardson, and is generally regarded as his magnum opus.

The surrounding of the church have changed, even though the building itself has remained essentially the same. Originally, Huntington Avenue (foreground in the 1920 photo) cut diagonally in front of the church; this was changed in 1966, and the former roadway is now part of a park in front of the church. Behind the church is the Berkeley Building, also known as the Old John Hancock Building, and not to be confused with the John Hancock Tower, which is located immediately to the right of Trinity Church, just out of the picture.

American Falls, Niagara Falls, New York (2)

January 23, 2016January 3, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The American Falls at Niagara Falls, seen from the Canadian side around 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The same view a century later in 2005:

As mentioned in my previous post, the American side of Niagara Falls has changed a great deal, with erosion contributing to the large pile of rocks at the base of the waterfall. In 1969, the water was diverted away from the American Falls, and work was done to stabilize it and prevent it from becoming just a series of rapids, but the existing rocks at the base were not removed. As a result, the American Falls looks far less dramatic than it did 100 years ago, but the Falls nonetheless remain just as popular a tourist destination as ever.

At the base of the Falls is the Maid of the Mist, one of of two such boats that brought tourists to the base of the Falls. Both of these boats burned in a fire in 1955, but newer Maid of the Mist boats continue to give tours of Niagara Falls.