Renaissance Revival

Hotel Essex – Plymouth Rock Building // 1900

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The construction of a new South Station Terminal in 1899, prompted a development boom for the nearby area, which had for the previous decades been almost entirely mercantile and centered around the leather and woolen industries. Due to increased land values and an influx of travelers to the area, developers saw an opportunity to erect this building to serve as a hotel for visitors to Boston via South Station. Boston architect, Arthur H. Bowditch, furnished plans for this building in the Beaux Arts/Renaissance Revival style, with use of brick and limestone construction, ornate finishes at the façade including the fluted pilasters, arches and cartouches in the spandrels. The building was completed in 1900 and known as Hotel Essex and featured a long, storied history as a hotel until it closed in the second half of the 20th century. After years of deteriorating conditions, the building was adapted as the corporate offices for Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation in 1982. The building was restored and has been known as the Plymouth Rock Building ever since.

Poland Springs Bottling Plant & Spring House // 1907

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The Poland Springs Bottling Plant and Spring House contribute to the rich history of what was once a major American spa resort. In as early as 1797, Jabez Ricker founded a hostelry at the springs on his property in Poland, Maine, and later claimed that drinking the water saved him from a serious illness, a claim that was expanded by other members of his family for generations. In 1876, Hiram Ricker, Jabez’s grandson, opened the Poland Spring House, a “watering place” or spa, acclaimed for its health-giving environment. While the grand hotel burned in 1975, the bottling plant and spring house designed and built in 1907, still remains on the grounds. In 1903 Hiram Ricker’s son, Edward P. Ricker, wrote to architect Harry C. Wilkinson, a native of Poland, Maine, to solicit a design for his proposed bottling plant and Spring House to allow visitors to drink the natural spring water. His idea of bottling the spring waters for transport and sale, which would eventually be the main catalyst for Poland Spring water today! The extravagant Italian Renaissance Revival style buildings sit side-by-side and are of a high-style despite the relatively utilitarian purpose of the facility. Both structures are very well-preserved and are operated as museums, to learn more about the history of the spring water and resort here.

The Last Tenement // c.1870s

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Originally built in the 1870s, and largely remodeled in the early 1900s, this charming building has been known locally as “The Last Tenement” of the old West End of Boston. Once part of an unbroken a row of 30 brick tenements along the east side of Lowell Street, this building typified much of the West End of Boston, a vibrant and dynamic immigrant neighborhood. Dwarfed by larger, modern apartment towers and highway off-ramps, this stand-alone building is a survivor, and should really be preserved! Here is a little history on The Last Tenement that I found. The building was originally built as a three-story residence just after the Civil War by furniture dealer, George M. Rogers. The building was rented to four families in the 1880 census, showing the diversity of the region with 20 people residing in the building of Irish, English, and German-Jewish backgrounds. At the turn of the century, an elevated rail line was laid out down Lowell Street. After WWII, the neighborhood would see a terrible demise, that has been widely told. City leaders effectively considered the vibrant immigrant neighborhood a slum, and in an effort to redevelop it to bring back middle-class families (and their tax dollars) handed much of the neighborhood to developers to start over, with little more than lip service for the displaced. This building, now with an address of 42 Lomasney Way, was occupied for some time by “Skinny” Kazonis, a low-level Mafia associate of the Angiulo Brothers, which was a leading gang in the North End until the Winter Hill Gang decided to run rackets in the area. The property sold, and residential units have been rented and the building maintained, with the assistance of a billboard for additional income for the owner. The Last Tenement showcases the strength and resilience of the old West End and will hopefully remain as a reminder of the vibrant neighborhood that was razed and replaced with mediocrity.

Van Buskirk Block // 1895

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Built at the corner of Main and Partition streets in Saugerties, New York, this handsome 19th century commercial building is located next door to the Whitaker Block – featured previously. The Van Buskirk Block was built in 1895 for the Van Buskirk Brothers, who were pharmacists in town. The building has a unique rounded corner, inset brick paneling, and a bold metal cornice at the roof.

Old Killingly High School // 1908

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The Old Killingly High School is located in a densely built residential neighborhood east of downtown Danielson, a village of Killingly, Connecticut. The building has served the community for well over 100 years, but through various uses. The school was built in 1908 and enlarged with side wings in 1927. It was considered state of the art for its time, with fireproof construction, wide hallways, and large bands of windows to maximize lighting of the classrooms. Clearly showcasing the village’s wealth and hope for future prosperity. The school was even designed by Hartwell, Richardson & Driver, a leading architectural firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. The building served as the community’s high school until 1965, and as its junior high school 1966–90 until it was converted to a community center and police station for the town. The Renaissance Revival style building is a gem and while tucked away off the main street, it shines through some great maintenance and restoration from the town.

Old Nantasket Beach Police Station // c.1930

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The area of Nantasket Beach in Hull in the late 19th century was a hotbed of taverns, thievery, and brothels. To counter this trend of unsavory uses, the Metropolitan Park Commission (MPC) of Greater Boston acquired about 25 acres of land at Nantasket, which included roughly one mile of shoreline extending north from Atlantic Hill in 1900. The initial appropriations provided for only minimal facilities, such as a bathhouse and a few incidental buildings, one of which was a waiting room for those arriving or departing from the new railroad station (since demolished) at the beach. The MPC hired the Olmsted Brothers landscape architects to design the paths and landscaping for the new park, and they worked with architects Stickney & Austin who designed many of the early buildings here. This stucco structure was built around 1930 and served as MPC offices and a police station until 1992. The building has been vacant since 1992, but a recent push to convert the nearly 100 year old structure into the Nantasket Center for the Arts is slowly materializing. Fingers crossed to see this building preserved and used for the arts!

Sylvia Store // 1879

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This charming commercial store was built in 1879 as one of five similar commercial buildings constructed on Nantucket as investment properties by Robert McCleave (1809-1878), a retired whaling captain. Located on Orange Street, this store was long occupied as a neighborhood grocery store, before the days of supermarkets with seas of parking. Antoine Sylvia Jr. (1835-1906), an Azorian-born merchant on the island purchased the property 1879 from McCleave and operated a grocery store at this location until his death in 1906. His wife, Elizabeth C. “Lizzie” Sylvia (1850-1929), retained the property and operated a shop where she sold wallpaper. In 2015-16, the façade was restored with the installation of a salvaged façade of nearly identical detail and dimensions built at 106 Main Street in 1869 also by McCleave. This façade was salvaged for re-installation here when that building was demolished in 2001. The Sylvia Store was given a preservation easement after the restoration, preserving it for another 150+ years to come!

Sacred Heart Church, Newton // 1899

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Built in the Italian Renaissance Revival style by architects Rand & Taylor, the Sacred Heart Church in Newton Centre of 1899 reflects much of the lesser-known history of the affluent suburb of Boston. As Newton’s population nearly doubled between 1870 (12,800) and 1890 (24,000), many Irish Catholic residents who worked in the mills and factories of the Upper and Lower Falls areas of town began to move to the suburbs, taking jobs at households of the affluent class in Newton Centre, as cooks, maids, gardeners and more. Residents of Newton Centre wanted a Catholic Church closer to their homes and work, so they established their own congregation in 1890. As the congregation grew, it was obvious that a new church in Newton Centre would be needed to provide services there. Ground broke on the church by 1891, but it took nearly 10 years until the building was completed. Architect Bertram Taylor of the firm Rand & Taylor, and resident of Newton Centre, is credited with designing the large edifice, which is dominated by twin hipped-roof bell towers. The interior of the church has some of the most elaborate plaster work in the Boston area and stained glass windows lining the walls. Early Pastors of Sacred Heart included two who went on to important posts: Francis C. Spellman (1933-39) became Archbishop of New York; and Richard J. Cushing (1939-44) became Archbishop of Boston.

Murdock Hall – MCLA // 1896

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In 1894, the Massachusetts legislature decided to build four Normal Schools for the purpose of training teachers for teaching in public schools. North Adams was chosen as one of the sites because it was a commercial and industrial center of the Berkshires, and because the city agreed to contribute the land and provide other support. The training of teachers for the public schools was especially important for North Adams in the 1890s, as the city was growing at a rapid rate due to an influx of immigrant laborers working in local factories and raising families in the city. Local architect Henry Neill Wilson was hired to furnish plans for the school building, completed in 1896, which was designed in the Renaissance Revival style. In 1932, the Normal School became the State Teachers College of North Adams, reflecting the increased importance of education as an academic discipline. In 1960, it changed names to North Adams State College with an expanded focus to include professional degrees in business administration and computer science. In 1997, the College joined the State University system and renamed again as Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

St. John of the Cross Catholic Church // 1907

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One of the more substantial buildings in the small town of Middlebury, Connecticut is this large church which faces the town green. In 1904 St. John of the Cross Parish was granted ecclesiastical status however, a decade would pass before the newly constructed stone church on the Middlebury Green was dedicated on November 22, 1914. The building was constructed in rubblestone with a Classical Revival temple-front pavillion and two Renaissance Revival square towers with open belfries. Reports stated that the building took over five years to construct, which was almost entirely built with volunteer labor and built with stones taken from parishioners fields. The architect of the church is unknown.