State Street Springfield Archives - Page 7 of 12

State Street, Springfield, Mass

August 2, 2023January 17, 2015 by Derek Strahan

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

State Street in 2014:

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.

Hampden County Hall of Records, Springfield, Mass

January 23, 2016January 3, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Hampden County Hall of Records on State Street in Springfield, around 1900-1910. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The same location in 2014:

The Hampden County Hall of Records was built adjacent to the Hampden County Courthouse in the early 1900s, using a similar architectural style. Like the courthouse, it spanned from State Street to Elm Street, with this view taken looking north from State Street. I don’t know when the building was demolished, but it was gone by the 1970s, when the present-day Hampden County Hall of Justice was built on the left-hand side of the 2014 photo. The courthouse was also built on the spot of the Springfield Institution for Savings building, which is barely visible on the far left of the first photo.

51-55 State Street, Springfield, Mass

November 26, 2016December 30, 2014 by Derek Strahan

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

The scene in 2014:

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

June 21, 2017December 30, 2014 by Derek Strahan

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

The scene in 2014:

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.

102 State Street, Springfield, Mass

November 26, 2016December 30, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The building at 102 State Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Photo courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The scene in 2014:

Both the Century Cafe and The Hub Restaurant are long gone, as are the buildings that they once occupied. In the 1930s photo, these buildings fronted State Street, and behind them was the Court Square Theater, which was part of the Court Square Hotel. The hotel part of the building is still there, to the left and in the background of the 2014 photo, but the theater itself was demolished in 1956 to make room for the parking lot. It was probably around this time that the buildings on State Street were demolished.

The Post Master and His Corps, Springfield, Mass

November 26, 2016December 13, 2014 by Derek Strahan

A group of postal employees on the front steps of Springfield’s Central High School (later Classical High School) around 1910. Photo from View Book of Springfield (1910).

The building in 2014:

All that I know about the first photo is that it was taken on the front steps of the former high school, which can be seen in this post, and that it was titled “The Post Master and His Corps” in the View Book of Springfield. I’m assuming that means that all of these men are Springfield’s postal employees from a century ago, but the location of the photo puzzles me. It would seem to make more sense to have a group photo of postal workers at, say, the Post Office, but in any case the front entrance where they did pose is still there, mostly unchanged, although the building itself is no longer a school. The school closed in 1986, and today it is a condominium building.