WPA Archives - Page 60 of 70 - Lost New England

John D. Shuart House, Springfield, Mass

March 15, 2017March 13, 2017 by Derek Strahan

The house at 393 Maple Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2016:

This home was one of many large Tudor Revival-style houses that were built on Maple Street in the early 20th century. Completed in 1923, it was the home of John D. Shuart, who was the assistant treasurer for the Springfield Glazed Paper Company. Shuart was born in 1894, and was the son of William H. Shuart, who was the president of the paper company. He attended Williams College. but left during his junior year to enter the Navy during World War I. In 1917, before heading overseas, he married Harriet A. Dickinson, the daughter of former Springfield mayor Henry S. Dickinson. After the war they lived in the house next door at 403 Maple Street for a few years before moving into this house in 1923.

During the time that he lived in this house, John served several terms on the city’s Board of Aldermen, and he was also involved in political and social organizations. However, by the time the first photo was taken, the house was for sale. A year or two later, in the 1940 census, the family had significantly downsized. Perhaps a result of the Great Depression, they were living in an apartment at 169 Maple Street by then. John was no longer working for his father’s paper company, and was instead the vice president of a vending machine company. He was by no means struggling, though, and the census lists his income as being $4,500, or nearly $80,000 in today’s dollars.

Some 80 years after the Shuarts moved out of here, the building is no longer a private residence, and is now owned by the Hampden Berkshire Tuberculosis & Respiratory Disease Association. The porch on the right side has been completely enclosed, and the front lawn was paved over to make a parking lot. However, most of the exterior retains its original appearance, and the house forms part of the city’s Maple Hill Local Historic District.

Charles B. Brown House, Springfield, Mass

March 13, 2017 by Derek Strahan

The house at 385 Maple Street, at the corner of George Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2016:

This house was built in 1895 for Charles B. Brown, a carriage manufacturer who had worked for Brockett & Tuttle of New Haven for many years before coming to Springfield to work for J.H. Rogers Carriage Company. He lived here with his wife Alice and their three children, but by 1910 this house had been sold to Mary Castle, an elderly widow who lived here with a servant until the 1920s. The next owner of the house was Franklin D. Neale, an attorney who lived here with his wife Orpha and their five children until at least 1940.

Architecturally, the house somewhat reflects a shift in house styles at the end of the 19th century. It includes a tower, which was practically an obligatory feature in Queen Anne-style houses of the era, yet it lacks the excessive ornamentation that was common for such houses. Instead, the rest of the house more closely resembles the much simpler American Foursquare design that was just coming into popularity at the time.

Today, the exterior of the house remains well-preserved from the first photo, which was taken back when the Neale family still lived here. It is one of many historic late 19th century homes along Maple Street, and serves as a reminder of the days when this neighborhood was one of the most desirable residential areas of the city. Along with the rest of the area, it is part of the city’s Maple Hill Local Historic District.

John Carroll House, Springfield, Mass

March 12, 2017 by Derek Strahan

The house at 275 Pine Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2016:

This house was built sometime around the 1890s, and for many years it was the home of John and Margaret Carroll, two Irish immigrants who married around 1895 and moved into this house about the same time. They had three daughters and a son who grew up here, and John worked as a gardener, although the 1920 census lists him as working at the Armory. It is actually a two-family home, and John owned the entire building, renting one unit out to other families while living in the other.

Margaret died in the 1930s, but John was still living here with his daughter, also named Margaret, when the first photo was taken. In his 80s at this point, he was renting half of the house to another elderly Irish immigrant, Edward Connolly, who lived here with his wife Agnes and their two adult daughters, Rosemary and Alice.

Today, the house is still standing as a two-family home, with few noticeable changes to the exterior. It survived the June 1, 2011 tornado that passed through the area, and it is one of the many historic 19th century homes in the city’s Maple Hill Local Historic District.

Frederick Newman House, Springfield, Mass

March 10, 2017 by Derek Strahan

The house at 37 George Street, at the corner of Dexter Street, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2016:

This house was designed by its own resident, Frederick Newman, a prominent local architect who had designed a number of important commercial buildings in downtown Springfield, including the Chicopee Bank Building and the Court Square Building. The house was completed in 1896, and in the 1900 census he was living here with his wife Caroline, along with his niece and two servants. However, the Newmans only remained here until 1903, when they moved to New Hampshire. By 1910, the house was owned by Joseph Shattuck, Jr., a banker who worked as the treasurer of the Springfield Institute for Savings. He was 39 at the time, and lived here with his wife Fannie, their four daughters, and three servants.

Yet another wealthy family owned the house in 1920, when Frank Fuller owned the house. He was the general manager and later president of Springfield’s Moore Drop Forging Company, and in 1920 he lived here with his wife Jessie, three young children, and two servants. They were still here in 1930, and still with two servants living with them, although Frank died by the mid-1930s, and the family appears to have left soon after; this would explain the “For Sale” sign in front of the house in the first photo.

Now over 120 years old, the house is still standing, although it has seen better days. It is part of the Maple Hill Local Historic District, but it was damaged in the June 1, 2011 tornado, and is currently uninhabited. Both neglect and vandalism have taken their toll on the historic house, and several years ago it was listed by the Springfield Preservation Trust as one of the city’s most endangered historic resources.

Andrew J. Flanagan House, Springfield, Mass

March 10, 2017 by Derek Strahan

The house at 29 George Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The house in 2016:

This Queen Anne-style house was built around the early 1890s, and was the home of Andrew J. Flanagan, a prominent dentist. Born in Springfield in 1866, Flanagan opened his practice on Main Street in 1889, after having graduated from Philadelphia Dental College. He married his wife, Catherine Watters, around 1896, and the couple lived here for over 20 years. During this time, Andrew became an important figure in dentistry, working as a dental surgeon at Mercy Hospital and serving as the president of the Massachusetts Dental Society. He was also a member of a number of other dental societies, and wrote many articles for dentistry publications. Along with his professsional work, Flanagan was also involved in civic work. He was a member of several different social organizations, served as vice president of the Connecticut Valley Historical Society, and served as a city park commissioner.

Andrew Flanagan died in 1922, and Catherine in 1935. She was still living here by the 1930 census, although she was renting part of the house to another family for $45 per month. By the time the first photo was taken, a different family was living here. Since then, the exterior of the house does not look much different, and still serves as a reminder of then this area was among the most desirable neighborhoods in the city. It is part of the city’s Maple Hill Local Historic District, although like many other historic homes in the district, it appears to have been damaged in the June 1, 2011 tornado. It currently stands vacant, along with the house just to the left of it.

23-25 George Street, Springfield, Mass

March 9, 2017 by Derek Strahan

The building at 23-25 George Street in Springfield, around 1938-1939. Image courtesy of the Springfield Preservation Trust.

The building in 2016:

This apartment building was built around the 1880s or 1890s in Springfield’s Maple Hill neighborhood. At the time, the area mainly consisted of large, elegant single-family homes for some of the city’s most prominent residents. This building was an exception, though, and its early 20th century tenants were predominantly blue collar workers. From the 1910 through 1940 censuses, the building appears to have had four apartments, and housed a variety of families. Some were immigrants, including people from Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Turkey. Many worked as skilled laborers in the city’s factories, including some who worked at the Armory.

By the 1940 census, shortly after the first photo was taken, there were four families living here. There were two married couples who lived alone, another couple who lived here with the wife’s brother, and an older widow who lived here with her personal nurse. Three of these families paid $30 in monthly rent, while the fourth paid $65. The four occupations listed, aside from the nurse, were a toolmaker in a radio factory, a machinist in a factory, a president of a life insurance company, and a president of a lumber company.

Nearly 80 years after the first photo was taken, the building now consists of six apartment units. However, the exterior is remarkably unchanged. The front porch is probably not original to the building, although it looks basically the same as it did in the 1930s, aside from the addition of a satellite dish. The house, along with the rest of the east side of George Street, is just outside the boundary of the Ames and Crescent Hill Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places, but it is located within the city’s Maple Hill Local Historic District.