Category Archives: Gothic

Old Berkshire Athenaeum (1876)

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Daniel

Berkshire Athenaeum

The old Berkshire Athenaeum building, at 44 Bank Row in Pittsfield, was built in 1874-1876. A gift of railway magnate Thomas Allen, it is a High Victorian Gothic building, designed by William Appleton Potter of New York, and displays that style’s distinctive ploychromatic masonry. An addition was made to the rear of the building in 1897. The addition was raised to two stories in 1926, the same year the building’s chimneys were removed. The building served as Pittsfield’s library until 1976, when a new building was constructed across the street on Wendell Avenue. The building was also home to the county museum until the Berkshire Museum was built in 1903. The Athenaeum had responsibility for the museum until it became a separate institution in 1932. The old Athenaeum building stood vacant for three years until it reopened in 1980 as an annex to the Berkshire County Courthouse. It currently houses the Berkshire Probate and Family Court.

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St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral (1869)

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Daniel

St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Springfield

In 1865, a society was formed to establish a new Congregational church in the the north section of Springfield. The cornerstone for the new Memorial Congregational Church was laid on July 18, 1867. The church, constructed on a knoll at Plainfield and North Main Streets (an area now called Memorial Square), was designed by Richard Upjohn. The granite used for the building was the gift of Mr. William Flint of Monson. The church was dedicated on June 3, 1869. In 1940, Memorial Congregational Church merged with Hope Congregational Church (Hope Church merged with Faith Congregational Church in 1977). The former Memorial Congregational Church building was sold to the Hellenic Religious Building Fund Corporation to become St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church. A brick house on Auburn Street had become the church’s first building in 1907. The church moved to Patton Street in 1919. In 1977, one-third of the church community left to form the new St. Luke parish in East Longmeadow. St. George Church then became known as St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral.

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First Churches of Northampton (1877)

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Daniel

First Churches of Northampton is made up of the combined congregations of the First Church of Christ and the First Baptist Church. The first meeting house of the town’s Puritan settlers was constructed in 1655 on what became known as “Meeting House Hill,” near where the courthouse stands today. A new meeting house, further up the hill, was then built in 1661. The third meeting house was built in 1737, during the pastorate of Jonathan Edwards. It was replaced in 1812 by what became known as the “Old Church,” a Federal-style edifice, designed by Isaac Damon. After it was destroyed by fire in 1876, it was replaced by the current church building, built in 1877 and designed by Peabody and Stearns.

The Baptist Church in Northampton was founded in 1822 by Benjamin Willard, an itinerant Baptist missionary. A church building, designed by Isaac Damon, was dedicated on West Street in 1829. Repairs were made to the church after a fire on December 29, 1863. A new church edifice was dedicated in 1904. The First Baptist Church of Northampton merged with the First Church of Christ in 1988

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Epworth United Methodist Church, Worcester (1927)

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Daniel

The First Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church in Quinsigamond Village in Worcester was formally organized in 1880. As recorded in Vol. I of Charles Nutt’s History of Worcester and its People (1919):

A colony from the First Church organized the Second Swedish Methodist Church April 9, 1885, with a membership of 94, including 29 probationers. Rev. Mr. D. S. Sorlin came from the First Church and was the first pastor of the Second. The first place of worship was in the chapel on Thomas street, purchased of the First Church of Christ for $8,000. By two additions in 1887 and 1888 costing $13,400 the seating capacity was increased to more than 500. It was dedicated Sept. 27, 1885.

Having grown too large for its first church building, the congregation built the present structure in 1926-1927 at 64 Salisbury Street. At the time of the move to the new building, designed by Henry Eckland of Chicago, the name of the church was changed to Epworth Methodist Church, now Epworth United Methodist Church.

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George Cobb House (1875)

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Daniel

Happy Halloween! Today we feature an appropriately Gothic house. The house at 24 William Street in Worcester was built c. 1875. Its first resident was George Cobb, a fish and oyster merchant (his fish market was at 135 Front Street). The house is now divided into apartments.

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First Congregational Church, Clinton (1892)

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Daniel

The First Congregational Church in Clinton is located at 34 Walnut Street. The church began as the Second Evangelical Church of Lancaster in 1844, with a chapel being constructed at the southwest corner of Main and Sterling Streets.The congregation became so large that a new church was built on Walnut Street in 1846. It was remodeled and enlarged in 1858-1859. The construction and remodeling of of these church structures was supported by donations from H.N. Bigelow of the Bigelow Carpet Company. The current church was built in 1892. The Gothic Revival edifice has stained glass windows which were donated by a group of Chinese laborers who were working at the time on the construction of the Wachusett Dam.

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Rosbrook-Kyle House (1884)

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Daniel

The Kyle Estate, also known as the Rosbrook-Kyle House, is an interesting Victorian residence at 18 Park Street in the village of Florence in Northampton. It was originally constructed as a one-and-a-half story Gothic cottage around 1865. The land on which the house was built was purchased by Francis O. Rosbrook in 1850 and passed through three other owners before it was purchased in 1844 by Oscar N. Kyle, treasurer and manager of the Florence Machine Company. He hired local architect Charles H. Jones to remodel the cottage, which was elevated one story. The front porch on the ground floor features Eastlake elements and the ornament of the porch on the second floor suggests Middle Eastern design. A three-story octagonal tower was also added at the southwestern corner of the house. The altered house combines different architectural styles, with the Gothic style retained on the original Gothic section (now the second floor and attic gable). The second floor and part of the gable have board-and-batten siding, while wood shingles cover the third story of the tower and the upper section of the gable. The house is now divided into apartments. (more…)

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Posted in Gothic, Houses, Northampton, Queen Anne, Shingle Style, Victorian Eclectic | Tagged | 1 Comment