Category: Public Buildings

Springfield Municipal Group (1913)

by Dan//Greek Revival, Neoclassical, Public Buildings, Springfield

municipal-01.jpg

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)”

Massachusetts State House (1798)

by Dan//Boston, Federal, Public Buildings

mass-state-house.jpg

The Massachusetts State Capitol building in Boston, designed by Charles Bulfinch, was completed in 1798. The government of Massachusetts had previously used the Old State House, so the current building is sometimes called the New State House. It was built on Beacon Hill, on land once owned by John Hancock. The site on Beacon Hill was lowered 50 feet for the construction, with the excavated dirt being used as landfill. Bulfinch modeled his design on William Chambers‘s Somerset House and James Wyatt‘s Pantheon, both in London. The capitol building‘s dome was originally made of wood, which soon leaked. In 1802, it was covered with copper by Paul Revere’s company. Originally painted gray, to resemble stone, it was later painted yellow and, in 1874, gilded with gold. It was most recently regilded in 1997. The building was expanded with the addition of a yellow brick annex in 1895 and the two massive marble wings, on each side, in 1914 and 1917. The State House underwent a restoration in 2000. Today, this important structure, which Oliver Wendell Holmes once called, “the hub of the solar system,” is open to the public for tours.

Connecticut Building (Eastern States Exposition) (1939)

by Dan//Colonial Revival, Public Buildings, West Springfield

Connecticut Building

The Connecticut Building was the fifth New England state building to be constructed on the “Avenue of States” at the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds in West Springfield. The cornerstone was laid by Governor Wilbur C. Cross on September 20, 1938 and the building, designed as a replica of the Old State House in Hartford, was completed the following year. Edit: I’ve taken a better quality image of the building; below is the old one… Continue reading “Connecticut Building (Eastern States Exposition) (1939)”

Faneuil Hall (1742)

by Dan//Boston, Colonial, Public Buildings

faneuil-hall.jpg

Peter Faneuil was a Boston merchant whose parents were Huguenots. In 1740, he proposed donating a market building to the town, with a marketplace below and a public meeting hall above. The original Faneuil Hall, completed in 1742, was designed by the Scottish artist John Smibert. After the building suffered in a fire in 1761, it was rebuilt the following year. The building now entered the period when it would become known as “The Cradle of Liberty.” James Otis dedicated the meeting room to the “Cause of Liberty” and it was here that the many important gatherings protesting British taxes on the colonies were held, under the leadership of such patriots as Samuel Adams and John Hancock. After the Boston Tea Party, the British closed the building to public meetings and it was used to garrison soldiers.

After the Revolutionary War, Faneuil Hall was rebuilt and enlarged in 1806 by Charles Bulfinch, who retained its colonial style, but increased its width, added a third floor and enclosed the ground floor’s open market arcades. He also added galleries to the meeting hall, which, as Peter Faneuil had requested, has continued to be used for public forums. Over the years it has heard abolitionists, suffragists and political candidates. The third floor, now a museum, is the armory of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, the oldest military organization in the United States which has had its headquarters in Faneuil Hall since 1746. Faneuil Hall also has a distinctive copper gilt Grasshopper weather vane, made by the artisan Shem Drowne. It was stolen, but found a few days later in 1974. In 1898-1899, the building was rebuilt using noncombustible materials. Faneuil Hall, together with the neighboring Quincy Market, is now part of the Faneuil Hall Marketplace. It is also on Boston’s Freedom Trail.

Old City Hall, Boston (1865)

by Dan//Boston, Public Buildings, Second Empire

old-city-hall-03.jpg

Boston’s Old City Hall, constructed from 1862-1865, was built on School Street, the location, from 1704 to 1748, of the Boston Latin School, America’s first public school. Preceded by a City Hall on the same site designed by Bulfinch, the 1864 building was one of the first in America to be designed in the elaborate French Second Empire style and further helped to popularize the use of the style throughout the country. With the 1969 move to the new City Hall, the old building was adapted to serve as space for offices and a restaurant, although at the cost of some of the original impressive interiors. The preservation of Old City Hall is one of the earliest examples of the adaptive reuse of a historic structure. Old City Hall is also on the route of Boston’s Freedom Trail. See below for more pictures:

Continue reading “Old City Hall, Boston (1865)”

Old State House (1713)

by Dan//Boston, Colonial, Public Buildings

old-state-house-01.jpg

Since the 1630s, what would become the site of the Old State House in Boston was where the Puritans’ stocks and whipping posts were located and where the town’s earliest market was held. A wood Town House was built there in 1657, which had an open air market on the ground floor and a meeting place above. After this structure burned down in 1711, a new brick one was built in 1713, although the interior was gutted by fire in 1747 and had to be restored afterwards. This historic structure at the head of State Street, which became the seat of British Royal government in Massachusetts, was the site of many significant events: James Otis‘ speech against the writs of assistance in 1761; the March 5, 1770 Boston Massacre, which occurred just in front of the building; the first reading for Bostonians of the Declaration of Independence by Col. Thomas Crafts from the east balcony on July 18, 1776 (at which time the people torn down from the building the original royal lion and unicorn to be consigned to a bonfire); and the 1789 visit of President George Washington. After the Revolutionary War, it continued to serve as the State House until 1798, when it was given to the town in exchange for a new State House site on Beacon Hill. In 1830, it was altered by architect Isaiah Rogers in the Classical Revival style to serve as a City Hall until 1841. After that, it began a long decline. Housing offices and shops, the exterior was covered with advertisements. There were thoughts of demolishing it to widen the street and Chicagoans even offered to move it to Illinois! In 1882, it was eventually restored (with replicas of the old lion and unicorn) and rededicated as a museum, run by the Bostonian Society. A more recent restoration was completed by Goody, Clancy & Associates in 1991. The building is part of the Boston Freedom Trail. See below for more pictures of the Old State House:

Continue reading “Old State House (1713)”