The Byers block, on Elm Street off Court Square in Springfield, is the city’s earliest surviving commercial block. Built by Simon Sanborn for James Byers, it is a three story building, transitional in style between the Federal and Greek Revival. It is typical of early nineteenth century commercial buildings that had shops on the first floor with residential space above. A 1903 article, which originally appeared in the Springfield Republican, celebrated the Byers block as a “famous little building” that “has afforded offices for many prominent men,” including lawyers and politicians, and for “being the home of some of the city’s most successful business enterprises.” The prominent men included Gideon Welles, Lincoln’s Secretary of the Navy, George Ashmun, a lawyer and statesman who gave the speech nominating Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and George Bancroft, the historian and statesman. The building is now part of the Court Square Redevelopment Project.