Linen postcard, of the Municipal Group, Springfield Mass. Unused.
Night scenes are pretty cool, and seem to be rare.
This group of building was opened in 1913. From Wikipedia: "The Municipal Group of Springfield, Massachusetts is a collection of three prominent municipal buildings in the city's downtown. Consisting of a concert hall, City Hall, and a 300-foot (91 m) clocktower, the Group is a center of government and culture in the city. ... Over the years, the Municipal Group came to represent the city itself as its most identifiable landmark. ...
Over time, as the city's fortunes deteriorated, so did the Municipal Group. Their age made them notoriously expensive to heat and cool. However, City Hall and especially the Campanile languished. Sporadic renovations barely would keep City Hall operable. The aging electrical system in the clocktower silenced the bells and structural instability closed it off. The time on each of the clock's faces was rarely correct. Falling debris required officials to constantly widen the area off-limits to passers-by."
from this website: " In 2007, the cost to properly repair the exterior limestone shaft was estimated at $5.7 million dollars. Funds to begin this important and historical project are currently not available. So, in May, 2008, the City installed steel netting on the Campanile as an additional safety measure. The netting was installed at three of the four corners, in the areas that contain cracks in the limestone."
And there seems to be no update to this information. Repairing the Campanile is still a future project. Given the economy lately, I bet this project has been put off indefinitely.
A sad story of a prominent landmark.
Thank you to our hostess Beth at The Best Hearts are Crunchy for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday. Click on the link to see who else is playing!
Viridian
10 comments:
Nice postcard, Mass. produced.
:)
Let us hope the building is repaired. I too like night views on postcards. Happy PFF.
Judy
Night views are so *sparkly*!!! I hope the building is repaired. We've lost so much of our history tearing things down
If you like night postcards, there is a whole book about them.
Nice night card and collection of building, what a shame they have not be looked after.
The night-view cards are not only rare but very collectible.
Great Card... how sad the building has been left so long that it may be cost prohibitive to repair in the future. Amazing it is still standing.
Thanks for sharing. Happy PFF
I was not aware night view cards were scarce. But then, I don't collect linen postcards; Santa Claus and Cupid are my thing. As for the preservation angle, I've been doing alot of reading on Illinois' efforts lately; in particular, the John Deere house in Moline. Il preservation societies seem to be pretty active, but don't have much luck. I sooo wish I could win the lottery so I could fix it up (9K+ sq ft second empire on a bluff).
A beautiful and dramatic night view. Happy PFF.
I agree - there is just something so spectacular about night views on linen postcards. Sad story about the building!
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