Tag Archives: mansard

284 Maple Street, Holyoke (1880)

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Daniel

Now standing isolated on block that once contained a row of houses, 284 Maple Street is the sole survivor of an affluent neighborhood in Holyoke. Nothing is now known about who built the house (c. 1880) or who first lived in it. The concrete steps are not original. Today the building houses a law firm.

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Holyoke Water Power Company Office (1875)

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Daniel

The building at 1 Canal Street in Holyoke was built in the early 1870s to serve as an office for the Holyoke Water Power Company. Incorporated in 1859, the company took control of the property of the Hadley Falls Company, which had first begun construction of the dam and canal system that powered Holyoke’s industries. Originally a one-story structure, between 1875 and 1885 the building’s bellcast mansard roof with dormer windows was raised and a second level added. A number of additions were made to the building in later years to serve the company’s expanding operations.

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Citizens’ Hall (1870)

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Daniel

Citizens’ Hall is a mansard-roofed Second Empire building located in the former industrial village of Curtisville, now called Interlaken, in the town of Stockbridge. Designed by Charles T. Rathburn, Citizens’ Hall was built in 1870 as a district schoolhouse, with a public meeting hall on the second floor. Used less frequently as a meeting place after the town’s district schools were consolidated, the building was restored in the 1970s by Old Curtisville, Inc. (pdf). IS183, a non-profit community art school founded in 1991, leased Citizens’ Hall before merging with Old Curtisville, Inc. in 2005. As the building‘s new owners, IS183 completed exterior repairs in May, 2009.

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Buschmann’s Block (1873)

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Daniel

John C. Buschmann emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1852 and moved from Feeding Hills to Westfield in 1857. He established a wholesale tobacco business in 1860 and soon built the Railroad House Hotel (later replaced by the Bismarck Hotel) in Depot Square in Westfield. In 1873, he built Buschmann’s Block at 36 Union Avenue in Dept Square. He used the building as a warehouse and offices for his tobacco and other businesses, which included coal, wood and ice. Buschmann’s Block later became a whip manufacturing plant, a furniture store and then a flower shop. In 1995, the building became home to Pilgrim Candle, which expanded to include the Bismarck Hotel building next door in 2001.

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The Joseph Burnett House (1850)

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Daniel

Joseph Burnett (1820-1894) was born in Southborough and studied chemistry in Worcester. In 1837, he moved to Boston, working for, and eventually partnering (in 1845) with, Theodore Metcalf. They had a chemist shop on Tremont Row (now Tremont Street). A woman’s request for vanilla in 1847 led him to develop a premium vanilla extract, which previously had to be imported from France. He eventually established his own business as a manufacturing chemist, Joseph Burnett and Company. Back in Southborough, Burnett purchased land and established the Deerfoot Farms Company, originally a dairy farm, which later also became known for its sausages. Burnett also established an estate, off Main Street in Southborough, where he built a stone mansion. Here he lived with his wife, Josephine Cutter Burnett, and twelve children. Constructed in 1849-1850, the house was updated in 1860. The house was sold out of the family in 1947.

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Posted in Houses, Second Empire, Southborough | Tagged | 6 Comments

Junior Officers’ Quarters, Springfield Armory (1870)

Posted on May 2, 2010 by Daniel

Both civilians and military personnel worked at the Springfield Armory, with the military presence increasing during the Civil War and in the following years. Requiring more housing for junior officers, a duplex house was built for the purpose on Armory Square in 1870. The house is unlike other Armory buildings, having been designed in the Second Empire style with a Mansard roof.

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Grays Hall, Harvard (1863)

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Daniel

Grays Hall is a Harvard dormitory, built on the spot where Harvard’s earliest building, Old College, once stood. According to the Official guide to Harvard University of 1907:

Grays Hall, built in 1863 by the College, at a cost of nearly $40,000, is named for Francis Calley Gray, of the Class of 1809, a Fellow of the College from 1826 until 1836, John Chipman Gray, of the Class of 1811, a member of the Board of Overseers from 1847 until 1854, and William Gray, of the Class of 1829, a member of the Board of Overseers from 1866 until 1872, all three benefactors of the University.

This dorm was Harvard’s first building with water taps in the basement, freeing the residents from having to haul water in from pumps in Harvard Yard. Notable residents of Grays Hall have included: Norman Mailer, Frank Rich, Mo Rocca and Natalie Portman.

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