Pittsfield’s South Congregational Church was formed in 1848 because of the enlarged membership of the First Congregational Church. Work soon began on the new church building at 110 South Street, but in September, 1849 a fire destroyed the partially completed structure. Work started over and the completed church was dedicated on November 13, 1850. The steeple has twice been blown down, in 1859 and in 1882.
Three buildings on North Street in Pittsfield are depicted in the image above. On the left is the Blaisdell, 413-419 North Street, built in 1907 for the head of the Blaisdell-Kavy Co., and designed by Pittsfield architect George Edward Haynes. In the center is the Wood Brothers Building, 421-429 North Street, also designed by Haynes. It was built in 1922-1923 to house the Wood Brothers music store, founded in 1880 and still in business today at another location. The building’s facade is constructed of 40 tons of cast stone from the Art Stone Co. of Millers Falls. The building on the right, 441-445 North Street, is the Farrell Building. Dating to 1913-1915, it is also the work of Haynes.
The building at 328-330 North Street in Pittsfield was built c. 1898 as the New Mills Block. It later became the Capitol Theatre and has a nice c. 1922 Art Deco marquee. The theater closed in the 1980s.
The building of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, located at 376 North Street in Pittsfield, was begun in 1864 and the church was consecrated in 1866. It replaced an earlier church, built on what is now Melville Street in 1844. The 1866 North Street church‘s architect was P. C. Keely and the builder was Patrick Treanor of Boston.
When Pittsfield was established in 1761 the community’s first meetinghouse was also erected (the church was organized in 1764). Intended as a temporary structure, it was eventually replaced in 1793 by a new and architecturally significant church building designed by Charles Bulfinch. After that church suffered damage in an 1851 fire it was removed to the Maplewood Young Ladies Institute, where it later served as a gymnasium (it was torn down in 1939). A new First Congregational Church, the third on the site at 27 East Street, was built in 1853. The new church was designed by Leopold Eidlitz and has an 1870 chapel designed by local architect Charles Rathbun and an 1882 Tiffany stained glass memorial window. Today the church is known as First Church on Park Square.
The commercial building at 338-346 North Street in Pittsfield was built c. 1913 on the site of the home of Dr. Lorenzo Waite. It has been variously attributed to architects George Haynes and Joseph McArthur Vance.
The Mystic Lodge of Masons was established in 1810 in Lanesborough. The Lodge acquired land at 116 South Street in Pittsfield for a Masonic Temple in 1912. The building, designed by Joseph McArthur Vance of Pittsfield, had its cornerstone laid on October 10, 1912. The building was dedicated on May 2, 1914. Members of the Mystic Lodge formed the Crescent Lodge in 1873. A third Lodge, the Pittsfield Lodge, was constituted in 1921. These two merged in 1990 to form the Crescent-Pittsfield Lodge. This Lodge merged with the Pittsfield Lodge to form the New Moon Lodge on December 1, 2015. The Masons have owned and maintained the building for over a century, but in 2015 the Pittsfield Masonic Association put the building up for sale.
