Category: Town

Central Baptist Church, Westfield (1867)

by Dan//Churches, Romanesque Revival, Westfield

Central Baptist Church

The First Baptist Church of Westfield was formed in 1784. In 1833, the church split over the issue of supporting missions. Those in favor of supporting missions left to form the Central Baptist Church. Soon most of the members of the First Baptist Church were absorbed into Central Baptist. The new church’s first meeting house was built in 1837-1838 at the corner of Elm and Church Streets in Westfield. Plans for erecting the current church (at 115 Elm Street) began in 1863. The Chapel (now Hays Hall) was completed in 1867 and the sanctuary was built the following year.

Saunders-Saltonstall-Tuckerman Double House (1810)

by Dan//Federal, Houses, Salem

Saunders-Saltonstall-Tuckerman House

Thomas Saunders, who lived at 39 Chestnut Street in Salem, built a double house next door, at 41-43 Chestnut Street, in 1810-1811. It was a gift to his two daughters, Caroline (1793-1882) and Mary Elizabeth (1788-1858), who married two Saltonstall brothers. The western half was the home of Nathaniel (1784-1838) and Caroline’s family until 1880, after which it was owned by Charles Saunders into the twentieth century. Until 1851, the eastern half was home to Mary Elizabeth and her husband, Leverett Saltonstall (1783-1845), who was Salem’s first mayor, serving from 1836 to 1838. It was then home to the Tuckerman family until the end of the century. The porch on the western side is believed to be original, while the two-story wing and the porch on the eastern side date from 1838.

Hadley Farm Museum (1782)

by Dan//Colonial Revival, Hadley, Outbuildings, Vernacular

Hadley Farm Museum

A barn, constructed in 1782 on the Porter-Phelps-Huntington estate, was moved in 1930 to the rear of the Hadley Town Hall. It is now home to the Hadley Farm Museum, which houses a collection of vehicles and equipment used on New England farms from the eighteenth through the early twentieth centuries. When it was moved, the barn‘s exterior was redecorated with white painted clapboards. A doorway was added, which is a copy of the famous Connecticut River Valley doorway of the Samuel Porter House in Hadley.

Mechanics Hall (1857)

by Dan//Organizations, Renaissance Revival, Theaters, Worcester

Mechanics Hall

One of Worcester’s most iconic buildings is Mechanics Hall. It was built in 1857 to house educational and cultural activities by the Worcester County Mechanics Association. This organization was formed in 1842 to promote the mechanical arts and to provide education and training for industrial workers. Mechanics Hall featured meeting rooms, a library, and two halls. The building was designed by Elbridge Boyden, a Worcester architect. By the mid-twentieth century, other organizations had taken up the role once played by the Mechanics Association and other auditoriums had found favor with the public. To raise revenue, Mechanics Hall was rented out for sporting events and for a time was even a roller skating rink. The old building was no longer the cultural center it had once been and was in danger of demolition. Citizens rallied to save Mechanics Hall, which was restored and reopened in 1977. Today, the Mechanics Association‘s primary mission is to maintain Mechanics Hall, which is considered to be the finest pre-Civil War concert hall in the country and one of the four finest in North America. The Main Hall features the 1864 Hook Organ (aka the Worcester Organ). Built by E. & G.G. Hook, it is the oldest unaltered four-keyboard organ in the Western Hemisphere.

Hotel Northampton (1927)

by Dan//Colonial Revival, Hotels, Northampton

Hotel Northampton

The Hotel Northampton, at 36 King Street in Northampton, was first opened in 1927. The hotel was funded by a five-year subscription drive by the local chamber of commerce to provide Northampton with an appropriately substantial and luxurious hotel. The Colonial Revival-style Hotel Northampton is one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s “Historic Hotels of America.” Attached to the hotel is the old Wiggins Tavern, a building which dates back to 1786 and was moved to Northampton from Hopkinton, New Hampshire. The Tavern had been opened by Benjamin Wiggins, an ancestor of Lewis Wiggins, the entrepreneur who had built the Hotel Northampton.

Berkshire Life Insurance Company (1868)

by Dan//Commercial, Neoclassical, Pittsfield, Renaissance Revival

Berkshire Life Building

The corner of North and West Streets in Pittsfield was the site of the Berkshire Hotel from the 1820s to 1866. In 1868, the headquarters of the Berkshire Life Insurance Company was built here (current address: 5-7 North Street). The building as it exists today was constructed in three stages. The first section, designed by Louis Weissbein of Boston, had a basement level below three floors and a Mansard roof with gable windows. In 1911, the Mansard roof was removed and two additional stories were added by Joseph McArthur Vance of Pittsfield. In 1927, the building was extended to the west with a new addition by Henry Seaver of Pittsfield. Berkshire Life, founded in 1851, left the building to move to a new headquarters in 1959. In 2001, Berkshire Life merged with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America.
Here are links to some historic images of this building: