Springfield Steam Power Company Block

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Springfield Steam Power Company Block
Springfield Steam Power Company Block, Springfield MA.jpg
Springfield Steam Power Company Block
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Location51-59 Taylor St., Springfield, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°6′18″N72°35′33″W / 42.10500°N 72.59250°W / 42.10500; -72.59250 Coordinates: 42°6′18″N72°35′33″W / 42.10500°N 72.59250°W / 42.10500; -72.59250
Arealess than one acre
Built1881 (1881)
MPS Downtown Springfield MRA
NRHP reference # 83000767 [1]
Added to NRHPFebruary 24, 1983

The Springfield Steam Power Company Block is a historic industrial building at 51-59 Taylor Street in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1881, it is a surviving example of a late 19th-century power distribution component, part of a scheme by the Springfield Steam Power Company to deliver steam power to nearby industrial facilities. The block was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. [1] Its ground floor now houses "The City Church", a local community of Jesus followers.

Springfield, Massachusetts City in Massachusetts

Springfield is a city in the state of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern Mill River. As of the 2010 Census, the city's population was 153,060. As of 2017, the estimated population was 154,758, making it the third-largest city in Massachusetts, the fourth-most populous city in New England after Boston, Worcester, and Providence, and the 12th-most populous in the Northeastern United States. Metropolitan Springfield, as one of two metropolitan areas in Massachusetts, had a population of 692,942 as of 2010.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

Contents

Description and history

The Springfield Steam Power Company Block is located on the south side of Taylor street in downtown Springfield, opposite its junction with Kaynor Street. It is a utilitarian three-story brick building with a flat roof. Its upper-floor bays consist of recessed segmented-arch sections two stories in height, with windows on each level separate by a brick panel. There is some decorative brick corbelling in the eave below the main roof. The ground floor is divided into five bays separated by pilasters, with a retail entrance to their right, and an upper-story building entrance at the far right. [2]

The block was built in 1881 for the Springfield Steam Power Company, which was established by the directors of the Wason Car Manufacturing Company to provide steam power to factory buildings the company offered to build nearby. The business plan was made possible by what was the largest real estate transaction in the city's history to that time, in which entire city blocks changed ownership. This particular building was built by the company for lease to smaller industrial concerns; early tenants included a brass foundry, iron works, and a sewing machine company. [2]


See also

Wason-Springfield Steam Power Blocks

The Wason-Springfield Steam Power Blocks are a collection of three historic commercial blocks at 27-43 Lyman St. and 26-50 Taylor Street in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. They were built in the 1870s by the J.W. Wason Car Company and the Springfield Steam Power Company as facilities to support the development of new businesses in what was then called the North Blocks area of the city.

National Register of Historic Places listings in Springfield, Massachusetts Wikimedia list article

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Springfield, Massachusetts.

National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampden County, Massachusetts Wikimedia list article

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampden County, Massachusetts.

Related Research Articles

Belle and Franklin Streets Historic District

The Belle and Franklin Streets Historic District is a residential historic district encompassing the surviving portions of 1914-16 apartment house development on the northwest side of downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. The properties are at 77—103 Belle St. and 240—298 Franklin Street, and were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

Baystate Corset Block

The Baystate Corset Block is a historic commercial block at 395-405 Dwight St. and 99 Taylor Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1874 and twice enlarged, it was from 1888 to 1920 home of the Baystate Corset Company, one of the nation's largest manufacturers of corsets. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Willys–Overland Block

The Willys–Overland Block is a historic commercial and industrial block at 151-157 Chestnut and 10-20 Winter Streets in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1916, it is a surviving reminder of Springfield early history in the manufacture and sale of automobile, housing the sales showroom and service center for the Willys–Overland Company. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 24, 1983.

Whitcomb Warehouse

The Whitcomb Warehouse is a historic warehouse at 32-34 Hampden Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1896, it is one of the most intact late 19th century industrial buildings in Springfield. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Wells Block

The Wells Block is a historic mixed use commercial and residential block at 250-264 Worthington Street in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1876, it is a rare period example of a mixed-use retail and residential building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Carlton House Block

The Carlton House Block is a historic commercial and retail block at 9-13 Hampden Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1873, and updated in the early 20th century, it is a good example of Italianate architecture, built during the downtown's development as an industrial and commercial center. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Colonial Block

The Colonial Block is a historic mixed-use retail, commercial, and residential block at 1139-55 Main Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1902-05, it is a relatively rare example of a mixed use building from the period built to provide a mix of uses, in particular residential, at a time when most building in the area were built for commercial and retail purposes. It has also anchored the southern part of Springfield's downtown area where it begins transitioning to more residential use. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Driscolls Block

Driscoll's Block is a historic commercial building at 211-13 Worthington Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1894, it was the first building to be built in the area after a fire destroyed five blocks of Worthington Street the previous year. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Guenther & Handels Block

The Guenther & Handel's Block is a historic commercial building at 7—9 Stockbridge Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1845 by Elam Stockbridge, it is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city's downtown area, and one of its rare examples of Greek Revival commercial architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Kennedy-Worthington Blocks

The Kennedy-Worthington Blocks are three historic commercial and industrial buildings at 1585-1623 Main Street and 166-190 Worthington Street in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in the 1870s and 1880s, with a major restyling to two of them in 1912, the buildings were a major factor in the urban development of the area north of the city's traditional core. They were listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

McIntosh Building

The McIntosh Building is a historic commercial building at the corner of Chestnut and Worthington Streets in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1918 for a shoe manufacturer, it is a locally unusual example of the Chicago style of architecture. At the time of its listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, it still had its original storefronts.

Mills-Hale-Owen Blocks

The Mills—Hale—Owen Blocks were a collection of three historic mixed-use commercial and residential blocks at 959—991 Main Street in the South End of Springfield, Massachusetts. They occupied an entire city block on the east side of Main Street, between Union and Hubbard Streets, and were some of the city's best examples of commercial Italianate architecture, prior to their destruction in the 2011 Springfield tornado. They were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Morgan Block

The Morgan Block is a historic commercial block at 313-333 Bridge Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. When the two story Classical Revival building was built in 1929, it was probably a speculative real estate venture by the Morgan Envelope Company, whose factory abutted the property in the rear. It was designed to house stores on the first floor and offices on the second, functions it continues to perform. It was rehabilitated in the early 1980s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Olmsted-Hixon-Albion Block

The Olmsted-Hixon-Albion Block is a historic commercial block at 1645-1659 Main Street in the South End of downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. The building is actually three separate 19th-century buildings that were conjoined by internal connections in 1929, making a good example of adaptive reuse of commercial architecture in the city. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Patton and Loomis Block

The Patton and Loomis Block is a historic commercial block at 1628-40 Main Street in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Built in 1864 and remodeled in 1909, it is a good example of commercial architecture built or updated during two of the city's boom periods, in this case by two of the city's major developers. The block was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Produce Exchange Building

The Produce Exchange Building is a historic commercial building at 194–206 Chestnut and 115–125 Lyman Street in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1899 and remodeled in 1926, it is one of the largest of Springfield's early 20th-century commercial buildings, used for many years as a wholesale produce market. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Republican Block

The Republican Block is a historic commercial building at 1365 Main Street in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1858, it heralded the northward expansion of the downtown north of Court Square, and was the first permanent home of the Springfield Republican, one of the state's oldest newspapers. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

South Main Street School

The South Main Street School is an historic school building at 11 Acushnet Avenue in the South End of Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1895, it is a good local example of Renaissance Revival architecture, and a major work of local architect Francis Richmond. It served as an elementary school into the 1970s, and has been converted to residential use. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Springfield Fire & Marine Insurance Co.

The Springfield Fire & Marine Insurance Co. is a historic commercial building at 195 State Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1905 to a design by the renowned architecture firm Peabody and Stearns, it is a fine example of commercial Classical Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Springfield Steam Power Company Block". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2013-12-13.