70 Thompson Street, Springfield, MA

70 Thompson St. Springfield, MA. 1870s?

This house which stands at the corner of Thompson Street and Bay Street is in need of rehabilitation. I think it is a particularly lovely example that could be quite the eye catcher if restored well. Given that the surrounding restored homes are so lovely, I think this has a good chance of surviving. The house follows the side-hall plan with a hipped roof. The porch is quite lovely with its flat topped trefoil arches. The cornice is simple, as we have come to expect with Springfield, with paired brackets and large dentils (this city loves its dentils!). Greek Revival elements remain in this house; the sidelight and transom door is a Greek Revival/Federal form as are the shallow pediments atop the window surrounds. What impressed me about this house was the side facing Bay Street, a major thoroughfare. On a projecting bay, a two story box window breaks the simplicity of the design by jutting through the cornice with a curving roof that is topped with a rounded pediment. This type of dramatic play with architectural members, particularly that the pediment has long horizontal moldings on the sides, tells me this might be a house from the 1870s. Also noteworthy is the side porch which is recessed into the façade, which livens up the view from the main street. This house seems to have companions on Thompson Street.

At 52 Thompson is this house with an identical neighbor. The Greek revival window surrounds seem to be very similar (though they are eared), although the round arch porch might tell us that it is a bit older. This cornice features several small brackets rather than long pairs. Springfield seems to be a city of conservativism in design as exemplified in the houses I have posted.

One more thing, I just had to post this house on Thompson Street, although it is a Second Empire. It's just one of the coolest examples of the small mansarded cottage I have seen.

101 Westminster St, Springfield, MA

101 Westminster St, Springfield, MA. 1880s?

This house on Westminster Street in Springfield is a part of the neighborhood along Bay Street that is experiencing some major rehabilitation. This house particularly caught my eye because of its period appropriate paint scheme of straw and green. The house follows the symmetrical plan, has a hipped roof with a large cupola that has a somewhat steeper pitched roof. The cornice is of the paneled type with paired brackets and dentils. The house features a porch that crosses the front façade,  with a simple decorative motif and elongated brackets. The bay windows on the side look like they are later additions, probably from the 1890s or early 1900s. I do not know this house's age, as I don't know the age of many of the homes in Springfield. Unfortunately, every house isn't labeled with a plaque with information. Real estate listings (the house was rehabilitated beautifully and auctioned in 2011) say it was built in 1901, but that is far too late for a building of this type. The simplicity of much of the decoration, the fact it lies in a primarily Queen Ann neighborhood, and the Queen Ann front door and elaborate chimney tell me that it might be a product of the 1880s or very late 1870s. Italianates, as we have seen, were still being built that late, although decoration was simplified in accordance with changing tastes, especially after the exuberance of the 1870s. It could also be an older house that was remodeled. At any rate that's my guess (there will be a lot of guessing with Springfield). If anyone does have some information about it, please let me know!

I wanted to post a picture of this interesting Queen Ann, also on Westminster, to give you an idea of the surrounding houses. It has been beautifully restored.

123/125 Mulberry Street, Springfield, MA

123/125 Mulberry St. Springfield, MA. 1850s?

This house on Mulberry Street in Springfield is part of a recognized historic neighborhood. A block away from Union Street, this house is also part of the constructions by wealthy people near Maple Avenue. The house follows the symmetrical plan, but lacks a cupola. The house features double windows on the front façade, with tombstone windows in the center bay on the second floor. What caught my eye on this house were the eared window surrounds, which simulate Greek Revival shallow pediments with corner anthemia, or palmettos. That shows that this house must be an earlier example since it is transitional in its detailing from Greek Revival to Italianate. Of course, these examples here are highly stylized. Springfield's Italianates seem particularly plain and simple, and I wonder whether restraint was an important priority to the city's designers. There are windows wedged into the cornice as well for the third floor; the central one of these has an eared surround which might have topped the others.

The cornice is simple and features a band of frieze molding and rather large dentils. The columns on the porch are an unfortunate replacement and look to be Colonial Revival, from the 1890s or so. They do seem silly supporting such a heavy entablature; originally they were probably thick square columns with chamfered edges. The original doors with arched windows seem to still be in place, a nice feature. Since the central second story tombstone windows are elongated, I would guess the porch originally had a balcony on top, a good restoration project for the owners. The house also features a side porch which is visible on this site. This house's back view is on the Springfield Cemetery, a surprisingly well maintained place. While we might balk today at having a cemetery view, Victorians did not think much of looking at some graves. Cemeteries were conceived of as parks, were romantic, and pleasant places. People in the 19th century often held picnics at the cemetery! Agewise, I would say this house is probably from the 1850s or early 1860s because of the tombstone windows, the Greek Revival window surrounds, and the general detailing. It is definitely not from 1903, as the website says.

383 Union Street, Springfield, MA

383 Union St. Springfield, MA. 1863

I was in Springfield a few days ago and was very impressed by the restoration going on in that city. It's been in rough shape for a long time, and it was nice to see that whole neighborhoods, especially of stupendous Queen Ann houses seem to be in the process of wholesale restoration. It is definitely a city worth visiting. This house, which according to a realty listing was built in 1863 and about which I do not have much information, is at 383 Union Street, near the historic Mulberry Street neighborhood. This area surrounding this area's main road, Maple Avenue, was once the wealthiest area of the city and hosts some impressive homes in many 19th century styles. This house follows the five-bay plan, a plan that was a holdover from colonial Georgian architecture. The five-bay plan is actually one of the longest-lived plans in American history, being present at the beginning, and still used today. The house has a shallow hip roof with a central cupola. The first floor windows on the front are elongated, which gives it a somewhat Greek Revival appearance. The cornices over the window are quite simple, as is the main cornice, which lacks the characteristic brackets, but has the wide eave.

The real treasure of this house is the door, which features no freestanding columns but huge brackets that run from the base to the small porch overhang. I have seen this type of surround before, particularly in the Washington D.C. area, and was surprised to find it here. There is a large s-curve bracket at the base and under the overhang with an elongated curving bracket connecting the two. There are finials hanging from under the upper brackets and each one is deeply carved. The door itself, which is boarded up (the house appears to be unoccupied) seems to have sidelights and a transom. I also really liked the current color scheme of the house. The reds, yellows, and blues, all primary colors, are used in a softened form that picks out the details well. I thought the use of two tones of red on the cupola was particularly pleasing and gave the house a truly Victorian look. The following pictures show the side elevations and a few details on the door.