National Register of Historic Places

W C A Boarding House

Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts
Listed
February 24, 1983
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
83000776

About this property

The W C A Boarding House was a historic boarding house at 19 Bliss Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1884 by the Women's Christian Association (WCA), it was one of Springfield's few surviving boarding house structures from the 19th century. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It was demolished to make way for the MGM Springfield casino. The W C A Boarding House was located on the east side of Bliss Street, a right-of-way that formerly ran between Main Street and East Columbus Avenue, roughly dividing the area developed for the MGM casino. It was a three-story brick building with a flat roof. It was a stylistically restrained version of Queen Anne architecture, with some patterned brickwork and corbelled brick piers between the window bays. Windows were originally set in segmented-arch openings, and the building at one time sported a three-story Eastlake-style wooden porch. The building was built in 1884 by the Women's Christian Association (WCA), a social welfare organization that was a predecessor to the Young Women's Christian Association. The architects were Richmond & Seabury, and the builder was C. H. Scott, both of Springfield. The building was used by the WCA as a space for boarding respectable working-class single women. With the construction of a new facility in 1910, the property was operated as a private boarding house. From 1962 the building housed the Springfield Rescue Mission, a social welfare agency. It was demolished about 2012. National Register of Historic Places listings in Springfield, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampden County, Massachusetts

Location

19 Bliss St.
Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts
42.09989, -72.58675

Categories

ARCHITECTURESOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

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Nearby Battles

Attack on Springfield
1675Colonial
0.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was W C A Boarding House listed on the National Register?

W C A Boarding House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 24, 1983.

What type of historic resource is W C A Boarding House?

W C A Boarding House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for W C A Boarding House?

The period of significance for W C A Boarding House is recorded as the industrial era.

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