Years Archives - Page 363 of 383

Lower Manhattan (3)

April 16, 2023February 8, 2014 by Derek Strahan

A view of Lower Manhattan from New York Harbor, taken between 1910 and 1917. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

A similar angle in 2012:

The scene in 2023:

Taken from about the same spot as the first photo of the previous post, the circa 1910s photo here may have been taken on the same day, although the battleship to the left is different from the two in the other post. This battleship is either a Connecticut or Vermont class ship, built in the first decade of the 1900s and decommissioned shortly after the end of World War I.

Just like in the other post, the 2012 photo here is taken a little to the east of the first one. The only readily-identifiable landmark from both photos is the Whitehall Building. However, the Singer Building and its replacement, One Liberty Plaza, help to estimate the angle of each photo. In the first photo, the Singer Building is immediately behind and to the left of the Whitehall Building, while in the 2012 photo, One Liberty Plaza is to the right of the Whitehall Building.

April 2023 Update: I have added an updated photo of the scene, showing it after the completion of One World Trade Center and several other high-rise buildings here in Lower Manhattan.

Lower Manhattan (2)

January 26, 2016February 8, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The view of Manhattan from New York Harbor, around 1913-1920. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

A similar view in 2012:

There’s a lot going on in the first photo. New York City has always been a busy port, but it was especially so in the early 20th century. The top photo shows three major ships – the two battleships, and the passenger liner to the right. In addition, there are several US Navy torpedo boats visible.

The two battleships are two of the five Virginia-class battleships, which were built by the US Navy between 1905 and 1906. By the time this photo had been taken, they had already been rendered obsolete by new advances in battleship design, but they remained in commission until 1920, and were scrapped or sunk as target ships by 1923. As for the ocean liner, it is German, as evidenced by the flag on the stern, but I don’t know its exact identity. The 2012 photo, on the other hand, shows the type of shipping that is most common today. New York is no longer a destination for trans-Atlantic ocean liner traffic, nor is it a major military base, but today it is a major port for container ships, such as the Charles Island that is seen in the photo.

New York’s skyline has obviously changed in the past 100 years, although a few landmarks are still visible. the angle isn’t exact between the two photos – the 2012 one was taken slightly to the east of the first one, but they show the same general view. Both photos show the Whitehall Building, which is fairly prominent in the first photo, just above the stern of the lead battleship. Today, its distinctive shape is still visible, just above the middle section of the container ship. Another major building in the first photo is the Singer Building, seen just behind and to the left of the Whitehall Building. It was demolished in 1967 to make way for the far less architecturally significant One Liberty Plaza, which is the large, black, rectangular building just above she ship’s bridge. Also in the 2012 photo is the new World Trade Center. At the time that the photo was taken, the two tallest buildings were still under construction.

Corner of Main & State Streets, Springfield

January 24, 2016January 13, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The northeast corner of Main and State in Springfield, sometime in the 19th century. Photo from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The same location, around 1892. Photo from Picturesque Hampden (1892).

The corner in 2014:

Many of these Springfield street scenes follow a predictable pattern over the past 150 years or so – first, a pre-Civil War Federal style commercial block, followed by a larger, more ornate building in the latter part of the 19th century, and finally some sort of modern, 20th century structure. In this case, we clearly see all three generations of commercial development at the corner of Main and State, culminating with the MassMutual Center of the 1970s. Of particular interest is the building in the second photo – above the entrance is a sign that reads “G. & C. Merriam & Co Publishers,” the publishers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Today, the company is still headquartered in Springfield, just up the hill on Federal Street. See this post and this post for a few other angles of the neighborhood that is now the MassMutual Center.

Chicopee Bank Building, Springfield

January 24, 2016January 12, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The Chicopee Bank Building, at the corner of Main and Elm, sometime before 1889. Photo from Springfield Present and Prospective (1905).

The same location, between 1889 and 1895. Photo courtesy of James Ward Birchall Collection.

The scene in 2014:

The original building was built in 1835, at the same time as the other three-story commercial buildings on and around Court Square. It was demolished in 1889 and replaced by the current structure, which survives with minimal changes. The building to the left, however, has been trimmed down in height. On the other side, along Elm Street, the 1835 Byers Block survives as a remnant of what the old Chicopee Bank building once looked like.

Court Square, Springfield (6)

January 24, 2016January 12, 2014 by Derek Strahan

Springfield’s Court Square, sometime in the 1880s or earlier. Photo from Springfield Present and Prospective (1905).

The scene in the 1890s. Photo from Our County and Its People: A History of Hampden County, Massachusetts (1902).

The scene in 2014:

The three photos show the progression of the appearance of Court Square in the past 125+ years. In the first photo, the buildings along Elm Street are all 1830’s-era three story commercial buildings, most of which were replaced by the Court Square Theater in 1892, which can be seen in the second photo, a rare view of the building before the 1900 expansion on the right side. That is essentially the only change between the second photo and today’s scene – not much has changed with the four major buildings in this angle. One notable survivor on the far left is the Byers Block, which was built in 1835 and is the last remaining part of the Elm Street commercial blocks from the first photo. Wedged in between two much larger late 19th century building, it is the oldest surviving commercial building in the city, although not the oldest building in the photo – Old First Church on the far right dates to 1819.

Corner of Dwight and Sanford Streets, Springfield

January 24, 2016January 12, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The building that once stood at the corner of Dwight and Sanford Streets. Photo from Springfield Present and Prospective (1905).

The location in 2014:

As seen in today’s photo, the buildings in the first photo don’t exist anymore, and in fact neither does the street on the right, Sanford Street. The first photo shows two different 17th century houses: the old Nathaniel Ely Tavern in the foreground, built in 1660, and the Margaret Bliss House just beyond it, built around 1695. Obviously both buildings are long gone. I don’t know when they were demolished, but it is safe to say they were gone before the MassMutual Center was built in the 1970’s.