Springfield – Page 9 – Historic Buildings of Massachusetts

Hampden County Courthouse (1874)

by Dan/February 7, 2009December 30, 2012/Public Buildings, Romanesque Revival, Springfield

Built between 1871 and 1874, the Hampden County Courthouse was designed by H.H. Richardson and represents a stage in the development of his distinctive style. Located on Elm Street in Springfield, the structure replaced an earlier courthouse of 1822. In the 1860s, the county commissioners had resisted popular pressure to construct a new courthouse, but when the commissioners were threatened with an indictment in 1869 for not safekeeping deeds and public records in fireproof rooms, they relented and a new building was constructed. Between 1908 and 1912, a large addition was built, designed by the firm of Richardson’s successors, Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge.

50-52 Mattoon Street, Springfield (1872)

by Dan/January 14, 2009/Houses, Second Empire, Springfield

Another example of the Second Empire-style row house, built during the initial 1870s development of Mattoon Street in Springfield, is the building at nos. 50-52. The section of the structure to the right is the Eldredge House.

Springfield Municipal Group (1913)

by Dan/January 13, 2009September 24, 2010/Greek Revival, Neoclassical, Public Buildings, Springfield

On January 6, 1905, Springfield’s old City Hall was destroyed in a fire, said to have been started by a kerosene lamp overturned by a monkey. The city then undertook the project of constructing an ambitious new Municipal Group, which was completed in 1913. The group, designed by architects Harvey Wiley Corbett and F. Livingston Pell, consists of three structures: two matching columned Greek Revival buildings serving as the City Hall and the Auditorium (now Symphony Hall) and between them, rising to 300 feet, the Italianate-style Campanile (clock tower, above). The tower was attacked by an anarchist truck bomb during construction, but the thick walls survived. The tower has a twelve bell carrillion which plays sixteen notes of Handel‘s Messiah.

Below are pictures of the other two components of the Municipal Group: City Hall and Symphony Hall.

Continue reading “Springfield Municipal Group (1913)”

41-47 Mattoon Street, Springfield (1871)

by Dan/January 8, 2009/Houses, Second Empire, Springfield

Mattoon Street in Springfield was first developed in the years after the Civil War. It eventually became the only street in the city to be lined with row houses. Many of these were in the Second Empire style with mansard roofs, like the two homes (see above) at 41-43 (the Slater House is on the left), both built in 1871. Next door, at 45-47, are two more homes with the same design: the Calhoun House and the Hallet House (see below), built the same year. Continue reading “41-47 Mattoon Street, Springfield (1871)”

Court Square Building (1892)

by Dan/January 7, 2009September 3, 2010/Commercial, Renaissance Revival, Springfield

Springfield‘s Court Square Building, built in 1892 along Elm Street, facing Court Square, was designed by Springfield architect F.S. Newman, whose earlier Chicopee Bank Building is located just around the corner on Main Street. The building is constructed of buff colored brick with detailing in granite, brownstone and terra cotta. The commercial and office building was expended in 1900 with the addition of a sixth floor and the construction of a hotel, which was eventually converted to offices in 1920. Many of the offices in the building were utilized by lawyers, given the proximity of the County Courthouse and City Hall. The Court Square Theater was also a part of the original building, but this was torn down in 1957 and replaced with a parking lot. There are currently plans to restore the building as part of the Court Square Redevelopment Project.

Classical High School (1898)

by Dan/January 6, 2009/Neoclassical, Schools, Springfield

Springfield’s Central High School was built in 1897-1898 on State Street, on land formerly occupied by the county jail. It was adjacent to the older high school building of 1874, which then became the State Street Grammar School. The school was designed by the Boston architectural firm of Hartwell, Richardson and Driver. In 1922-1923, an addition for junior high school students was constructed on the western end of the building. In 1934, the name of the school was changed to Classical High School. The school closed in 1986 and was converted to become luxury condominiums.

Henry Alexander, Jr. House (1811)

by Dan/January 5, 2009January 21, 2020/Federal, Houses, Springfield

The Alexander House in Springfield was originally built at the corner of Elliott and State Streets in 1811 for James Byers. The design of the house has been attributed to Asher Benjamin and it was built by Simon Sanborn, Springfield’s master builder of the first half of the nineteenth century, who designed many of the city’s old mansions. In 1820, Byers sold the house to Colonel Israel E. Trask, who also owned a plantation in Mississippi. The artist, Chester Harding, briefly lived in the house from 1830 to 1832, as did the railroad superintendent General James Barnes, in 1839. After Trask’s death, in 1835, his family occupied the house until 1862, when it was sold to Henry Alexander, Jr. In that year, Alexander became mayor of Springfield and he resided in the house until his death in 1878. In 1874, he moved the house to a new location nearby on State Street. The house was acquired by the SPNEA (Historic New England) in 1939, and moved again in 2004 to Elliott Street to make way for the construction of a new federal courthouse. The house will be sold, with perpetual preservation restrictions to protect its architectural features.