Architecture Archives - Page 175 of 193

First Church, Monson, Mass

February 11, 2016December 28, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The First Church of Monson, probably around 1900-1920. Image courtesy of the Monson Free Library.

The church on June 3, 2011, two days after it was damaged in a tornado:

The church in 2015:

This view is similar to the one in this post, which shows the church from just a slightly different angle. As mentioned in that post, the church was completed in 1873, and has been a major Monson landmark ever since. The steeple, though, has been replaced twice. The original one, seen in the first photo, was destroyed above the belfry in the 1938 hurricane. It was reconstructed similar to the original design, but over 70 years later, the June 1, 2011 tornado completely destroyed the entire steeple, as seen in the second photo, which was taken two days later. In the distance, the remains of the steeple lay in a pile of rubble in front of the church. The old bell, which had been installed around 1881, was also cracked and had to be replaced. The steeple was rebuilt in 2013, using stronger building materials of concrete, steel, and fiberglass. Other than the new materials, though, it is identical to the 1939 reconstruction.

Old Meeting House, Monson, Mass

February 11, 2016December 27, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The old meeting house of the First Church of Monson, seen around 1860-1871. Image courtesy of the Monson Free Library.

The church in 2015:

The First Church of Monson was established in 1762, and the first photo here shows its second meeting house, which was completed in 1803. The building stood here on High Street, overlooking downtown Monson, until 1871, when it was moved across Main Street and the present-day church was built. Its time in use coincided with the lengthy pastorate of Alfred Ely, who served as the pastor of the church for 60 years, from 1806 until 1866. After the building was moved, it was converted into stores on the first floor and a meeting hall on the upper floor, named Green’s Hall. It can be seen in the c.1892 photo in this post, but it burned down in 1895. The church building that replaced it, though, it still standing over 140 years later, and aside from having its steeple replaced twice, it looks essentially the same as it did when it was completed in 1873.

Senior Center, Monson, Mass

February 11, 2016December 22, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Edward Cushman House on Main Street in Monson, which later became the Monson Senior Center, probably around 1916-1920. Image courtesy of the Monson Free Library.

The building in 2015:

The present-day Monson Senior Center was built around 1850, and it is one of the many historic Greek Revival homes along this section of Main Street. It was originally a private residence, with maps in 1857 and 1870 showing it belonging to a Mrs. L. Keep and a Mrs. Flynt, respectively. Later in the 1800s, it was owned by Edward Cushman, the son of local industrialist Solomon F. Cushman, who owned a woolen mill on Cushman Street. Edward and his brothers took over control of the company when their father died in 1900, and they ran it together until 1912, when they sold it to a local hat manufacturer, the Heimann and Lichten Company.

Edward Cushman died in 1915, and as part of his will the house became Monson Home for the Aged, a boarding house for elderly residents in town. According to the house’s listing on the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, the house was enlarged and the tower was added during this conversion in 1916; if accurate, it helps provide the earliest possible date for the first photo.

The building was a boarding house until 1975, and since then it has been used as the Monson Senior Center. It was damaged in the June 1, 2011 tornado that passed directly over it, but today it is in excellent condition and it is still serving the elderly residents of the town, a century after Edward Cushman’s death. Incidentally, his father’s factory on Cushman Street is also still standing, although it is in poor condition and has been abandoned for many years.

Post Office, Monson, Mass

February 11, 2016December 21, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The post office at the corner of Main and State Streets in Monson, around 1893. Image courtesy of the Monson Free Library.

The scene in 2015:

The building in the first photo was built in 1855 for the recently-established Monson National Bank. In 1872, Monson Savings Bank was also created, and the two companies shared the same counter, tellers, and vault within this small building until 1893, when a larger one was completed just a short walk down Main Street from here. That same year, the nearby Central Block, which housed the post office, was destroyed in a fire, so the post office was moved to the recently-vacated bank building. It later moved back to the Central Block location when a new building was completed on the site.

I don’t know exactly when it was demolished, but it would have been sometime before 1925, when the original Monson High School was built here. The school building was converted into the town offices in the early 1990s, but it sustained heavy damage in the une 1, 2011 tornado, and it was demolished in 2013. A new town office building, seen to the right in the 015 photo, was completed earlier in the year.

Methodist Church, Monson, Mass (2)

February 11, 2016December 20, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Another view of the Methodist Church on Main Street in Monson, around 1900-1920. Image courtesy of the Monson Free Library.

The church in 2015:

As explained in the previous post, this church at the corner of Main and Cushman Streets was built in 1850, and it is the oldest of Monson’s four church buildings. The only major change in the church’s appearance between the two photos is the steeple. The top of the steeple above the belfry was removed in 1952 because of damage caused by the 1938 hurricane, and it was replaced in 2010. Aside from that, though, the rest of the historic church is essentially unchanged, and it is an excellent example of mid 19th century New England church architecture.

Methodist Church, Monson, Mass (1)

February 11, 2016December 19, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Methodist Church on Main Street in Monson, probably taken around 1900-1920. Image courtesy of the Monson Free Library.

The church in 2015:

The Methodist church in Monson was first established in the 1820s, and in 1827 its first permanent church building was built about a mile south of here, at the corner of Main and Maple Streets. However, the congregation outgrew that building, and in 1850 they moved to this much larger, more centrally-located church in downtown Monson. As seen in the two photos, it is still standing today, and it is the oldest active church building in town.

Architecturally, the church strongly resembles the traditional New England churches of the early 1800s, but there are also some elements of Gothic Revival architecture, such as the arched windows and the quatrefoil window on the tower. Since its completion, there have not been many major changes to its appearance. Aside from an expansion around 1860, the only major change has been the steeple. The 1938 hurricane weakened its supports, so in 1952 the spire was removed, and was not replaced until 2010. Just a year later, a tornado caused severe damage to downtown Monson, and destroyed the steeples of two nearby churches, but this church survived largely unscathed.