Buildings

Paper Mills, Holyoke Mass

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A view of some of the paper mills in Holyoke, Mass, around 1900-1906.  Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The same view in 2014:

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It’s a common scene in New England – a once prosperous mill town that fell on hard times once the manufacturing jobs left. Holyoke Massachusetts is a prime example of this; it is located along the Hadley Falls on the Connecticut River, which made it an ideal location for water-powered mills. In 1849, a system of power canals was built parallel to the river, and this section of Holyoke was developed as an industrial center. The city became home to a number of paper mills, giving rise to its nickname as the “Paper City.”  One such paper company, the American Pad & Paper Company, was founded in Holyoke in 1888, and is now one of the world’s largest paper manufacturers, Ampad.

This particular view looks down one of the canals from Gatehouse Road, with several mill buildings visible to the left and center of the photo. The building in the distance in left-center is identified in the first photo as the Valley Paper Company, and although I don’t know what became of the company, their building still exists today, along with many other, now-vacant brick factories in the city.

The Northfield Hotel, Northfield Mass

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The Northfield Hotel around 1904.  Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The site in 2014:

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Northfield Massachusetts was never a particularly prominent town for much of its history, but this changed after one of its residents, D.L. Moody, gained worldwide fame as a Christian evangelist.  In addition to work that he did in Chicago and overseas in England, Moody also had an impact on his hometown, opening the Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies in 1879.  This brought an increase in demand for services such as hotels, including The Northfield, which opened in 1887, just a short distance away from the Northfield Seminary.

Facing dwingling guests, the hotel closed in the 1970s and was demolished, although its well-landscaped grounds became home of the Northfield Golf Club.  A few reminders of the old hotel still exist, including the pond in the foreground, the stone wall, and the footbridge across the stream.

D.L. Moody Residence, Northfield Mass

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The former residence of D.L. Moody, on the grounds of Northfield Seminary around 1904.  Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The house in 2014:

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D.L. Moody was an influential Christian evangelist throughout much of the late 19th century.  He was born in Northfield, Massachusetts in 1837, in a house just up the hill behind this building.  He later lived in Boston and Chicago, in addition to traveling around the country and to Europe as part of his evangelistic tours.  He returned to Northfield in 1875, and in 1879 he opened the Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies, which later became the Northfield campus of Northfield Mount Hermon School.  This house, which he lived in after his return to Northfield, is part of the campus, which has been vacant since 2006, when the school consolidated to just the Mount Hermon campus in nearby Gill.

Dickinson Memorial Library, Northfield Mass

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Northfield’s Dickinson Memorial Library, around 1900-1906.  Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The library in 2014:

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Northfield’s public library is the Dickinson Memorial Library, named after 19th century shoe manufacturer Elijah Dickinson, who had donated $20,000 to construct the granite building.  It was dedicated in 1898, with noted evangelist and Northfield resident D.L. Moody among the speakers at the event.  Today, the building looks much the same as it did in the first picture, which was taken only a few years after its dedication.

Maple Street Homes, Springfield Mass

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Several homes on Maple Street in Springfield, around 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The same view in 2014:

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Around the turn of the last century, Maple Street was one of the best places in Springfield to live. This side of the street was particularly desirable, because of the view looking toward downtown Springfield and across the Connecticut River. Today, that isn’t the case. Although the view is still there, it is no longer one of the city’s premier residential areas, and the two mansions in the first photo no longer exist.

Located directly across the street from the former MacDuffie School campus, this area was right in the path of the June 1, 2011 tornado that tore across western Massachusetts. These houses, however, were gone long before then.  The one on the right was at the time the home of businessman and city library president Nathan D. Bill, and was built in the 1880s as the Andrew Fennessy House. It was destroyed in a suspicious fire in 1969, after having been vacant for several years. Today, only the concrete driveway is still there, and can be seen better on Google Maps. The house just beyond it was built in 1882 and belonged to Walter H. Wesson, the son of Daniel Wesson, co-founder of Smith & Wesson. In 1982, this historic house was also heavily damaged in a fire, and was subsequently demolished.

Church of the Unity, Springfield Mass

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The Church of the Unity, photographed in 1959. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey collection.

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The same view in 2014:

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The Church of the Unity is also featured in this post, although the photo in that one is close to 100 years older than this “before” one is.  As mentioned there, this church was significant as the first commission of architect Henry Hobson Richardson, and was built between 1866 and 1869.  However, it was demolished only two years after this photo was taken, and was replaced with a parking lot for the Springfield Public Library.