Buildings

Hampshire County Courthouse, Northampton Mass (2)

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Hampshire County Courthouse in Northampton, around 1904. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The building in 2014:

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Taken around the same time as this photo of the building, this view shows the courthouse from a different angle, looking at it from the southwest corner of Main and Pleasant Streets (today Routes 9 and 5/10). Incidentally, it is entirely possible that the small tree barely visible behind the men standing along the fence in the 1904 photo is the same one that is now partially obscuring the view of the building in the 2014 photo.

Forbes Library, Northampton Mass

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Northampton’s Forbes Library, between 1900 and 1910. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

Libraries

The library in 2014:

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Built in 1894, the Forbes Library is one of two public libraries in Northampton, and it is also home to the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum. Not much has changed in its exterior appearance since Calvin Coolidge visited here while studying law in the late 1890s.

Old Northampton High School, Northampton Mass

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The old Northampton High School building, at the corner of Main and New South Streets, between 1900 and 1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The building in 2014:

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This building served as Northampton’s high school from 1895 until 1940, and while it looks the same in both photos, it was gutted in a 1914 fire, leaving only the exterior walls.  The interior was rebuilt, and later served as an elementary school before being converted into condominiums.

Memorial Square, Springfield, Mass

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Memorial Square and Memorial Congregational Church in Springfield, Mass., around 1908. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The scene in 2014:

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Built in 1869, the former Memorial Congregational Church has been home to St. George Greek Orthodox Church (now Cathedral) since 1940.  In the foreground is a monument to Massachusetts veterans from the Spanish-American War.  Neither the church nor the statue have changed much in appearance, although the quiet elm-lined streets have changed; Memorial Square is now the intersection of Routes 20 (left) and 116 (right), and the on-ramp for Interstate 91 is visible just beyond the church, on Route 20.

Smith & Wesson Factory, Springfield, Mass

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The Smith & Wesson factory in Springfield, Mass., as it appeared around 1908. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The scene in 2014:

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Originally built in 1860, the Smith & Wesson factory on Stockbridge Street was its corporate headquarters for many years. The company is still headquartered in Springfield, although they have long since moved to their current location on Roosevelt Avenue. In 1972, Dwight Street was extended across much of the land that was once the factory, although I don’t know if the buildings were demolished at that point, or sometime before then.  The building in the background to the right in the 2014 photo was actually around when the first photo was taken; it was at the time the factory for Milton Bradley; it has since, along with several other former industrial buildings in the area, been converted into apartments. At least one of the former Smith & Wesson buildings still exists, just to the right and outside the frame of the 2014 photo, although it wasn’t built until after the 1908 photo was taken. It is also part of the apartment complex.

SS Nantasket and Custom House Tower, Boston

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Boston’s Custom House Tower as seen from the waterfront, with the steamer Nantasket in the foreground, probably in the late 1920s. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

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The scene in 2013:

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Boston’s skyline has changed substantially, but the Custom House Tower remains much the same as it appeared when it was completed in 1915.  It was the tallest building in Boston until the Prudential Tower was built in 1964, and to this day, remains the 17th tallest in the city.  Although no longer used as a custom house, it is now a Marriott hotel.

The Boston Public Library dates this photo to around 1934, but it had to have been earlier than that, because the Nantasket burned in a fire in November, 1929, along with almost the entire rest of the company’s fleet.