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Date: 5/2/2023
SPRINGFIELD — The third oldest building in downtown Springfield will be rehabilitated and made the new home of not only the Springfield Preservation Trust but also two more tenants.
The SPT closed on the transaction on April 19 for 7-9 Stockbridge St. and made the announcement on April 22.
Erica Swallow, the new president of SPT, explained to Reminder Publishing the historic preservation group thought it would be appropriate to have its office downtown.
SPT received $100,000 in funding for exterior rehabilitation of the building from the Springfield Historic Preservation Trust Fund, which Swallow explained was set up by MGM Springfield to aid in historic preservation within a half-mile of the casino.
“We are very happy to be a recipient of that,” she said.
Swallow added, though, the project will require additional funding and the SPT will make an appeal to area residents. “We do want to make it a community project,” she said.
Swallow explained the purchase of the building was made possible through the generosity of Robert McCarroll, who has advocated for historic preservation for many years in the city. McCarroll was also instrumental in the establish of the city’s Community Preservation Act program and has served as a member of the Springfield Historic Commission.
McCarroll extended to the SPT a $200,000 interest-free, payment free loan, which will be 100% forgiven over five years. Swallow characterized the loan as a “big generous gift.”
Swallow said, “I am beyond honored to be serving alongside such a visionary historic preservationist, who not only has an eye for city planning and preservation but has been so generous with his time and resources to bolster Springfield’s history as the City of Homes and City of Firsts, making it a wonderful place to live, work, and play. If nearly 50 years of involvement in Springfield’s historic preservation wasn’t iconic enough, Bob is at it again, thinking even bigger!”
Swallow said the immediate work needed by the building is repairs and restoration to the roof, the façade and the building’s brick work as well as exterior painting.
The funding from the $100,000 grant would “essentially get us going with the exterior work,” she said.
The building has had a long history and the SPT noted “known as the Guenther and Handel’s Block (SPR.123) and listed on the National Register of Historic Places – is the third oldest building in downtown Springfield, after Old First Church and the Byers Block.
Built in 1845, it originally served as one of a line of stores and rooms on Stockbridge Street, as laid out by Elam Stockbridge in 1839. Early tenants included bootmaker Frederick Goff (1858). The first floor was turned into a grocery/deli by Mr. Greim (1888-1893), who later sold the business to Peter Vogel (1893-1903).
The business was sold again in 1913 to brothers-in-law Emil Guenther and Richard Handel, of the famed Guenther’s & Handel’s Deli, which was located at the premises until 1972, before being renovated in 1977 by Peter Zorzi of Studio One Architects. Zorzi was an active SPT member and hosted SPT board meetings there. Several owners later, the building has fallen into bank ownership after being foreclosed upon and left vacant and deteriorating for years.”
Swallow said the SPT will have to go before the Springfield Historical Commission to form a new local historic building in order to move forward with the restoration project.
Swallow added the SPT is presenting two upcoming public programs. In celebration of the 140th Anniversary of the Springfield Park Department, there will be a Second Saturday Walking Tour of The Carriage House at the Barney Estate in Forest Park on May 13 at 10:30 a.m. The program is free. Guests will learn the history behind the carriage house, built during the Victorian era. Once an integral part of the vast estate of inventor and philanthropist Everett Hosmer Barney, the carriage house is one of the only original structures still standing on the grounds.
The Carriage House was built in 1890. The tour will be led by Patrick J. Sullivan, executive director of the Department of Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management.
Following that event on June 10 at 10:30 a.m. there will be a return of the Underground Railway Tour, which Swallow said has been a very popular program. The Underground Railway was an organized, but secretive path to freedom in the north for slaves during the years leading to the Civil War. Springfield was an important destination for freedom seekers and activists such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and John Brown.
The SPT is hosting the event in partnership with the Pan African Historical Museum USA (PAHMUSA) for this Second Saturday Walking Tour. PAHMUSA Executive Director Sam Bradley will be leading the organization and research of this tour. This walking tour departs from the Springfield Museums. The tour is free for Springfield Preservation Trust and Springfield Museums members, and is $5 for non-members, payable at the outset of the tour.
For more information about the SPT’s programs go to its Facebook page or go to https://springfieldpreservation.org.