Northampton Architecture- Quadrant 2

Main Street-East, from Courthouse

The various buildings along Main Street were constructed primarily in the 1860's and 1870's with the exception of one building, erected in 1915. Most architects chose the Victorian Commercial style. The 1915 building features a Classical Revival style. The brick blocks lining the main street of Northampton (between Pleasant Street and Strong Avenue) are the earliest brick commercial structures in Northampton. In 1865, Union Block was built at the corner of Main and Pleasant Streets. The 1915 block, mentioned above, replaced the Union Block when it collapsed in 1914. In 1867, the Dickinson Block and its small, bay-wide neighbor arose. This bay-wide building connected the Dickinson Block and the Lee & Hussey Block (1865). The Mathewson Block was erected in 1868, just to the east of the Dickinson Block. The Commercial Hotel was constructed on the corner of Strong Avenue and Main Street, boasting stores on the ground floor and "a hotel on the European plan" on the second and third floors. Architect William F. Pratt designed the demolished Union Block and the Lee & Hussey Block; he also may have planned the Dickinson Block. The hotel at the corner of Main and Strong Ave. is the work of J. M. Miner, native of Cleveland. The blunt, block-like window trim that appears on the hotel marks the work of J. M. Miner in other downtown buildings as well. His style contrasts markedly with the delicate treatment which Pratt accorded his commercial structures.

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