Government Buildings Archives - Page 29 of 35

Old City Hall, Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016January 29, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The old City Hall building in Springfield, viewed from across Court Square, between 1865 and 1885. Photo courtesy of New York Public Library.

The scene in 2014:

Court Square hasn’t changed much in the past 130-150 years, but the buildings beyond it have. The first photo shows the old City Hall building, which as mentioned in this post was built in 1855, shortly after Springfield was incorporated as a city, and burned in 1905, allegedly as a result of a monkey overturning a kerosene lamp. I don’t know the circumstances surrounding a primate having access to open flames in City Hall, but that’s how the story goes. The present City Hall was completed in 1913, and has managed to survive for over a century without any problems from arsonist apes.

Fire Department Headquarters, Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016January 17, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Springfield Fire Department Headquarters on Court Street, around 1900-1913. Photo from Progressive Springfield, Massachusetts (1913).

The scene just over 100 years later, in 2014:

This fire station was built on about the same spot that Parsons Tavern used to occupy for most of the 1800s. It must have been completed shortly before the first photo was taken, because the caption in Progressive Springfield, Massachusetts describes it as the “new” headquarters, and describes how:

“No city has a more up-to-date fire department and headquarters station than Springfield. The new station on Court Street cost $110,000. Its apparatus is all motor-driven and has modern conveniences for the force. The top floor houses the new fire alarm system installed at an expense of $30,000. The flying squadron shown above consists of autos for Chief and Assistant Chief, the Electric Aerial Ladder Truck, Combination Electric Wagon and Hose and Water Tower with Gasoline Tractor. The city expends about $240,000 a year on this department.”

Today, the location of this fire station is now an on-ramp for Interstate 91; the 2014 photo was taken from the parking garage directly underneath the highway. The city’s two tallest buildings, Monarch Place and Tower Square, can both be seen in the photo, along with Symphony Hall, on the right-hand side. It’s probably the only building visible that existed when the first photo was taken. The Springfield Fire Department now has its headquarters on Worthington Street, although I don’t know that they still have any “Combination Electric Wagons” on the force.

President Taft at Springfield, Mass (1)

January 23, 2016January 17, 2015 by Derek Strahan

President William Howard Taft, giving a speech on Court Square in Springfield, on April 25, 1912. Photo from Progressive Springfield, Massachusetts (1913).

The scene in 2014:

The 1912 photo was taken on the same day as the photo in this post, which shows a close-up of President Taft speaking on the platform. Here, the platform can be seen behind Old First Church on the left-hand side, and it shows the massive crowd that had assembled to see him during his 1912 presidential campaign, which would end with him earning the Republican nomination but losing to Woodrow Wilson in the November election. Today, three of the buildings from the first photo are still there: Old First Church, the Court Square Hotel, and the old Hampden County Courthouse. There are also some remnants of this part of Court Square, which once stretched from the back of Old First Church to the Connecticut River (which can be seen in this post). Today, the Hampden County Hall of Justice covers part of the land, and East Columbus Avenue passes diagonally across it.

State Armory, Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016January 15, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Armory on Howard Street in Springfield, around 1910. Photo from View Book of Springfield (1910).

The building in 2014:

The State Armory in Springfield (not to be confused with the much larger, more prominent federal Springfield Armory) was built in 1895 for the Massachusetts Militia, and later the Massachusetts National Guard. The building included both the castle-like structure facing Howard Street, as well as a massive drill shed that extended the width of the block to Union Street. After the National Guard left, it became the South End Community Center, but it sustained significant damage from the June 1, 2011 tornado, which completely destroyed the former drill shed. Like the former YWCA Building, the old Armory is right in the middle of the planned casino development, and the current plan is to demolish all but the facade, which will be incorporated into the casino.

Hampden County Hall of Records, Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016January 3, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Hampden County Hall of Records on State Street in Springfield, around 1900-1910. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The same location in 2014:

The Hampden County Hall of Records was built adjacent to the Hampden County Courthouse in the early 1900s, using a similar architectural style. Like the courthouse, it spanned from State Street to Elm Street, with this view taken looking north from State Street. I don’t know when the building was demolished, but it was gone by the 1970s, when the present-day Hampden County Hall of Justice was built on the left-hand side of the 2014 photo. The courthouse was also built on the spot of the Springfield Institution for Savings building, which is barely visible on the far left of the first photo.

Springfield Municipal Group, Springfield, Mass

November 26, 2016November 22, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The Springfield Municipal Group in Springfield, Mass., around 1913. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2014:

Springfield’s former City Hall burned down in 1905, allegedly after a monkey overturned a kerosene lamp. The site remained vacant for a few years, as seen in this c.1908 photo, but by 1909 construction began on the Noe-Renaissance complex, which consisted of not just a new City Hall (located on the left-hand side), but also an auditorium, known as Symphony Hall, and 300 foot bell tower in between. Construction was still ongoing in the first photo, as evidenced by the fencing around the building. It was dedicated on December 8, 1913, probably soon after the photo was taken, with former president William Howard Taft presiding over the ceremonies. Taft had previously visited Springfield just a year and a half earlier, to campaign in an ultimately unsuccessful re-election effort.

When they opened 101 years ago, the buildings of the Municipal Group symbolized the prosperity of the city. Today, its surroundings have changed, as has the rest of the city, but the three buildings are still there. One of the major changes has been the skyline – the bell tower was the tallest in the city from the time of its construction until 1973. This was due to a 1908 state law that limited Springfield’s buildings to under 125 feet in height – the height of the steeple of Old First Church. It wasn’t until 1970 that the law was repealed, which is one of the reasons why Springfield has a comparatively smaller skyline than other major cities in New England.

Another major change is the Court Square extension, which opened not long before the first photo was taken. It extended from the back of Old First Church all the way to the railroad tracks along the Connecticut River, and appears in the foreground of the first photo. Today, not much is left of the western extension of the square; I-91 now passes over it, and East Columbus Avenue, seen in the foreground, now cuts diagonally through it.