USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Springfield > Springfield directory 1866-1867 > Part 3
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24
NEW BUILDINGS: SCHOOL-HOUSES, MUSIC HALL.
It is three stories high from front, with a basement making it four stories from the rear, and has a handsome tower in front. Although it cannot boast of the architectural elegance of the Elm street school house, it has decidedly the advantage of it in location, and will more readily strike the eye from an outlook on the city. The hall in the third story is capacious and well arranged, and is at present used for Sabbath worship by the new Memorial Church Society. The ground dimensions of the building are 60 by 90 feet. One particular advantage of the arrangement of the school-rooms, eight in number, is that they are all thoroughly ventilated, something which cannot be said of every new school edifice erected in our large cities. The building, planned by Currier & Richards, home architects, does credit to their taste.
The Elm Street school-house, completed on the 1st of July of the present year, will compare favorably in point of elegance of outside finish with any school edifice in the country. Currier & Richards drew the plans for this building. It is three stories high, with a French roof, which gives room for a fine hall for exhibitions, making in reality a fourth story. The roof gives the building a fine appear- ance. The size of the edifice is the same as that of the North Main Street school-house. Mr. Amaziah Mayo, the well-known carpenter, has had charge of the wood-work of the building. Should the some- what Quixotic project of opening all the space between Elm and Court streets as a public park ever be carried into effect, the Elm Street school-house will certainly detract nothing from the appearance of the park or its surroundings. A new school-house at the junc- tion of Walnut and Oak streets, on the hill, similar in cost and finish to the two above mentioned, and one at Indian Orchard, much needed and long prayed for, are among the certainties of the coming year.
Our old Music Hall, destroyed by fire in 1864, had done good ser- vice, under the management of Mr. Haynes, as the principal amuse- ment hall in the vicinity for a long time ; but there were some faults in its construction, all of which are left out in the plan of the new hall, which was completed in July, one year from the date of the fire which destroyed the old one. The new edifice is a handsome struc- ture of brick, fronting 65 feet on Main and 158 on Pynchon street. The lower floor is occupied by the extensive and well-arranged tailor- ing establishment of T. L. Haynes & Co., and by two fine stores, occupied respectively at present by D. F. Hale of Chicopee and J. Fallon, one for dry goods, the other for millinery. There is a hand- some front entrance on Main street, with broad stairways leading directly to the parquet auditorium of the theater, and communicating by means of side stairways with the offices and tailoring rooms in the third and fourth stories. The interior of the theater is elegantly arranged, a noticeable feature of the interior finishing being the utter absence of gilding or any attempt at gingerbread effects. A plain and elegant white finish gives the hall a fresh and clean look in the evening which most theaters do not possess. The stage is 35 by 40 feet, and is well stocked with fine sets of scenery. The prerequisites
25
NEW BUILDINGS: MAMMOTH HOTEL, LINCOLN HALL, ETC.
so necessary to stage representations are so well kept here that the hall has won the credit from a large number of the acting profession of being the best country theater they have ever seen. The seating accommodations are for an audience of 1,100, but in one or two in- stances in a successful theatrical season, from 1,400 to 1,600 people have been inside the walls. There will be many improvements in and additions to the hall during the next year.
Opposite the theatre, on the other corner of Main and Pynchon streets, stands the mammoth new hotel erected by Tilly Haynes. The building is now rapidly approaching completion; in fact, the stores below, and the rotunda, the office of the American Telegraph Com- pany, and the Post Office, are already occupied, and their arrange- ment has given general satisfaction to the public. The new Post Office rooms are every way an improvement on those on Elm street, being larger, and the distributing being much better arranged. The office has entrances on Main and Pynchon streets, and the ladies do not suffer so much as heretofore from waiting in disagreeable crowds for the opening of the mail. The Telegraph Office will compare favorably with any in New England. The hotel above, reached by entrances from Main and Pynchon streets, will contain about 160. rooms, a portion of which are now occupied, while the remainder will be'occupied on completion. The house is intended for a pri- vate hotel, and rooms and suites of rooms will be rented to fami- lies. The house will be kept on the European plan. The landlord is to be Mr. Curtis, formerly of the Lake House, Burlington, Vt., and later of the Mansfield Mountain House.
At the Water Shops, two enterprising citizens of Ward 7, Brown & Pinney, have erected a fine brick block, 48 by 75, and in the upper story finished off a fine large hall, called "Lincoln Hall," and well furnished with all the prerequisites of a good audience room. This is something which the inhabitants in that section have long needed, and which they duly appreciate.
The City Library Association have been very successful in can- vassing for a subscription in aid of their new building enterprise, and are now considering plans for the edifice, which is to be located near the corner of State and Chestnut streets, on the lot given for that purpose by Hon. George Bliss. The subscriptions have already reached nearly $100,000. Holly & Hathorne, the new architectural firm at New York, are among those consulted relative to plans.
Of new blocks erected for business or manufacturing purposes exclusively since last July, the following are the most important. Fallon's Block, near the corner of Main and Vernon streets, is one of the most tasteful business blocks in town. It has a front of 51 feet and a depth of 75, and is four stories high. The fine iron front, tastefully designed, was cast expressly for the block by the Archi- tectural Iron Works of New York. On the first floor front there are two handsome stores, one of them at present occupied by Hib- bard & Cosgrove, merchant tailors, and the other by Labaree Brothers, dry goods dealers. The stores are splendidly lighted and 3
26
NEW BUILDINGS: FALLON'S BLOCK, LEET'S BLOCK, ETC.
well adapted for the purposes of trade. The main entrance to the block is between the two stores. The second and third floors of the building are rented for offices, ware-rooms, etc., and the fourth floor is devoted to a spacious hall, much rented for dancing parties and the like. Altogether, the block is a very fine one, and adds much to the appearance of the section where it stands. Its cost was $34,- 000. A. L. Chapin draughted the plans, and our city builders did the work of erection. Directly south of the block, and between it and the New York Clothing store, Baldwin & Hitchcock have put up a small two story brick building, narrow in front but quite deep, to be occupied by Mr. Barr, formerly keeper of the old stand where Swetland now is, as an ice cream saloon and eating-house in the lower story, and offices above. Round the corner, on Vernon street, Dr. C. S. Hurlbut has commenced the erection of a fine brick block, to have a front of 26 feet, to be 90 feet deep, and to be occupied for stores and offices. Directly north of Fallon's Block, on Main street, Charles L. Shaw and James Kirkham propose during the season to erect a fine four story brick block, novel in architectural design, with iron front, the building to be used for business purposes. A. L. Chapin is at present engaged in draughting the plans. On the other side of Main street, opposite the Lombard lot, George R. Townsley is putting up a three story brick building, the material used in its construction being old brick resuscitated from the buildings recently torn down on the site. The block is to have an iron front, and will have four stores in both the first and second stories, giving a glass front also to each story. Just south of this building stands a squat one story structure, rented for stores, and erected during last sum- mer. There are already too many of these abortive edifices in town.
Just north of the North Church, on Main street, Smith & Dickin- son propose during the year to erect a fine block. The plans already draughted by Mr. Chapin show that it is to be four stories high, with 100 feet front on Main street, and 130 on Worthington. On the ground floor on the Main street front there will be four stores; on the Worthington street front there will be two. The upper stories will be devoted to offices and ware-rooms. In the centre of the block there will be an open space or court for light and air, and a large hoistway, with steam elevator, will be placed in the building.
On the corner of Hillman and Dwight streets, (extended,) and on line with the cartridge factory, C. D. Leet has erected a large four story block, 181 by 35, and rented it for various manufacturing pur- poses. The building is put up in fine shape, and its special excel- lence is that the work-rooms are all light and well ventilated. They are, without exception, the best work-rooms in the city. The base- ment and first ground story are occupied by Geo. Dwight. Jr. & Co., manufacturers of Earle's Patent Steam Pump, their increasing busi- ness having forced them to remove from their cramped quarters on Market street. The third and half of the fourth stories are rented by Ray & Taylor, of the Massasoit Paper Collar Company, and E.
NEW BUILDINGS: FRANKLIN BLOCK, ALLIS' BLOCK, NEW HOTEL. 27
Morgan & Co., envelope makers, have the balance of the fourth story. The block has a fine hoistway with powerful steam elevator. The whole cost of the building and land on which it stands was about $30,000. In the rear of this block, on Harrison avenue, R. G. Shumway has recently erected a four story block, 25 by 55, for manufacturing purposes, and occupies the basement and two lower stories as a gold chain manufactory, while the two upper stories are rented with power for light work of any kind.
On Main street, near the Pynchon House, Patrick Meagher has put up a four story block, well built, rented for trade and other pur- poses : on the east side, just north of Worthington street, E. Wight has erected a small two story building ; and on the corner of Water and Worthington streets, on land purchased by C. W. Kimball, the Par- sons Paper Company of Holyoke have put up a fine storehouse, built of wood. It is three stories high, and will be used in the second and third stories as a rag-cutting room ; in the first as a store-house, etc. On the corner of Water street and Railroad row, Charles Shaw of Albany has fitted up an old building anew, and put in a brewery for the manufacture of fine ales. Mr. Shaw is a member of an Albany firm. The brewery is now in operation.
On North Main street, nearly opposite Cooley's Hotel, W. H. Allis has just finished his six story block, which he has been in process of building for two or three years. The block is well built and propor- " tioned. The walls are 78 feet high; the block has a front of 40 feet, and a depth of 87 feet. The number of bricks used in the construc- tion of the building was 720,000. The ground floor is devoted to stores, one of which is occupied by John E. Doyle, druggist, and the other is not yet leased. The five upper stories are rented for offices, warerooms, and tenements. H. H. Bartlett & Co., silk merchants, have their store on the second floor.
Work has already been commenced on the new block for the Sec- ond National Bank, and office of The Republican, on Main street, directly below Republican Block. The building is to be four stories, and 65 feet high; will front 59 feet on Main street and 136 on Townsley Avenue. The front is to be of fine Portland freestone, and all the pilasters, architraves, window-caps, etc., of the same material. The Second National Bank will occupy the north corner room on the first floor, 22 feet wide by 82 feet deep, and divided respectively into the banking apartments, and rooms for the directors, clerks, etc. With the exception of this room, The Republican will occupy the entire building. The counting-room of the office will front 28 feet on Main street, extend back 80 feet, and be fitted with every busi- ness appliance. The engine and newspaper press-room, directly in the rear, will be 46 feet square. The steam boilers will be built in under the side-walk, in the rear of Market street. The basement, large and well-arranged, will be occupied in front with an electrotype foundry, and in the rear as a store-room for paper bulk. An ample area, with wide stairways, will give entrance to the upper floors from Main street. The employes of the establishment, and all having
28 NEW BUILDINGS: REPUBLICAN ESTABLISHMENT, BANK, ETC.
business in the upper manufacturing rooms, will enter on Townsley avenue. The three upper stories, 50 by 136, will be devoted entirely to the Republican business departments. The job printing rooms will occupy the second floor; the book-bindery the third, and the newspaper, editorial and composition rooms, and photograph album department, the fourth story. All partition walls in the building are to be of brick, and all doors in the upper stories will be of iron, fire proof. The exterior finish and internal arrangement of the building will rival that of any establishment in New England. The work of putting in the foundations is already commenced. It is intended the building shall be completed about the 1st of October. A. L. Chapin has the wood-work and general superintendency; A. S. Dwelly & Co. the stone work, and the Architectural Iron Works of New York the iron work.
Directly south of this block the Massachusetts Mutual Insurance Company of this city are erecting a fine four story block, built of brick, with Portland free stone front and trimmings. The block is to have a 62 feet front on Main street. The ground floor will be occupied by stores, the second story by the office of the Insurance Company, and the third and fourth stories will be rented for offices. The foundations of the block are laid, and the building will be com- pleted without delay.
On the corner of Main and East State streets the fine block of the Springfield Institution for Savings is in process of erection. The foundations are put in in a manner which shows that the builder under- stands his business. The ground was formerly a swamp, and there was some talk about the possibilities of an insecure foundation; but by puddling, the bottom of the building has been put down secure, and there need be no fears of the block settling. The block has a front of 56 feet on Main, and 89} feet on State street. It is to be four stories high. The two banking rooms on the south corner will be occupied by the Springfield Institution for Savings, and possibly the Pynchon National Bank. The north corner and indeed the whole balance of the ground floor, with rear entrance on Market street and commodious side entrances on State street, will be occupied by the grocery store of Pynchon & Lee. Their store is to be one of the largest and best arranged in town. The three upper stories of the building will be rented for offices. Among the architectural points of the new block will be many novelties, and they will do much credit to the inventive genius of the architect, Mr. George Hathorne of New York. The iron work will be furnished by the Architectural Iron Works of New York. The stone work, which is of the very finest order, is by A. S. Dwelly & Co. The building will probably be com- . pleted during the coming autumn. The cost of the building is to be about $75,000.
George Stebbins has put up a three story brick block near Round Hill, on North Main street. The ground floor is rented for stores, the upper stories for tenements. Cost, about $15,000.
On Hampden street, Hinsdale Smith proposes during the present
29
NEW BUILDINGS; AT INDIAN ORCHARD, AND IN PROSPECT.
season to erect a large tobacco warehouse, Justin L. Worthy to put up a fine flour store, and B. M. Douglas of Windsor Locks a machine shop where the property of C. W. Kimball now stands.
Among other buildings in prospect are a new freight depot for the Hartford and New Haven Railroad, new office buildings for the Western Railroad Corporation, a new block on the site of the old Exchange Hotel, a woolen mill at the south end of Main street, and a new building directly south of Music Hall. None of these are likely to be erected before next season. A new engine house and hose tower will probably be erected during the coming Autumn if the Committee on City Property succeed in agreeing on the important subject. There has been some trouble about deciding on the location, and there promises to be much more. The hose tower, especially, is much needed, and the sooner it is put up the better for the interests of the fire department. The "L. O. Hauson" Company, on the Hill, have a new engine house, well fitted up.
At Indian Orchard (the Eighth Ward), the mill corporation have put up a two story brick building. 28 by 43, on the corner of Main and Myrtle streets. It comprises a reading-room, library, and office on the first floor, and a hall on the second.
THE NEW CHURCHES.
The new State Street Baptist Church, one of the finest buildings hereabouts, is now nearly completed, and will be dedicated about midsummer. The corner-stone was laid August 31, 1865, with im- pressive ceremonies, and since that time the work has been pushed forward rapidly. The extreme length of the edifice is 110 feet, and the extreme width, including the main tower, 104 feet. The audience room has a height of 48 feet, and will comfortably seat 850 persons. It will be provided with four entrances. The organ and choir will be back of the pulpit, and the robing rooms under them. The roof of the building is built without support save the walls, and is con- structed on the same principle as modern railroad bridges. The lecture room is about the size of Union Hall; and a committee room 24 feet square can be opened into it by means of folding doors, making it 95 feet in length. The church has two towers; that in front being 164 feet high and the one in rear 75 feet. The church will probably be fully completed a little before September. S. S. Woodcock, of Boston, is the architect; contractors, J. W. Hawkes & Co., brick work; A. S. Dwelly & Co., stone work; A. G. Carpen- ter & Co., roof slaters. Cost, about $35,000.
The new Methodist church, for the Asbury Chapel Society, at the corner of Florence and Hancock streets, is now progressing rapidly, and will soon be completed. The corner-stone was laid on the 15th of September, and the church was raised in April. It will be 76 feet long by 50 wide, while the tower in front and a recess 18 by 15 in the rear will make the extreme length 103 feet. The Ionic style of architecture will predominate. The spire is to be 132 feet high. The windows in the body of the church, and bell deck, are to be 3*
....
30
NEW BUILDINGS: CHURCHES.
circular. The seating capacity will be for 500 persons. The pews are to be handsomely capped with black walnut. The entire cost of the church will be about $11,000. Chauncey Shepard, of this city, is the architect.
The foundations of the new stone church of the Memorial Society. on Round Hill, will be laid this fall, and the building will be com- pleted as soon as subscriptions go forward fast enough to guarantee money for the enterprise. The society need $15,000 now, and are working hard to raise it. The stone of which the church is to be built is all of Monson granite, donated by William Flynt of Monson. Much of it has been already transported to the site of the edifice. The outlines and trimmings will be of Portland freestone. The church is to be cruciform, 130 by 60, is expected to have 1,064 sit- tings, with the lecture room so arranged that by means of a movable screen the audience and lecture-room can be thrown into one, and accommodate 1,250 persons. There will be a room for the church library, and a large and well arranged basement room for use on festal occasions, etc. There will be two galleries for the use of the Sabbath Schools. The Church will stand on an extemporized pla- teau, directly between the two roads. The edifice will be one of the handsomest in the city, and certainly has great advantages of loca- tion.
The Unitarian Society have decided to build next year, and have selected as the site for their new church the Hooker lot on State street. It was at first decided to rebuild on their present location, but the vote was reconsidered, and the Hooker lot, by far the best site, chosen.
The Pynchon Street Methodist Episcopal Society have purchased of Noah Wright his house and lot on East Bridge street for $4,500, and have selected that place as the site of their new church, to be built probably next year.
HOUSE BUILDING.
To Springfield's long list of fine residences not much has been added during the year which our article comprises, but several ele- gant mansions which were commenced the year previous, have been completed. First among them ranks the costly dwelling erected on Crescent Hill by George E. Howard. It stands on a sight which commands one of the finest outlooks on the Connecticut Valley, and the genius of its architect has lent it every exterior grace and inte- rior comfort to correspond with the beauty and quiet of its location. The house is of brick, red mortar being used, with wooden cornices painted and sanded the same color as Nova Scotia stone. The out- side trimmings are elegantly moulded in graceful designs. The porch is inlaid with bay, butternut, and pine, unpainted. There is no paint in the interior of the house, but each compartment is finished with an ingenious arrangement of contrasted woods; as, for instance, mahogany is the prevailing wood in the library, black walnut and red cedar in the parlor and dining-room, butternut in the
31
NEW BUILDINGS: FINE DWELLING-HOUSES.
hall, kitchen and pantries. All the upper chambers are finished in black walnut and butternut. There are some exquisite frescoes to add to the charms of the interior, done in taste by Mohr of New York. The plans were designed by Vaux of New York. C. S. Ferry of this city did the wood-work, and R. Harrington the masonry. The building was commenced in the summer of 1864, and completed in September, 1865.
Another fine mansion completed within the last two months, which we mention with pleasure as a credit to the taste of its builder, is that of Dr. Alfred Lambert, at the corner of State and Byers street. The house is of brick, octagon form, and its exterior appearance is quite plain and unadorned. But the interior is finely planned, and the work is original, there being nothing of the kind elsewhere in the State, probably in New England. . The parlor and library are wainscotted in black walnut, but the floors are of very novel design, seldom seen in this country. The material came from Germany finished to order, and comprises the various woods, black walnut, cherry, oak, and holly, so arranged as to be set in the floor in the form of stars, making a most handsome appearance. This style is called parquetted floors. The dining-rooms are finished in chestnut and black walnut, and the floors are laid in strips of cypress and walnut alternately. All the chambers have black walnut mould- ings, and the front hall stairway is of butternut and walnut. The ceilings are plain, with the exception of those of the parlor and library, which are ornamented in stucco. Most of the finishing throughout the house is waxed and oiled. The wood-work and gen- eral superintendence of the building was contracted to Chauncey Shepard. the masonry to Royal Harrington, and the stone work to John Gregg.
William S. Marsh, of the firm of Robinson, Marsh & Co., com- pletes this season a fine Swiss wooden cottage, lined with brick, and distinguished by considerable architectural merit. The house has a large tower in front, well planned, and adding much to the appear- ance of the exterior. The interior arrangements are excellently arranged, and have the merit of comfort and elegance combined. There are no sleeping rooms on the ground floor of the house. The whole cost of the building is about $7,000. Chauncey Shepard designed the plans, and C. L. Shaw did the wood-work. The house is finely located, Elliott street being one of the pleasantest avenues in the city.
Ou Liberty street, Josiah Cummings has built a large wooden dwelling house, at a cost of about $20,000. It has an excellent loca- tion, and it is the most expensive edifice of wood that has been erected in the city for some time. The main building is 40 feet square, two stories high, with a French roof. There is also an L, 22 by 30 feet. The house was built and plans designed by Jason Perkins of this city. On the same street T. W. Wason has built a fine two-story brick house, 38 by 41, with French roof, for his son- in-law, H. S. Hyde. It was finished in April, at a cost of $15,000.
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