Monthly Archives: October 2012

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.

Share Button
Posted in Gothic, Houses, Worcester | Leave a comment

Worcester National Guard Armory (1889)

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Daniel

The Worcester National Guard Armory at 44 Salisbury Street was built in 1889-1890 to replace the earlier Waldo Street Armory, which had developed structural problems. Facing what was then called Armory Square, the new Armory was designed by Fuller & Delano, who also later designed the rear addition of 1907. The building’s central tower was later shortened from its original height. In 1994, the Armory was renovated to house the National Guard Museum and Archives. It is also home to the Americal Division’s World War II Museum.

Share Button
Posted in Military, Romanesque Revival, Worcester | Leave a comment

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.

Share Button
Posted in Churches, Clinton, Gothic | Tagged | Leave a comment

Noah Strong House (1873)

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Daniel

The house at 38 Broad Street in Westfield was built in 1873 by Noah Strong, a local contractor. The architecture of the house reflects an amalgam of styles. The town purchased the house in 1909 to use it as a vocational school. For Westfield’s 250th Anniversary celebration in 1919, the building was used for “The Hostess House and Loan Exhibit,” under the direction of the art committee of the Women’s Club of Westfield. According to The History of the Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town of Westfield Massachusetts, August 31, September 1, 2, 5, 1919:

Here tea was served every day to thousands of guests, who were received by hostesses in quaint, old costumes.

The rooms of the house were arranged for the occasion in a colonial style with many antiques, early portraits and family heirlooms on display. A “Museum Room” featured relics of past wars, including the recently concluded First World War. In 1920, American Legion Post 124 began leasing the building from the city and purchased it in 1962. The second floor was made into a meeting hall in 1928.

Share Button
Posted in Houses, Italianate, Organizations, Victorian Eclectic, Westfield | Leave a comment

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…)

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

Foot-Wallace House (1844)

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Daniel

The Foot-Wallace House is a Gothic Revival cottage-style structure built in 1844 at 201 Maple Street in Springfield. Its originally wood exterior walls were covered in stucco in 1898, the same year an orange tile roof was added. Later part of the campus of the MacDuffie School, the house‘s tile roof sustained major damage from the Springfield tornado of June 1, 2011. The above photograph was taken before the tornado.

Share Button
Posted in Gothic, Houses, Springfield | Leave a comment

Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Westfield (1910)

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Daniel

Holy Trinity Catholic Parish in Westfield was founded in 1903 by Polish immigrants, who first settled in the town in the 1890s. Bishop Thomas Daniel Beaven of Springfield had asked the Missionaries of La Salette to come to the aid of his Polish-speaking parishioners. As there were no Polish speaking La Salette Fathers at that time, five missionaries were sent at the Bishop’s expense to Poland to learn the Polish language. In 1906, the first La Salette Father arrived in Westfield to take charge of the new parish. Holy Trinity Catholic Church, on Elm Street in Westfield, was built in 1909-1910. A parish rectory was also built next to the church, followed by Holy Trinity School in 1921.

Share Button
Posted in Churches, Gothic, Renaissance Revival, Westfield | Tagged | 1 Comment