Street Scenes

Main Street & Harrison Ave, Springfield, Mass

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Main Street in Springfield, looking south from near Harrison Ave., around 1910-1913. Photo from Progressive Springfield, Massachusetts (1913).

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The same scene in 2017:

 

These views show some of the changes that have occurred on the east side of Main Street, south of Harrison Avenue.  The buildings in the foreground of the first photo are long gone; Today, Harrison Ave passes diagonally through those lots to cross Main Street where Boland Way (formerly Vernon Street) intersects.  The building just to the right of Harrison Ave in the first photo is also gone, replaced by the 10 story building in the 2014 photo.

However, most of the other buildings in the first photo are still there, including the former Johnson’s Bookstore building, which was built in 1861, around the same time as the two buildings on either side of it.  The facade was remodeled in 1908, but it once matched the buildings on either side of it.  To the right of the bookstore building is the oldest in the scene, the 1858 Republican Block.  This was the home of the Springfield Republican newspaper from 1858 to 1867, during the era when the paper was endorsing Abraham Lincoln for president and reporting news on the Civil War and Lincoln’s assassination.  Beyond the Republican Block is the Union Trust Building, with its distinctive arch over the main entrance.  It was built in 1907, and both it and the Republican Block are on the National Register of Historic Places.

State Street, Springfield, Mass

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State Street in Springfield, around 1910-1913. Photo from Progressive Springfield, Massachusetts (1913).

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State Street in 2014:

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The scene in 2023:

It will be interesting to do another “now” photo in a couple years, because this scene will be changing soon. Taken looking east on State Street from in front of the Hampden County Hall of Justice, this scene shows several buildings that will be demolished or substantially altered when the casino is built. The building on the right-hand side of the 2014 photo is the United Electric Company building, which had just been built shortly before the first photo was taken, and will be (mostly) demolished in the near future, with the casino retaining only the façade. A few other buildings along State Street will also either be demolished or have just he façade saved.

Other buildings in the photos include the Court Square Hotel, which extends across the block from Elm Street to State Street, and the Nayasset Club building, on the far right of the first photo.  The Nayasset Club was a social organization that at the time included many of Springfield’s prominent citizens.  The building is now gone, and in its place is a parking lot across from the old Hampden County Courthouse, which is barely visible on the left-hand side of the 2014 photo.

2023 update: As promised when I wrote the post back in 2015, I have updated the post to include a third photo, which shows the same scene following the completion of the MGM casino on the right side of the street.

51-55 State Street, Springfield, Mass

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The building at 51-55 State Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Photo courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

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The scene in 2014:

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I don’t know much about the apartment building in the first photo, except that it was built sometime between 1882 and 1899, and was demolished by 1958, when the present 55 State Street building was built.  It is directly across State Street from the Hampden County Hall of Justice, and it reflects the hideous architectural styles of the mid-20th century.  Sadly, this building will not be among those demolished to make way for the casino, although the buildings in the distance to the left will be.

104-108 State Street, Springfield, Mass

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The buildings at 104-108 State Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Photo courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

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The scene in 2014:

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These photos were taken facing just to the right of the ones in this post, and the 1930s photo shows the building once occupied by The Hub Restaurant.  As mentioned in the other post, this building was probably taken down around the same time as the Court Square Theater to make room for the present-day parking lot, although the building to the right of it still survives; this is the Shean Block, which was built in 1927 at the corner of Main and State Streets.

Notice the “No Parking” sign in the foreground – I’m not quite sure why parking was restricted from 4:45 to 5:45; perhaps this was to accommodate rush hour traffic?  At the time, State Street was part of Route 20, so this section of road was probably pretty busy in the pre-interstate days.  There is also a clue as to the date of this photo – a sign in the second floor window reads “Springfield Free Press,” which was published starting in September 1939.  If the estimated date range of 1938-1939 is accurate, then the photo was most likely taken in the fall of 1939.

Aftermath of the Halifax Explosion (3)

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Looking down Argyle Street from George Street in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, in December 1917. Photo courtesy of the Nova Scotia Archives.

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The scene in 2014:

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Out of the photos that I’ve posted about the Halifax Explosion, this is the only one that doesn’t show an area affected by the blast.  However, what the 1917 photo does show is far more powerful.  At first glance, nothing seems out of the ordinary, except for the stacks of wooden boxes on the street.  Except they’re not just wooden boxes; the sign on the second building from the right reads “Undertakers,” and the coffins outside were just a sampling of what was needed for the approximately 2,000 victims of the disaster.

Incidentally, this wasn’t the first time that the building dealt with a major tragedy – just five years earlier the recovery operation for the bodies of Titanic victims was operated out of the city, as it was the closest major port to the disaster.  During that time, the mortuary here was used to care for the remains of some of the victims, including John Jacob Astor and Charles M. Hayes.

Today, the building is still there, and is nearly 200 years old; it was built in 1817 and has served a variety of uses ever since.  Today, it is home to the Five Fishermen, which is perhaps the only fine dining restaurant in the world that advertises the fact that its facilities were once used as a mortuary.  (if you don’t believe me, check out their website – they even have the same 1917 photo there)

Aftermath of the Halifax Explosion (2)

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Looking east down Kaye Street from Gottingen Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in December 1917 or early 1918, following the Halifax Explosion. Photo courtesy of the Nova Scotia Archives.

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The scene in 2014:

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This neighborhood is located just up the hill from the epicenter of the Halifax Explosion, and its appearance is typical of what much of this part of the city looked like after the disaster. Here, two soldiers are standing guard to keep looters out – residents needed a pass in order to gain entry to the affected areas. Today, the neighborhood is entirely reconstructed, with no sign of the disaster that hit here almost 97 years ago.