Detroit Publishing Company

Springfield Municipal Group, Springfield, Mass

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

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The scene in 2014:

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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  It wasn’t until 1970 that the law was repealed, which is one of the reasons why Springfield has a comparatively smaller skyline than other major cities in New England.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.

Springfield Institution for Savings, Springfield, Mass

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The Springfield Institution for Savings building on Elm Street in Springfield, around 1910. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The site in 2014:

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The first photo shows the former home of the Springfield Institution for Savings, one of Springfield’s first banks.  Today, the building no longer exists, and neither does the company.  SIS is now part of TD Bank, and the site of the building is now part of the Hampden County Courthouse.  Even the street that the bank was once on, Elm Street, no longer really exists.  It used to extend from Main Street to present-day East Columbus Avenue, but the construction of the new courthouse in the 1970s caused the street to be truncated, and today it is a street in name only, as the section along Court Square is gated off, and the section next to Old First Church is essentially a parking lot for courthouse employees.

What really interested me in this picture, though, is the car parked outside.  Here is a close-up of it:

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Along with giving us a clue as to the date (the license plate appears to read “1910”), it also shows an intriguing and long-forgotten part of Springfield history.  The car was made by Springfield-based Knox Automobile Company, who made cars in the city from 1900 until 1914, and trucks until 1924.  Their factory was on Wilbraham Road in the Mason Square neighborhood, right across the street from the Indian Motorcycle factory.  The Knox building is still there, although it is in pretty rough shape and was included in the 2014 list of Springfield’s most endangered buildings.

I am fairly certain that the car in the photo is a 1909 Model “O,” although I am no expert on early 20th century automobiles, so if someone more knowledgeable than me knows otherwise, let me know. Assuming it was a Model “O,” though, it would’ve been $3,000 car 1909.  Adjusted for inflation, that would be over $75,000 in 2014 dollars, so the owner would’ve been a fairly wealthy person.  Today, though, cars don’t look like that, as the pickup truck and station wagon bear witness to in the 2014 photo.  However, at least one 1909 Knox Model “O” still exists today; this article explains the process of restoring the car and includes plenty of post-restoration photos.

Hotel Brooks, Brattleboro, Vermont

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Main Street in Brattleboro, looking south toward High Street around 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The scene in 2014:

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These photos were taken facing the opposite direction of the ones in this post, and faces the historic Hotel Brooks on the right-hand side of the photos.  Built in 1871, it was once a popular hotel and summer resort, but has since been extensively renovated.  The outward appearance looks the same, but the interior was drastically changed in the 1970s, and the upper floors were damaged by a fire in 2011.  Currently, the building is undergoing repairs, as can be seen with the boarded-up storefronts.

Main Street, Brattleboro, Vermont (3)

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Another scene on Main Street in Brattleboro around 1907, looking north toward the corner of Main and High Streets. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The scene in 2014:

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Unlike the other two 1907 photos of Brattleboro here and here, this scene actually shows some substantial changes over the years. Barely visible on the far right is the Vermont Savings Bank Block, which was built in 1869 with the ornate facade.  The building is actually still there, but the facade was reconstructed in 1935.  To the left of it is a modern commercial building, and past it is the c.1850 Paramount Theatre building, which was significantly reconstructed in 1937 and converted into a movie theater.  Further down Main Street is the Centre Congregational Church, which was built in 1843 and has seen several alterations over the years.

Main Street, Brattleboro, Vermont (2)

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Looking up Main Street in Brattleboro from the corner of Canal Street, around 1907. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The scene in 2014:

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This view gives a good overview of the architecture on the east side of Main Street, very little of which has changed in the past century.  Many of the buildings were even fairly old when the first photo was taken, including the circa 1850 Van Doorn/Culver Block in the center of the 2014 photo.  Beyond it are several commercial blocks from around the turn of the century, and the oldest buildings are at the top of the hill and date to around 1840-1845, making them probably the oldest commercial buildings in downtown.  With the exception of the building on the right-hand side in the foreground of the 1907 photo, all of the buildings still exist today, forming part of the Downtown Brattleboro Historic District.

Main Street, Brattleboro, Vermont (1)

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Main Street in Brattleboro, Vermont, looking north from Elliot Street around 1907. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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Main Street in 2014:

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The trolleys are gone, and there are a few more cars in the 2014 photo, but otherwise this scene hasn’t changed a whole lot.  It appears as though all of the buildings are still there, and for the most part the exteriors remain largely unaltered.  The only obvious exceptions are a couple with reconstructed fourth floors.  The field stone building on the far right (built around 1850) has had its elegant mansard roof replaced with some sort of architectural monstrosity that doesn’t even come close to matching the rest of the building.  Another building further down Main Street was built around the same time, and had its gabled roof replaced by a full fourth story around 1920, making it blend in with the rest of the street.