USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Springfield > Springfield city directory and business advertiser 1873-1874 > Part 5
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The new house of worship for the State street Methodist Church, (formerly known as the Union street Methodist,) is on the south-east corner of State and
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Myrtle streets. It will be fully completed for dedication early in the fall, and the large Sunday-school room in the basement, which is high and well-lighted, is already finished, and occupied by the church for its public services. In style of architecture, the building is like the City Library. It is constructed mainly of brick, with trimmings of Ohio and Portland stone, and is 110 feet long by 60 wide. It fronts on State street, and the tower is in the center on the north end, above which the spire rises to a hight of 150 feet from the ground. In the cen- ter of the front is a beautiful rose window, one of the finest in the city. There are two entrances, the main one on State street and the side one on Myrtle. The interior is finished in black walnut and ash, and furnishes sittings for 1200 people, the auditorium being 94 by 64 feet and unbroken by pillar or roof truss. The organ and choir will be in the rear of the pulpit, at the south end of the church. The cost is about $75,000. S. J. F. Thayer of Boston, architect; Amaziah Mayo, builder.
On the south side of Howard street, a new house of worship has been con- menced for the St. Joseph's Church. It will be of brick, trimmed with Long- meadow stone, 144 by 66 feet in size, and the cost is not yet determined.
A new Baptist chapel is soon to be erected on the north side of Carew street, from designs by Perkins & Gardner. It will be of a Swiss style, with sharp roofs, and light projecting hoods over windows, the latter being of stained glass. The extreme size of the chapel will be 40 by 56 feet, and a spire will rise above the tower to a hight of 78 feet from the ground. The audience-room will be 38 by 47 feet, and there will also be a class-room, 15 by 31 1-2 feet. The cost will be $7,000 for building, and $3,000 was paid for the lot.
The new Court House of Hampden County is nearly completed. (See En- graving, facing page 50.) It is located between Elm and State streets, south of the First Church, and was designed by H. H. Richardson of New York, and built by Norcross Brothers of Worcester. It is a magnificent structure, in- tended to stand for centuries, and costs, with the land, over $250,000. The house next east on Elm street will probably be removed, affording a better view of the building from Main street. The new court house fronts on Elm street, but is set back 48 feet on that side, and 43 from State street, and is an effective but unpretending building of granite, simple in mass but grave in design, as befits its purpose. The Town Hall of Belgium and the Broletto of Italy-the models for the municipal buildings of modern times-were always characterized by a similar simplicity of general form, though always enriched with an elaboration of detail which would be inadmissible in granite, inconsistent with the sober tastes of New England, and incompatible with the limits of economy imposed by the price of labor in our day. The characteristic features of these buildings are here reproduced with such modifications as difference of climate and cus- toms demands-as the open loggia for general gatherings,-the balcony whence the people may be addressed, the tower to give dignity, and the belfry to an- nounce the signals of public danger or rejoicings. The treatment of the front of this building makes its purpose conspicuous; the tower, with its belfry and clock-face, the hospitable vestibule, and the disposition of the windows marking it as a place of assemblage for public purposes. The general surface of the front is of rock-faced granite, relieved by cut and hammered " dressings," and a trifling amount of decorative carving, confined to conspicuous points. Du- rability is insured by the material, and by the solid construction which pervades the work throughout ; and while the exterior affords no point of vantage for the attack of fire from neighboring buildings, as at Chicago, (the cornices and dor-
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mer windows being all of granite in this building,)-those parts of the interior which inclose valuable contents are built entirely fire-proof. The general plan of the building is in the form of the capital letter I, 89 feet 4 inches by 158 feet 4 inches in extreme dimensions, with a hall running longitudinally through the center. There are two high stories above the low basement, giving an elevation of 49 feet 8 inches to the eaves from the pavement; and a third story in the lofty roof, the ridge of which is 78 feet 8 inches from the pavement. The tower, to the top of the belfry, is 126 feet 8 inches high. The basement is appropriated to purposes of general storage and heating, and is mostly above ground, so that the first floor is at a level of 6 feet from the sidewalk. On the first floor, the front space, exclusive of the vestibule (13 feet by 54), is to be occupied by the rooms of the Register of Deeds and Probate, on the right and left of the en- trance-in the front transverse arm. The portion of the longitudinal arm first approached contains wide public staircases on either side, and beyond will be the Treasurer's, grand jury, witness and spare rooms,-the remote transverse arm being occupied by the rooms of the Clerk of the Courts and County Com- missioners, with their dependent lavatories, etc., and the private stairs and en- trance hall for judges, lawyers and officers. The front part of the second floor will contain witness and other rooms subservient to the grand court-room-a spacious hall 60 feet square and 31 feet high, which will occupy the whole of the middle space (exclusive of the stairways). The public will be accommodated by galleries on the sides, while under the galleries are lobbies for consultations and retiring, and the passage-ways giving access on this floor, from the front to the rear of the building. The rear arm of this floor has the library and law- yers' rooms-each 22 feet 6 inches by 35 feet 8 inches, with lobbies, private con- sultation rooms, lavatories, etc., attached. The rooms in the roof will be ap- propriated as future necessity shall require. The finish of the interior is marked by the same simplicity as the exterior, the halls being laid with encaustic tiles, and the wood-work throughout constructed of ash. Every room, passage and staircase is lighted directly from the exterior, excepting a short part of the cen- tral hall in the first story, which is nevertheless amply supplied by secondary light without resorting to wells.
The new High School-house is on State street, next east of the Church of the Unity, and fronting on a line with the latter edifice. The lot is 115 feet wide and 269 deep. Samuel J. F. Thayer of Boston is the architect, and the plans were made after careful consultation with the school authorities and the princi- pal of the High School as to the needs of the city, and admirably embody their wishes. The building will be completed before winter. It is 80 by 127 feet, with projections in front and rear 2 by 40 feet, and the center of each side re- cessed 6 by 65 feet. It is three stories high, besides a finished basement. The walls and principal partitions are of brick, the former faced with pressed bricks, and with granite and Ohio stone trimmings. In the front part of the basement will be an industrial drawing school-room, 28 by 76 1-2 feet, and 11 1-2 feet high, the grade of the lot permitting full length windows and an excellent light for this room. Back of this will be two separate recreation rooms, each 76 1-2 feet by 30, and still further back will be the janitor's room, 16 by 9 feet, and a labor- atory about 30 feet square, where pupils may study practical chemistry under direction of the teacher. The arrangement is such that those who attend the drawing school will not need to go into any other part of the building. The public entrance to the first floor and the floors above is through a portico and vestibule. On one side of the latter is the principal's business room, 17 feet by
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11, and on the other a reception room, 22 by 11. The vestibule leads into a hall, 27 by 26 feet, which is also approached by side entrances to the building, which are specially designed for the pupils. This hall opens through two doors into the general study room, but the pupils will pass through the clothes rooms, one on each side, and thence into the study room, thus avoiding all crowding or confusion ; by a mezzanine story these clothes rooms are divided horizontally, so as to provide dress rooms for the assistant teachers. These rooms are entered from the landing of the stairways leading from the first to the second floor. The study room is 63 1-2 feet by 45 1-2 ; on this floor, also, are six commodious reci- tation rooms. The second floor is very similar, having a study room of the same size, but with seven recitation rooms instead of six, besides a room, 22 feet by 11, for a museum. In the third story is an exhibition hall, 84 1-2 feet by 64, at one end of which are three recitation-rooms, which may also be used as ante- rooms, as they are convenient to the platform ; while at the other end are chem- ical and philosophical lecture-rooms, and between them, rooms for keeping chemical and philosophical apparatus. Thèse latter are so arranged, by means of doors sliding upwards, that the apparatus can be made easily available to classes in the lecture-rooms, or to larger audiences in the hall, as may be de- sired. Ample arrangements are made for ventilation and abundant light, and the building is to be heated by steam. The boiler and coal-rooms are in a sep- arate brick building, 24 by 40 feet, in the rear. Accommodations are provided for 350 scholars, and the cost of buildings and ground will be nearly $150,000.
On the north side of the Boston road, and about two miles east of the City Hall, is the new Almshouse, nearly completed. It stands on higher ground than the Armory, commands fine views of the surrounding country, and is visible from Lake Como. It is built of brick, with Ohio stone trimmings, iron cornice and mansard roof. The main part is 55 feet square, and is flanked by two wings, each 42 by 40, giving a total frontage of 139 feet. The basement contains the arrangements for heating the building by steam and the laundry, and also three cells in which violent lunatics or refractory truants may be confined. The en- tire left wing will be given up to the truant department, and contains school, sleeping and play-rooms for over 80 pupils. The dining-room, where the pau- pers and truants eat together, is on the first floor of the main building, and adjoining is a small dining room for the superintendent and his family, who have a suite of living and sleeping rooms on the floor above. The remainder of the second floor, the third floor and the entire right wing will be used for the pau- per department, and has accommodations for 110. The cost of the building, including heaters and ventilation, is $45,000. In the rear is a barn, for the con- struction of which an additional sum of $2,000 is expended. The almshouse is well built, and an ornament to the city. But, happily, there are few poor people to occupy it. The farm of 17 acres and the shop will furnish so much work, truant boys will not want to go there. Perhaps the beauty of the place will attract paying summer boarders. George E. Potter, architect; E. W. Shattuck, builder ; J. W. Hawkes & Co:, masons.
On Pynchon street, an addition is being made for the city to the Engine-house. The new part is 44 by 80 feet, similar to the old in style, and connected with it by a mansard roof over both. The middle portion of the exterior wall in front is recessed for a width of twenty feet, with a dormer window in the upper part, giving to the whole a pleasing effect. Accommodations will be provided in the building for another steamer and a hook and ladder truck. There will also be an office for the Chief Engineer, 20 by 30 feet ; a large parlor, sleeping-
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rooms and bath-rooms for firemen, who are required to sleep here so as to be in instant readiness for danger ; a room for batteries and another for repeaters of the alarm telegraph; a shop for repairing hose, etc., and stabling for eight horses. The cost is about $10,000, and George E. Potter is architect.
NEW BUSINESS BLOCKS.
At 124 Main street, on the site of the old North church, a four-story brick block is being erected for Joseph Shaw. It is of a gothic style, 50 by 120 feet, with mansard roof and iron cornice, and is faced with pressed brick, Vermont marble and Ohio freestone. The lower floor will be occupied by two large stores. Above will be offices in front, and from those in the second story French windows project, affording pleasant views up and down the street ; the rear part of the second story is designed for a large salesroom ; and on the third floor there will be a public hall, 49 by 70 feet. The cost is about $50,000, besides nearly as large a sum for the ground. George E. Potter, architect; C. L. Shaw, builder ; B. F. Farrar, mason.
On Lyman street, one of the most substantial blocks in the city, handsome in appearance, but unlike others here, will be erected this season for the Wason Manufacturing Company, and the whole leased to the Powers Paper Company. It will be 50 by 100 feet, five stories besides a high basement, built of brick, trimmed with iron on the first story and above with granite, and with plate glass windows in front. The inside is to be finished in native woods, and fur- nished with passenger and freight elevators. In the upper stories there will be manufactured a portion of the great variety of goods sold by the company, em- ploying a number of hands, and the machinery will be run by an engine of two hundred horse-power. The building will be completed October 1, and cost nearly $50,000. Perkins & Gardner, architects ; C. L. Shaw, builder. A little westward, on ground occupied by the office rooms of the Wason Manufacturing Company before the removal to Brightwood, it is proposed to erect still another building similar to the one here described, but the plans are not matured.
On the south-east corner of Main and Worthington streets, one of the largest and handsomest business blocks in the city has been completed this season by Justin L. Worthy of West Springfield. It fronts 48 feet on Main street and 138 on Worthington, and is five stories high, with a nine-foot basement. It is built of brick, with trimmings of granite and Ohio sandstone, and the Main street part is faced with Philadelphia pressed brick, and the whole surmounted with iron cornice. With the exception of two stores on Main street, each 18 1-2 by 72 feet, and that portion of the basement beneath them, the entire structure is occupied by Clark W. Bryan & Co., for whose use it was designed and erected. The business of printing, publishing, book-binding and electrotyping, carried on here, employs 250 hands, and the sum paid in wages and for stock the past year was about a quarter of a million dollars. The counting-room is on Worthington street, on the first floor, and is reached also by an entrance from Main street, through a hall. In the rear, is the press-room of the Daily and Weekly Union newspaper, which is provided with a new four-cylinder Hoe press, costing $20,000, and capable of printing ten thousand impressions per hour. Other labor-saving machinery of the latest pattern is also added. The second and a portion of the third stories are devoted to job and book work, and twenty-six presses are used here. The editorial rooms are on the third floor, as also are the newspaper composing-room and the electrotype foundry. The
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fourth and fifth stories are devoted to the book-bindery, some eighty hands being employed in the latter. Few establishments of the kind in the country are so complete in all departments ; and while the proprietors gratefully ac- knowledge a generous local patronage, and aim more and more to deserve it, it is true that they receive a large amount of work from other cities and from many States even, benefiting Springfield and illustrating its growth in one direction, at least. The cost of the building was $50,000.
At 305 and 307 Main street, B. F. Farrar is erecting a four-story brick block, 36 by 130 feet, and faced with pressed brick, iron, granite and Berea stone, like Worthy's block adjoining. There will be two stores on the lower floor, and the building will cost $20,000, besides ground. J. M. Currier, architect.
At 186 to 194 Worthington street, near Chestnut, Harvey Lyman is building a four-story brick block, similar in style to the best structures of the kind on Main street, and costing about $40,000, besides land. It is 81 feet by 60, faced with pressed brick, and trimmed with iron columns, granite and Ohio stone. There will be four stores on the lower floor. In the second story will be Lib- erty Hall, a large public audience-room for Spiritual meetings and other pur- poses ; and above, will be tenements.
On the south side of Hampden street, L. S. Stowe and W. T. Parks are erect- ing a three-story brick building, 58 by 70 feet, trimmed with granite, artificial Portland stone, and iron cornice. It will be devoted to wholesale trade, and con- tain two stores, and cost about $12,000 besides the lot; A. L. Chapin, architect ; C. L. Shaw, builder ; D. J. Curtis, mason.
On the north side of Bridge street, near Water, M. L. Tourtellott erects this season a fine business block, from designs by A. L. Chapin. It fronts 70 feet on Bridge street, and is 105 feet deep and four stories high. It will be faced with pressed brick, and trimmed with Ohio freestone and an iron cornice. There will be four stores on the lower floor, and offices and tenements above. The cost will be about $30,000 besides the land.
On the north side of Bridge street, west of Main, B. F. Farrar is building a store for Walter Miller, 18 by 40 feet.
The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company's fine block, at 411, 413 and 415 Main street, is being rapidly rebuilt, and will soon be occupied. It was well constructed before, for though the great fire of February 6 raged here for hours, it was confined largely to the rear part by the brick division walls and the brave work of the fire department. Mr. Hathorn of New York is the archi- tect for the second building, and it is made much stronger than the former one, as well as larger, and more beautiful in external appearance and interior finish. It is four stories, with brownstone front, as before, but surmounted by a gal- vanized iron mansard roof, lighted by large pointed windows. The general plan of the interior is unchanged. There will be two large stores on the lower floor ; the Life Insurance Company use all the second floor for their business; and a part of the third floor, and all of the fourth and fifth are taken by the Masonic societies, who will remove here from their old quarters on State street, so soon as the building is finished, probably in October. C. S. Ferry, building super- intendent.
Hurlbut's block, at 344 Main street, has an additional story recently built over one wing by C. C. Moulton, for W. B. Miles' photograph parlors.
At 253 Main street, B. F. Farrar has completed a four-story addition, 20 by 25 feet, on the rear side of the building, at a cost of $4,000, and extending thus the new store of Eldredge & Lewis.
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At 361 Main street, I. Harmon & Co. have added to the rear of their store a new part, 18 by 56 feet, two stories high, making this the largest dye-house out- side of Boston. C. C. Moulton, builder ; Howe & Whittemore, masons.
Smith & Wesson have nearly completed an addition, four stories high, on the rear side of their pistol shops, costing nearly $4,000. This firm completed last year 20,000 army revolvers of their patent for the Russian government, and also have made for private parties some 35,000 of that size alone. They are preparing to execute for Russia a second order similar to the first, and will con- siderably increase their large force of workmen.
The New York Watch Company propose to build this season a three-story wing of 50 by 20 feet, in addition to their factory at the corner of Tyler and Orleans streets. They now employ 192 hands, and will considerably increase the number as soon as they have room: About sixty watches a day are made here, and have a high reputation in the market. John C. Perry is superintendent.
The button factory of the Newell Brothers Manufacturing Company, near the foot of Howard street and west of the railroad track, is soon to have a new part added, 25 by 40 feet and three stories high. Some fifty more girls may then be employed here.
On Dwight street, near Harrison avenue, Chester Bailey has just completed a carriage and blacksmith shop, where he will employ twelve hands.
On High street, Siskron & Healey have completed a new carriage repository for their increasing business.
FINE RESIDENCES AND OTHER DWELLINGS.
One of the most elegant and pleasantly situated houses in Springfield, is the new residence of O. H. Greenleaf, on the very summit of Crescent Hill, east of Maple street, and just completed. It was designed by George Hathorn of New York, and probably cost over $40,000. It is an English cottage, built of Phil- adelphia brick laid in red mortar, and trimmed with Ohio sandstone and Mil- waukee pressed brick, the whole resting on a solid foundation of Fitzwilliam granite. The main part is two stories high, with a tower and observatory in the center, all roofed with Welsh slate, the monotony of which is relieved with light green stripes. The total length of the house, including the ell in the rear, is 82 feet, and the extreme width 54, but the surface is so broken with windows, roofs, angles and cornices, all arranged in perfect harmony, as to destroy any appearance of massiveness. Indeed, the house looks smaller than it really is, and has, on every side, the aspect of a cozy, neat and charming home. In front, on either side of the arched and tiled entrance, are broad verandas, themselves commanding views rarely equaled, while above is a beautiful balcony. From the observaory in the tower the country may be seen for a great distance in any direction. Charles S. Ferry, building superintendent ; Howe & Whittemore, masons.
Three fine houses on the west side of Maple street, south of Central, attract at once the attention of persons passing down Main street, below Park, who look toward Crescent Hill. The south one, on the west brow of the hill, is most im- posing, and is an English cottage, built for J. G. Chase, from designs by Vaux & Withers, of New York. It is opposite the beautiful residence of Mr. Greenleaf, and promises to divide with that the admiration of all visitors. Mr. Chase's house fronts both toward the river and on Maple street, and is of brick, with Ohio gray sandstone trimmings. It is two stories high, surmounted by a tower, and 80 by 40 feet in extreme dimensions. A piazza 10 feet wide extends along the
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entire west side and on the north and south ends, connecting with a plant stand at the southeast corner. Columns of polished Aberdeen granite support the main porch, and the rich carvings are especially noticeable. The rooms will be elegantly furnished, and each is of a generous size. The house will cost about $50,000, exclusive of ground. North of it is a barn, of similar style, and one of the handsomest in the city. C. S. Ferry, building superintendent ; Royal Harrington, mason.
Next north of Mr. Chase's house is an English cottage in course of erection for Mrs. C. L. Loomis, of which Ware & Van Brunt of Boston are the archi- tects. It presents a singular and tasteful appearance externally, and is thorough- ly built of brick, faced with Ohio stone and granite, and variegated with black brick. It will cost about $25,000, is prettily ornamented and thoroughly con- structed, and Royal Harrington does the mason work. Near, but lower down the hill northward, is the handsome new house of Capt. J. B. Hatch. It is also of brick, in the modern style, with brownstone trimmings and gothic roof, Howe & Whittemore doing the mason work. Chauncey Shepherd builds both of the houses last mentioned. He is nearly 77 years of age, yet still handles the pencil and brush of the architect with rare skill, having recently completed plans for the West Springfield town house. The City Hall of Springfield, and not a few other public buildings and private residences of the best class have been built by him, during a period of more than fifty years that he has been engaged in business here.
On Crescent Hill, east of Maple street, J. H. Appleton will soon erect a two- story cottage, 41 by 37 feet, with ell 36 by 26 feet. It will have a two-story porch and bay windows, and cost $10,000. Perkins & Gardner, architects.
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