Buildings Archives - Page 261 of 329

Plymouth Normal School, Plymouth, NH

July 28, 2018July 23, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Rounds Hall at the Plymouth Normal School, around 1907. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The building in 2018, now part of Plymouth State University:

The history of Plymouth State University goes back to 1808, when the Holmes Plymouth Academy was established as a training school for teachers. In 1871, the state took over the school and renamed it the Plymouth Normal School, with “normal” in this sense referring to training teachers. Like many other normal schools in the country, it went through a series of name changes as the school expanded and added more academic programs. From 1939 to 1963, it was the Plymouth Teachers College, and from 1963 to 2003 it was Plymouth State College before again being renamed as Plymouth State University.

The building in both photos is Rounds Hall, which was built in 1890 along with a dormitory, which can be seen beyond and just to the left of Rounds Hall in the 1907 photo. Rounds Hall still stands today, and is the oldest building on campus. However, Normal Hall, the old dormitory, didn’t last too long. Not long after the first photo was taken, the barely 20 year old building was in such poor condition that it had to be demolished. Its replacement, Mary Lyon Hall, was built on the same spot in 1916, is still used as a dormitory today; it can be seen in the distance beyond the trees.

Moulton House, Center Harbor, NH

July 23, 2015July 21, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Moulton House on present-day Dane Road in Center Harbor, around 1872. Image courtesy of the New York Public Library.

The site in 2015:

I couldn’t find much about the Moulton House aside from some basic information in late 19th century guidebooks of the area. It was built sometime prior to the Civil War, and was expanded in 1868. As mentioned in this post, it was located directly behind the old Senter House, and according to an 1876 guide book could house 75 guests at $3 per day, or $12 to $20 per week. The hotel clearly played second fiddle to the larger Senter House, which was later renamed the Colonial Hotel. Although the rates were a dollar more per day in 1876, it offered far more amenities for guests, including beautiful views of Lake Winnipesaukee and the surrounding landscape. Much of the Moulton House’s view of the lake was blocked by, of course, the Senter House.

Although literally overshadowed by the Senter House, the Moulton House was often mentioned in guidebooks as a good option for long-term visits. An 1868 guide mentions that it “is of smaller dimensions, yet is a pleasant house for those who wish to board and spend some time in the vicinity.” Given Center Harbor’s 19th century transportation connections,”the vicinity” meant more than just the tiny village; from here, guests could board a steamboat for Wolfeboro, Alton Bay, or Weirs Beach, or a stagecoach to Moultonborough, South Tamworth, or West Ossipee.

I don’t know what happened to the Moulton House, although it is entirely possible that, like so many of its contemporaries, it burned down. It appears in the Automobile Blue Book as late as 1910, with an advertisement, directly underneath that of the Colonial Hotel, which describes it as “In the foothills of the White Mountains and at the head of beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee. First-class house with modern conveniences. Table supplied with the best the market affords. Excellent service. Large airy rooms. Sanitary plumbing. Baths. Electric lights. Season, May to October, inclusive.” The Colonial Hotel burned down 9 years later, and at some point the Moulton House was also lost to history.

Sutton House, Center Harbor, NH

July 23, 2015July 20, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The home of Eliza Sutton in Center Harbor, around 1865-1885. Image courtesy of the New York Public Library.

The house in 2015:

This house on the present-day Whittier Highway was built in 1865 for Eben Sutton, a wool merchant in Peabody Mass., and his wife Eliza. Eben died before the house was finished, but Eliza lived here for 24 years. She ran a dairy farm here, using the fields across the street as pastureland. The photo in this post, taken about 17 years after her death, shows the view from in front of her house looking across the street. In addition to her agricultural pursuits, she was also a philanthropist, and in 1869 she donated funds to build the Eben Dale Sutton Reference Library at the Peabody Institute Library in her hometown.

The first photo was taken during the time when Eliza Sutton lived there, and the photographer was Charles Bierstadt, a 19th century photographer who specialized in stereoscopic views. He is probably best known, though, as the older brother of landscape artist Albert Bierstadt. Most of the younger Bierstadt’s paintings were of the American west, but he did several of the White Mountains, not too far from where his brother Charles took this photograph.

The house was damaged by a fire in 1993, but it has since been restored to its original 19th century appearance and operates as the Sutton House bed and breakfast.

Main Street, Center Harbor, NH

July 23, 2015July 20, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Looking northeast on Main Street in Center Harbor, with Red Hill in the distance, around 1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

Main Street in 2015:

This scene was taken just up the road from the photos in this post; note the Center Harbor Congregational Church, which can be seen in the distance there and on the left here. The church was built in 1838 and has stood there ever since, overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee. The cemetery across the street is also still there, and if it wasn’t for the trees in the first photo, the Colonial Hotel would be visible beyond the cemetery on the right. In the background of both photos is Red Hill, which rises 1500 feet above Lake Winnipesaukee and offers dramatic views of the surrounding landscape.

Over the years, the roads here have changed a bit. In the 1906 photo, Main Street was the primary route from Meredith to Center Harbor, Moultonborough, and points north. Today, most of this traffic travels on Route 25, which can be seen on the far right of the 2015 photo. It is named the Whittier Highway, after poet John Greenleaf Whittier, who used to vacation in Center Harbor in the late 1800s. Built parallel to Main Street, it cuts across the area where the Colonial Hotel once stood and allows through traffic to bypass much of the center of the village.

Colonial Hotel, Center Harbor, NH (2)

July 23, 2015July 15, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Another view of the Colonial Hotel, taken around 1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2015:

As mentioned in the previous post, the Colonial Hotel was built as the Senter House around 1890, and in 1904 it was sold and renamed. The hotel offered commanding views of Lake Winnipesaukee and the mountains beyond it, and was a popular destination in New Hampshire’s era of grand hotels in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, like many of its contemporaries, the Colonial House was destroyed by a fire on June 20, 1919. Today, Route 25 passes through part of what was once the hotel’s property, and the only structure on the site is the bandstand, seen on the far left of the 2015 photo.

Colonial Hotel, Center Harbor, NH (1)

July 23, 2015July 15, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Colonial Hotel in Center Harbor, around 1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The site in 2015:

The northwestern half of Lake Winnipesaukee is divided into three long, narrow bays, each of which has a town center at the end. The southwestern bay ends at Meredith, the northwestern one ends at Moultonborough, and the center one ends at the appropriately-named Center Harbor. The town became a popular destination in the 19th century, and around 1830 the Senter House opened on the site of the present-day library. According to an 1876 travel guide, the hotel had 150 rooms, and offered such amenities as billiards, bowling, croquet, and “a flotilla of dainty row-boats.” A night’s stay cost $4, compared to $3 per night at the nearby Moulton House, which didn’t have as much of a view of the lake and presumably lacked dainty rowboats for guests.

The old Senter House was replaced around 1890 with a new building directly across the street, as seen in the first photo. It was sold in 1904 for over $30,000, and renamed the Colonial Hotel. It lasted until 1919 when, like so many other grand hotels of its era, it was destroyed in a fire. Today, the site of the hotel is now a rectangular plot of land between Main Street and Route 25, where the Center Harbor Bandstand is located. From this angle, the lake is visible to the right of the bandstand, and the mountains to the north of the lake can be seen in the distance, giving some idea of what sort of view the hotel once offered to its guests.