Main Street USA

DeWolf Block // 1893

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Located next door to the Lewis Block (last post) on Main Street in Newport, NH, the DeWolf Block showcases late Victorian design before the more generic 20th century main street architecture took hold. The DeWolf Block was built in 1893 by Samuel DeWolf Lewis, who also erected the Lewis Block, both named after himself. As was traditional with many business blocks, fraternal organizations occupied the upper floor of the building, and retail uses were located on the ground floor. In the case of the DeWolf Block, it was the Knights of Pythias. By the 1950’s the DeWolf Block was home to J. S. Hirsch Department Store, operated by Joshua & Sally Hirsch, until it was purchased by the Hubert family in the 1970’s. The Huberts operated a clothing store
there until the building was purchased by Sullivan County and has since housed the county offices. The DeWolf Block is a modest Romanesque Revival style building with large, round arched windows at the third story.

Lewis Block // 1886

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Following the granting of the royal charter in 1761, Newport, NH was incorporated and named after Henry Newport, a distinguished English soldier and statesman. With excellent soil for farming, and abundant water power from the Sugar River to run mills, Newport grew prosperous. The main street developed, leading to a proliferation of hotels and taverns that were soon situated along the length of Main Street to service the many travelers who stopped along the route, many such structures were wood frame construction. A fire devastated much of Main Street in Newport in 1885, leading to a massive rebuilding campaign by the town’s richest citizens. One of the earliest buildings constructed after the fire was the Lewis Block, developed by Frederick Lewis, who lived a block away, and his son Samuel DeWolf Lewis, who designed the block. The two-story building is broken up by brick pilasters with recessed corbelled detailing which give rise to buttresses capped by gablets (yes its a word), punctuating the flat roof profile.

Red Lion Inn // 1897

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The largest building on Main Street in Stockbridge has to be the Red Lion Inn, a regional institution and one of the best places to rest your head in New England. The inn got its start just before the Revolutionary War. According to tradition, Silas Pepoon established a small tavern on the corner of Main Street in 1773, under the sign of a red lion. A year later, angry citizens gathered at the tavern to boycott English goods and to pass resolutions protesting the oppressive Acts of Intolerance levied against the colonies. Since its earliest days, the inn was a vital gathering place for locals and has continued to play an important role in the life of the community ever since. In 1862, the inn was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Plumb, avid collectors of rare and fine items, who became renowned for their impressive compilation of colonial antiques. A fire in 1896 destroyed the building but its remarkable array of collectibles was saved and the inn was rebuilt within a year by designs from Harry E. Weeks, a Pittsfield-based architect.

Guerrieri Block // 1921

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Norman Rockwell‘s ‘Home for Christmas’ painting in 1967 depicts the Main Street scene in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and epitomizes the essence of Christmas in small towns across the country. In the iconic painting, you can find many landmarks (including the Town Offices building) that make up the quaint main street, that typifies many small New England towns. At the center of his painting, the Guerrieri Block can be seen with a Christmas tree lit up in the window on the second floor. The Guerrieri Block was built in 1921 by Antonio Guerrieri, a skilled woodworker who sold and repaired antiques in one of three street level shops in the block. He and his family lived in an apartment on the second floor. The next year he completed construction of a shop behind the block where he worked out of. In 1953, Norman Rockwell moved to Stockbridge and spoke with Antonio about using the second floor of his building as a studio. Antonio constructed a large central bay window with plate glass to flood the space with light and allow Rockwell to work while observing the street below. Rockwell used the space as his studio until 1957. The building has since been occupied as a general store.

Stockbridge Town Offices // 1884

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Built in 1884, the Town Office Building on Main Street in Stockbridge, housed more conveniently located government offices and came equipped with a basement jail. The building was constructed of brick to protect town records from fire and the adjacent buildings. The architecture is Flemish Revival with its stepped gables, a tower, and terra cotta and stained glass ornaments, a distinctive and different type of architecture on Main Street. The building was occupied after the Town Hall, further down Main Street, was deemed inadequate. The building displays the words “Town Offices” with the date 1884 A.D. as the town was sure to label the building as town offices over ‘town hall’ so they could retain the former town hall building after a deal with the First Congregational Church. The town sold the building to private owners in 1960 and has since been used as commercial space.

First Stockbridge Town Hall // 1840

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The Town of Stockbridge, MA was incorporated on June 22, 1739. After that time the town held meetings and conducted business in the First Congregational Meeting House until 1840 when this Greek Revival town hall building was erected on the church’s property as a gift. A stipulation was made that if the Town government constructed or moved to a new town hall building, the property ownership would revert to the Church. The town outgrew the building and constructed a new building toward the center of town, but named it Town Offices, a cheeky way to retain ownership of this building. Eventually, that building too was outgrown, and the town hired Pittsfield-based architect Harry E. Weeks to modify and enlarge the building in 1903, in the Neo-Classical style to compliment the original Greek detailing. As expected, the town moved again in the 2000s to a former school, on Main Street, but again retained the building.

Copeland Block // 1897

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The Copeland Block is Enfield’s only brick commercial block. It is located on the bank of the river which cuts through the village and terminates at Mascoma Lake. Ira Copeland built the block for $10,000, during the final years of his life. He had lived in Enfield since 1853. He and his wife Elsina lived on her parent’s farm on Shaker Hill for many years. After her death in 1897, he abruptly moved to town, moved into a home on Depot Street, and built this commercial block with his lasting money. He died just years later. The Copeland Block contained a dmgstore, millinery shop and offices over its history, with an I.O.O.F. meeting space upstairs.

George Loomis House // 1860

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This large Italianate mansion on Main Street in Suffield was built in 1860 by John Wells Loomis for his son, George. George ran a cigar shop in a separate building on the lot, selling rolled cigars that his family harvested and rolled. The mansion features a belvedere atop the low sloped hip roof with broad overhanging eaves. John Loomis’ home is a couple lots away.

New Kimbell Building // 1902

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Located on Main Street in North Adams, you’ll find this monstrous commercial block looking like it belongs in New York, not in Western MA. North Adams in the early 20th century was booming as an industrial center with a rapidly growing population. Due to this, business owners had the capital and clientele needed to erect large commercial buildings. A man named Jencks Kimbell owned a couple large parcels of land on Main Street and ran a livery stable there until his death in 1858. The business was ran by his sons until their death and the property was willed to their widows Clara and Lydia who saw the potential for the site to make them money. In 1902, the two widows erected this magnificent block on Main Street, with a stone facade. Built on top of a quicksand pit, it was the first building in North Adams to be built on steel pilings. I could find no information on the architect, but it is Eclectic to say the least! It has Romaneque arches, monumental pilasters with Corinthian capitals, and a Swan’s neck broken pediment at the parapet.

Mohawk Theater // 1938

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Local theaters once dominated the urban landscape, providing flashing neon lights and marquees on Main Street USA. After WWII, many downtowns saw populations move to the suburbs and through the advancement in technology, many of these historic movie houses were demolished. Large cineplexes with 10+ screens were built, and the death of the small movie theater coincided with the death of many Main Streets in the mid and late 20th century. Fast forward to today, we see many Main Streets thriving (before the COVID crisis) thanks to women and minority-owned businesses investing in their communities.

The Mohawk Theater in North Adams was built in 1938 and is an excellent example of Art Deco architecture in Western Massachusetts. Loews Cinemas hired the Boston architectural firm of Mowl & Rand to design the 1,200 seat theater which also featured a Native American motif at the lobby. The theater was sold in 1987 to a private investor, who opened the theater for occasional concerts and films, but efforts to maintain the Mohawk were short lived. In 1991, its doors were closed for good.