Category: Gothic

Rosbrook-Kyle House (1884)

by Dan//Gothic, Houses, Northampton, Queen Anne, Shingle Style, Victorian Eclectic

The Kyle Estate, also known as the Rosbrook-Kyle House, is an interesting Victorian residence at 18 Park Street in the village of Florence in Northampton. It was originally constructed as a one-and-a-half story Gothic cottage around 1865. The land on which the house was built was purchased by Francis O. Rosbrook in 1850 and passed through three other owners before it was purchased in 1844 by Oscar N. Kyle, treasurer and manager of the Florence Machine Company. He hired local architect Charles H. Jones to remodel the cottage, which was elevated one story. The front porch on the ground floor features Eastlake elements and the ornament of the porch on the second floor suggests Middle Eastern design. A three-story octagonal tower was also added at the southwestern corner of the house. The altered house combines different architectural styles, with the Gothic style retained on the original Gothic section (now the second floor and attic gable). The second floor and part of the gable have board-and-batten siding, while wood shingles cover the third story of the tower and the upper section of the gable. The house is now divided into apartments. Continue reading “Rosbrook-Kyle House (1884)”

Foot-Wallace House (1844)

by Dan//Gothic, Houses, Springfield

The Foot-Wallace House is a Gothic Revival cottage-style structure built in 1844 at 201 Maple Street in Springfield. Its originally wood exterior walls were covered in stucco in 1898, the same year an orange tile roof was added. Later part of the campus of the MacDuffie School, the house‘s tile roof sustained major damage from the Springfield tornado of June 1, 2011. The above photograph was taken before the tornado.

Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Westfield (1910)

by Dan//Churches, Gothic, Renaissance Revival, Westfield

Holy Trinity Catholic Parish in Westfield was founded in 1903 by Polish immigrants, who first settled in the town in the 1890s. Bishop Thomas Daniel Beaven of Springfield had asked the Missionaries of La Salette to come to the aid of his Polish-speaking parishioners. As there were no Polish speaking La Salette Fathers at that time, five missionaries were sent at the Bishop’s expense to Poland to learn the Polish language. In 1906, the first La Salette Father arrived in Westfield to take charge of the new parish. Holy Trinity Catholic Church, on Elm Street in Westfield, was built in 1909-1910. A parish rectory was also built next to the church, followed by Holy Trinity School in 1921.

Holyoke Armory (1907)

by Dan//Gothic, Holyoke, Military

At 163 Sargeant Street in Holyoke is a former National Guard Armory, originally called the M.V.M. Armory for the Massachusetts Volunteer militia. It was designed by local architect William J. Howe and built in 1907. Its facade was said to be a replica of New Hawarden Castle, once the residence of former British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone. In 1990, the building was seized by the Hampden County Sherriff to house excess prisoners. The Armory building is currently vacant.

Update 3-13-16: The rear of the building has been collapsing.

South Congregational Church, Springfield (1875)

by Dan//Churches, Gothic, Springfield

Happy Easter!!! South Congregational Church in Springfield was organized in 1842. According to the “Historical Discourse” by Rev. S.G. Buckingham, published in The Fortieth Anniversary of the South Congregational Church of Springfield, Sunday, March 26, 1882:

The society proceeded at once to “purchase land for a Meeting House, and take all necessary measures for building said House;” also to “employ a minister and provide for public worship.” This was no trifling undertaking, for the number engaged in it was small, and they had none of the wealth now found here, and little of the means which any such enterprise could command now. There were only twenty persons organized into the parish, and forty made up the whole number of the original church. […] And when a lot was to be selected, it was taken upon a side street, and not upon Main street, rather than incur an additional indebtedness of $650—so careful were they about incurring a debt that might be burdensome, and yet so resolute in carrying forward their enterprise. That house of worship was located on Bliss street, a white wooden structure with a spire, and a chapel a little one side, with a study attached. It was a pleasant, comfortable church with galleries, seating about six hundred, and cost $9,463. […] The church was completed and dedicated January 12, 1843 […]

The time came, at length, when one more important step must be taken, before the church could be permanently established, and prosecute its work to best advantage. A new house of worship must be erected, and the location must be changed. Our people were moving away from the neighborhood of the old church, and the Protestant population in the vicinity was diminishing. Besides, we needed ampler and better accommodations. […] The site for the New Church, on the corner of Maple and High streets, was decided upon, and the work of building commenced, in the spring of 1873. The corner-stone was laid, with appropriate religious services, Saturday afternoon, July 19. […] This church was completed and dedicated, February 24, 1875[.]

The architect of the new church was William Appleton Potter. He had received his professional training in the office half-brother, the architect Edward Tuckerman Potter, who designed the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut. William’s High Victorian Gothic-style South Congregational Church shares many similarities with Edward’s Church of the Good Shepherd in Hartford.

Christ Church Cathedral, Springfield (1876)

by Dan//Churches, Gothic, Springfield

Christ Church in Springfield began in 1817, when the Episcopalian commander of the Springfield Armory, Col. Roswell Lee, established a chapel on the second floor of a small building on the armory grounds. When a fire destroyed the main arsenal in 1824, Springfield Episcopalians worshiped at several different temporary locations until construction began in 1839 on a church at State and Dwight Streets. The church was enlarged in 1851, but further growth necessitated the building of a new church. A Norman Gothic structure of Longmeadow brownstone, it was designed by architect Stephen C. Earle of Worcester and was built on Chestnut Street in 1874-1876. Within a year, the church’s tower cracked and was dismantled for safety reasons. It was not rebuilt until 1927. In 1929, Christ Church became the Cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts.