Lost New England

White Church, West Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016March 19, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The old White Church in West Springfield, around 1905. Photo from Springfield: Present and Prospective (1905).

The church in 2014:

The old church at the corner of Elm Street and Kings Highway in West Springfield is one of the oldest surviving church buildings in the Pioneer Valley. It was built in 1802, making it 17 years older than Springfield’s Old First Church. It’s in a rather odd location, though; it’s on the outskirts of downtown West Springfield, on a hill overlooking the Connecticut River. This was due to an agreement that the town made with John Ashley, who paid for the construction under the conditions that: 1) he choose the location, and 2) that it remain in use as a church for 100 years. He got his wish, but almost as soon as the 100 years was up the congregation merged with Park Street Congregational Church, moving to the center of West Springfield in 1909 and vacating the building. The building was later used as a Masonic lodge, and today it is privately owned. One curious historical item is the cost of the church; the contract called for $1,400 plus “ten gallons of St. Croix rum.” Based on the fact that the church is still standing over 200 years later, I think one can assume the rum was not delivered until after it was completed.

Court Street, Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016March 19, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Court Street in Springfield, sometime before 1905. Photo from author’s collection.

Court Street in 2014:

I came across the first photo in a 3-for-$1 bin at an antique store, and despite the odd coloring it provides an interesting view along Court Street from around the turn of the last century. It is an albumen print, mounted on thick paper, and evidently colorized after processing. There are no identifying marks on the photo, and the only way I was able to figure out the location was because I recognized the old police station and City Hall as being in Springfield. My guess is that it was probably taken sometime in the 1890s, but it could’ve been anytime before 1905, when the old City Hall burned down.

To the left of City Hall, in the foreground of the first photo, is the old police department headquarters, which was later demolished to make way for the Springfield Municipal Group. The new City Hall, which was completed in 1913, is still there, on roughly the same spot that its predecessor stood in the first photo. The site of the former police station is now the area between City Hall and Symphony Hall, where the campanile tower is. In the background, One Financial Plaza building looms over City Hall, between City Hall Plaza and Main Street. The only building in the present-day scene that would’ve even existed when the first photo was taken is the former Springfield Five Cents Savings Bank building at the corner of Main and Court Streets, although its Main Street facade has been altered beyond recognition.

Springfield Municipal Group, Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016February 28, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Springfield Municipal Group from across Court Square, probably around 1913. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The Municipal Group in 2014:

The first photo was taken shortly before the Springfield Municipal Group was completed, perhaps even on the same day as the first photo in this post. In this photo, the buildings are still surrounded by a fence, and a sign for A.E. Stephens Co, the contractors, can be seen on a temporary shed on the right-hand side of the photo. In the ensuing 100 or so years in between the two photos, not much has changed in this scene. City Hall, Symphony Hall, and Campanile tower are all still there, as is the Civil War monument and the Miles Morgan statue, which is barely visible in the distance in front of the bell tower. One thing that has changed, though, is the way people get to City Hall. In the first photo, a trolley can be seen on the far left, and no automobiles are visible anywhere in the scene. Today, there are no trolleys to be found in Springfield, and instead Court Square is surrounded by cars, as seen in the 2014 photo.

95-99 Elliot Street, Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016February 16, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The building at 95-99 Elliot Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Photo courtesy of Springfield Preservation Trust.

The building in 2014:

Known as the Edward B. Barton House, this duplex at the corner of Elliot and Salem Streets was built in 1887. It was originally home to Edward B. Barton, a traveling shoe salesman, and William H. Wright, the owner of Massasoit Cigar Manufactory and Store. Today, aside from a few minor changes with the porches, the house doesn’t look all that different from its appearance in the late 1930s. Like other historic properties on Elliot Street, it is located within the Quadrangle-Mattoon Street Historic District.

85-87 Elliot Street, Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016February 16, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The building at 85-87 Elliot Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Photo courtesy of Springfield Preservation Trust.

The building in 2014:

This apartment building on Elliot Street, opposite Edwards Street, was built in 1907. During this time, many of the single and two-family buildings that once lined many of the streets in the downtown area were being replaced by larger apartment buildings, as the downtown grew and demand for housing increased. The building was built by Gagnier & Angers, two French Canadians who built many of the apartment buildings in this part of the city in the early 1900s. Presumably, not much changed in the buildings exterior appearance between its construction and the first photo in the late 1930s, and not much changed in the ensuing 75 years. All of the buildings from the 1930s photo are still there, including this apartment building, the wood duplex to the left, and the brick apartment building behind it. Together, they make up part of the Quadrangle-Mattoon Street Historic District, part of the National Register of Historic Places.

Hampden Park from Round Hill, Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016February 16, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The view of Hampden Park from the North End of Springfield, around 1882. Photo from Springfield Illustrated (1882).

The view in 2014:

The location of the second photo isn’t exact – the actual location would be somewhere in the southbound lane of Interstate 91, so I did the next best thing; I took the 2014 photo from a bridge over the highway. Either way, not much remains the same today. The railroad tracks are still there, as is the Connecticut River, but otherwise it’s a completely different scene. Hampden Park is visible in the distance; this was home to bicycle races, minor league baseball games, and even the occasional college football game. A more in-depth history of the park is explained in this post.

In later years, the part of Hampden Park closest to the North End Bridge became Pynchon Park, and was the home of several different minor league teams until the 1960s. Today, the former site of Hampden Park is now primarily industrial, with warehouses and other facilities on the spot where Harvard and Yale used to play early college football games. Pynchon Park is now a Pride station, and can barely be seen through the trees just to the left of the billboard on the right-hand side of the photo.