Laurel Hall

The Ethel Apartment House is a historic apartment building at 70 Patton Street in the North End of Springfield, Massachusetts. The four story red brick building was built in 1912 for Jacob Blisky, a successful local retailer, at a cost of $14,000. It was designed by Burton E. Geckler, a local architect who designed a number of other apartment blocks during the 1910s. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

The North End of Springfield, Massachusetts is a name that describes three distinct Springfield neighborhoods: Brightwood, Memorial Square, and Liberty Heights. For more than a century, Springfield's North End neighborhood has served as a first home for some of the city's various immigrant communities, from Greeks in Memorial Square to Russians in Liberty Heights. As of 2011, the contemporary Puerto Rican flavor of the North End is evident in numerous banners depicting traditional Carnival masks and the coquí, Puerto Rico's unofficial mascot.As of 2011, the North End is dominated by Massachusetts' third largest employer, Baystate Health. Approximately ten years ago, the North End was considered one of Springfield's most dangerous neighborhoods; however, that perception has changed as Baystate Health has continued to expand - currently, with a $300 million addition called "The Hospital of the Future, which will add 550 new doctors - and from 1990-2006, Springfield's Latino community's buying power has increased over 295%. Additionally, unlike in other Northeastern cities, Springfield has been fortunate in that rather than leaving the area once adequate buying power is achieved, (as has happened in many areas of California, for example,) Springfield's Latino residents have chosen to stay - and even to further increase. These trends bode extremely well for the economic and cultural future of Springfield.Many festivals occur in the North End throughout the year. For example, during Easter, residents of the North End stage a Passion Play, depicting what happened to Jesus Christ during the last 30 hours of his life. In the summer of 2011, Main Street in Springfield's North End is scheduled to receive $3.6 million in streetlight and walkway improvements. [1]

The Memorial Square District encompasses the historic heart of the Memorial Square neighborhood of Springfield, Massachusetts. Arrayed around the Memorial Square at the junction of Main and Plainfield Streets are seven buildings of architectural and/or historic significance, including the Memorial Church (now St. George's Greek Orthodox Church), and the former Memorial Square Branch Library, now a Greek cultural center. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Memorial Square is a neighborhood located in Springfield, Massachusetts. A predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood with several parks, Memorial Square is within walking distance to Springfield's three nationally ranked hospitals, Baystate Medical Center, Shriner's Children's Hospital, and Mercy Medical. Always a neighborhood of immigrants, Memorial Square was a primarily Greek neighborhood from the Industrial Revolution until the Great Latino Immigration of the 1980s-present. The architecturally brilliant St. George's Greek Orthodox Cathedral, founded in 1907, built in 1940, is a testament to Memorial Square's past as a vibrant Greek enclave.A portion of the neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 as the Memorial Square District.

The Verona Apartments are a large multiunit residential building at the corner of Dwight and Allendale Streets in the North End of Springfield, Massachusetts. The four story apartment house was built in 1906 by a consortium of construction and real estate interests in the Classical Revival style. The exterior is built from white brick, and features alternating flat and rounded sections on both of its street-facing elevations. The building went through a succession of owners, with a number of them losing the building due to foreclosure by mortgage holders.The Verona's resident population underwent changes that echoed Springfield's changing demographics. Its early tenants were almost all working class: teachers, retail store clerks, and factory workers, from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. However, a few small business owners also lived there. By the 1980s Springfield's North End had the highest proportion of substandard housing, and The Verona was included in major urban redevelopment plans, along with the nearby Calhoun Apartments. The Verona was sold in 1983 to Housing Rehab, Inc., which began rehabilitation work in 1983. The interior renovations done pursuant to the redevelopment plan destroyed all historic value inside the building, gutting it and replacing the interior with modern construction. Woodwork around its exterior entrances was also lost.The Verona and Calhoun were then transferred to Dwight Manor Associates, whose principals included individuals who had overseen the rehabilitation. Property taxes fell into arrears in 1997, and the city took the two properties by tax foreclosure in 2004. In 2006 the city transferred them to the Jefferson Park Limited Partnership for use as low and moderate income housing.

The Chapin National Bank Building is a historic bank building at 1675-1677 Main Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1917 for a bank founded in 1872 by Chester Chapin, it is a notable local example of Classical Revival architecture. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It now houses other commercial businesses.

The Paramount Theater (formerly known as Julia Sanderson Theater and The Hippodrome) is an historic theater located at 1676-1708 Main Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1926 out of part of the grand Massasoit House hotel at a cost of over $1 million, the Paramount Theater was the most ornate picture palace in Western Massachusetts. As of 2011, The Paramount is in the midst of a $1.725 million renovation to once again become a theater after decades as a disco and concert hall, (the Hippodrome), when it was the center of Springfield's club scene. In 2018 the building's owners, the New England Farm Workers Council, announced plans to redevelop it in tandem with a new adjacent hotel building. In a push to renovate the Paramount along with Holyoke's Victory Theater, in October 2018, the administration of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced a $2.5 million grant to assist the project, on top of a $4 million federal loan guarantee. Pending finalizing funding for the combined restoration and new hotel, no construction timeline has been presented as of 2024.

The Hampden Savings Bank building is a historic bank building at 1665 Main Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. The building's original tenant, Hampden Bank (established 1852), now has a headquarters several blocks south of this site at 19 Harrison Avenue. The Classical Revival building was designed by Max H. Westhoff for the bank in 1918. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

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.

Springfield Union Station is a train and bus station in the Metro Center area of Springfield, Massachusetts. Constructed in 1926, Springfield Union Station is the fifth-busiest Amtrak station in the Commonwealth, and the busiest outside of Greater Boston.A large-scale $94 million renovation project restored the former station building, and it reopened in late June 2017 as a regional intermodal transit hub. It features not only Amtrak service, but also serves as the new hub for the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA), along with Peter Pan Bus Lines, Greyhound Lines, and the CTrail Hartford Line commuter rail. PVTA and intercity bus services began using the renovated station in 2017, and the Hartford Line opened in June 2018. Amtrak moved from a 1994-built structure to the renovated station in June 2019.

The Henking Hotel and Cafe was a historic building at 15-21 Lyman Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in two stages in 1899 and 1909, it was a good example of a turn-of-the-century accommodation for railroad travelers in the city, notable for its establishment by some of area's early German immigrants. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and demolished some time thereafter.

The Olmsted-Hixon-Albion Block is a historic commercial block at 1645-1659 Main Street in the north 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.