Buildings

95-99 Elliot Street, Springfield, Mass

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The building at 95-99 Elliot Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Photo courtesy of Springfield Preservation Trust.

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The building in 2014:

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Known as the Edward B. Barton House, this duplex at the corner of Elliot and Salem Streets was built in 1887.  It was originally home to Edward B. Barton, a traveling shoe salesman, and William H. Wright, the owner of Massasoit Cigar Manufactory and Store.  Today, aside from a few minor changes with the porches, the house doesn’t look all that different from its appearance in the late 1930s.  Like other historic properties on Elliot Street, it is located within the Quadrangle-Mattoon Street Historic District.

85-87 Elliot Street, Springfield, Mass

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The building at 85-87 Elliot Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Photo courtesy of Springfield Preservation Trust.

Apartments

The building in 2014:

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This apartment building on Elliot Street, opposite Edwards Street, was built in 1907.  During this time, many of the single and two-family buildings that once lined many of the streets in the downtown area were being replaced by larger apartment buildings, as the downtown grew and demand for housing increased.  The building was built by Gagnier & Angers, two French Canadians who built many of the apartment buildings in this part of the city in the early 1900s.  Presumably, not much changed in the buildings exterior appearance between its construction and the first photo in the late 1930s, and not much changed in the ensuing 75 years.  All of the buildings from the 1930s photo are still there, including this apartment building, the wood duplex to the left, and the brick apartment building behind it.  Together, they make up part of the Quadrangle-Mattoon Street Historic District, part of the National Register of Historic Places.

North Main Street, Springfield, Mass

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Main Street in Springfield, looking toward the North End near Congress Street, around 1882. Photo from Springfield Illustrated (1882).

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The scene in 2023:

The only readily identifiable building in the first photo is on the right side of Main Street, the Hooker School, which was a grammar school that opened in 1865.  In the 1884 King’s Handbook of Springfield, it is described as “the finest of the grammar-school buildings in external appearance,. for which it is indebted to its imposing tower (containing a clock with illuminated dial), as well as to the beautiful network of vines which in summer relieve the bareness of its brick walls.”

The building continued to be used as a grammar school until 1918, and it subsequently became the Continuation School, and then as the girls’ division of the Trade School. It finally closed in 1940, and it was demolished in 1944. Then, about 20 years later most of the surrounding area was demolished as part of an urban renewal plan, which included constructing a large interchange between Interstates 91 and 291, as shown in the second photo.

Court Square, Springfield, Mass

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Court Square in Springfield, around 1882. Photo from Springfield Illustrated (1882).

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Court Square in 2014:

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The 1882 photo clearly shows Springfield’s old City Hall, which burned down in 1905 and was replaced in 1913 by the present City Hall, Symphony Hall, and Campanile tower.  On the far left of the old photo is the former Hampden County Courthouse, which by 1882 was being used by the Odd Fellows.  Today, the only constant between the two photos is Court Square itself; none of the buildings seen in the 1882 view are still there.  Even the Miles Morgan statue hadn’t yet been brought to Court Square, although it would within a year or so.

Main & Court Streets, Springfield, Mass

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Looking north on Main Street in Springfield, toward Court Street, around 1882. Photo from Springfield Illustrated (1882).

1880s

Main Street in 2014:

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This scene is similar to the view in this post, except this one shows the view further down Main Street.  The building in the foreground is the home of the Springfield Five Cents Savings Bank, which is still there today, although its Main Street facade has been completely replaced.  However, the arches over the windows on the Court Street side clearly show that it is the same building.  Further down Main Street in the 1882 photo is the home office of the Springfield Republican, and beyond that is the Mass Mutual Building.

The commercial block furthest from the camera is the Union Block, which is seen in this post from the other side.  Two thirds of this building still exists today, although it is hard to see it in the shadows of the 2014 photo.  Finally, the steeple of the First Baptist Church, which can be seen more clearly in this post.  The church was built in 1847 and demolished in 1888, and today its former location is now Harrison Avenue where it intersects with Main Street.

State Street, Springfield, Mass

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State Street in Springfield, looking toward St. Michael’s Cathedral around 1882. Photo from Springfield Illustrated (1882).

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State Street in 2014:

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This view is similar to the scene in this post, but here we see a little more along the north side of State Street.  Several buildings are still there, including the 1860s St. Michael’s Cathedral and the rectory next to it.  Further up State Street in the 1882 scene, the Alexander House is visible in the distance.  This historic house was moved in 2003 to make way for the construction of the new federal courthouse, although it is still visible in the 2014 photo, in the distance between the church and the rectory.