BlockThe nomination, in full
Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.
FORM B - BUILDING MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION 294 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02108 -- Area 3000 Form no. 38 PHOTO (3x3" oI 3x5" , black & white) Staple to left side of form Photo number SKETCH MAP Draw map showing property's location in relation to nearest cross streets and other buildings Or geographical features. Indicate north. ~ Town springfield Address_ 1571 Main Street Historic Name_worthy Hotel (DSmRA) Use: Original Hotel Present apartments Ownership:[Private individual Private organization x Public Original owner Frank Worthy DESCRIPTION: Date 1895-1905 Source Springfield Republican Style Renaissance Revival Architect_Gardner, Pyne & Gardner Exterior wall fabric brick Outbuildings -- none MAIN STR WORTHINGTON ST. 38 Assessor's Map #309 UTM Reference: 18/699040/4663880 Springfield South Qaudrangle Recorded by_ Fred Clarke Major alterations (with dates).
1905 - 2 stories added 1909 - joined to Mayo Block to east 1981-82 - apartment renovation Moved no Date Approx. acreage_ less than one acre Setting Urban context; fronts on Main and Organization_Soringfield Historical CommissionWorthington Street within a setting of si- Date January, 1981 milarly-scaled buildings. (Staple additional sheets here) ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE (describe important architectural features and evaluate in terms of other buildings within community) The Worthy Hotel is a Renaissance Revival structure of eight stories. It was built as a six-story,eighty-room hotel in 1895 on the site of an earlier hotel which had been destroyed by fire. The hotel was enlarged twice.
In 1905, it was raised to eight stories, and the main entrance was moved to the present Worthington Street location./ In 1909, the six-story Mayo office building, (1896) Gardner, Pyne, and Gardner) directly east on Worthington Street was incorporated into hotel, raising the capacity of the hotel to 200 rooms. To accomplish this, an alley between the Mayo Building and the Worthy was filled in and the entiré structure raised to a uniform eight stories. (Continued on next sheet.) HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANEE (explain the role owners played in local or state history and how the building relates to the development of the community) The Worthy Hotel achieved significance as the pre-eminent hotel in Springfield during the first half of the 20th century. The Worthy Hotel is also significant as the first steel frame fireproof building constructed in Springfield.
It meets criteria A & C of the National Register of Historic Places. The Worthy Hotel was built in 1895 in the heart of Springfield's commercial district. The hotel was built to the highest standards and achieved an admira- ble reputation for its first class service and excellent dining room. Much of the staff for the new hotel was recruited from the famous Tremont House in Boston. Throughout the first several decades of the 20th century, Springfield thrived as a major railway interchange and manufacturing center. Much of the hotel's business was catered to business travellers. The dining rooms of the Worthy Hotel were acclaimed as among the best in Springfield and were patronized by Springfield area residents and hotel guests alike. The two expansions of 1905 and 1909 are evidence of the hotel's success.
The Worthy Hotel was built by Justin Worthy, who had operated the fire-destroyed Glendower Hotel on the same site. Justin Worthy was a selfmade business success. Worthy had made his fortune in a local flour mill and later began a paper manu- factory. In 1888 he refitted a commercial building for use as a hotel, a business he successfully operated until it was destroyed by fire in 1893. Frank Worthy took over the management of the hotel upon his father's death soon after the Worthy opened. Frank Worthy was responsible for building the hotel's reputation. Upon his death in 1915, management of the hotel passed to a corporation with Daniel Burbank, a local real estate baron, at its head. (Continued on next sheet.) BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES Springfield Daily Republican, 12/29/1894, P. 10, Annual building report. Ibid, 1/1/1905, p.. 6; 1/1/1909, p. 6. Springfield Homestead, 1/13/1894, P.
4; 8/17/1895, p. 2. Springfield Morning Union, 1/10/1894, p. 4. Springfield Sunday Union, 12/2/1894, p. 3. 20M-2/80 INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Office of the Secretary, Boston Commmity: Springfield Form No: 38 Property Name: Worthy Hotel Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below. Architectural Significance (continued) The Worthy Hotel is built of buff brick with terra cotta trim to the sixth floor. The seventh and eighth floors are constructed of yellow brick and terra cotta trim accented by dark brick arranged geometrically at the eighth floor. First floor storefronts have been substantially altered and consist of contemporary shop windows and signage.
Iwo arched windows with terra cotta window hoods flanked by three pilasters project slightly from the Main Street facade at the second floor, originally to highlight the main entrance. This pattern is repeated vertically at the third and fourth floors with terra cotta spandrels topping each grouping. Between the third and fourth floors, the word WORTHY appears in the terra cotta. Double arched windows topped by terra cotta and enclosed within a flat arch flank the central projecting windows at the second floor. windows at the gecond f/00r. Mullioned rectangular windows at the third and fourth levels are enclosed within a de- corated terra cotta surround. A belt cornice tops the fourth floor. aAbovevare two-story Corinthiantpilastersi. The fifth and sixth story windows aré rectangular in form and have key stones of terra cotta.
Windows at the seventh floor are arched with a terra cotta window hood. Two decorated terra cotta arches at the seventh floor rise from the pilas- ters of the sixth floor. Three terra cotta rosettes are placed between the windows at this level. A terra cotta belt course separates the seventh and eighth floors. Win- dows at the eighty-floor are square, enclosed within a terra cotta surround. The building is topped by an entablature consisting of a dentilated architrave and a projecting bracketted cornice. It meets criteria A & C of the National Register of Historic Places. The Worthington Street facade repeats the detail, proportion, and rhythm of the Main Street facade for the first ten bays east of Main Street.
The major exception is that the seventh floor arches are replaced bý terra cotta fleurs above the sixth floor pilasters: The Worthington Street facade east of the replicated main facade was annexed to the hotel and hence has a different pattern and rhythm to the window openings. The Mayo building, annexed to the Worthy Hotel in 1909 retains its original facade. The four easternmost bays along Worthington Street have mullioned windows. A frieze and cor- nice band top the second story. The third story windows have arched window hoods with a terra cotta key. A cornice tops the third story. Five pilasters with Corinthian terra cotta bases and capitals extend from the third floor cornice to the sixth floor. Windows on the fourth, fifth and sixth floors are rectangular with a vertical mullion.
The seventh floor, added in 1909, repeats the fenestration of the lower floors with rec- tangular windows enclosed by a terra cotta surround. The eighth floor repeats the geo- metric patterning and fenestration of the main hotel. The former alleyway filled in as part of the annexation of the Mayo building is marked by a recessed facade at the fifth bay from the east along Worthington Street. A first floor entry is contained within a limestone arch 'set on doubled Ionic half-columns. At the second floor a mullioned rectangular window is flanked by Corinthian pilasters topped by a decorated spandrel. The third floor mullioned window is enclosed by an arched terra cotta surround. Windows on the fourth, fifth, and sixth levels are un- accented rectangular mullioned lights. The seventh floor rectangular mullioned window is highlighted by a projecting lintel.
The eighth floor repeats the pattern of the rest of the building. The cornice over this section is slightly recessed to reflect the slight setback of the facade. Staple to Inventory form at bottom INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Office of the Secretary, Boston Commmity: Springfield Form No: 38 Property Name: Worthy Hotel Indicate each item on inventory form which is being continued below. Historical Significance (continued) The principal architectural significance of the Worthy Hotel is the use of a steel ske- leton covered with tile to insure fireproofing. This first use in Springfield of a total steel frame was motivated by the most devastating fire in Springfield's history which had destroyed the previous building on the site.
The use of steel framing within a masonry envelope is an architecturally significant bridge to the more open designs allowed by steel and embraced by Springfield architects a few years later. The plan for the hotel was drawn by the Springfield firm of Gardner, Pyne, and Gardner. This firm was the busiest and most prestigious firm in the city. The Renaissance Revival styling of the hotel was becoming increasingly popular at the time of the Worthy Hotel's construction and is particularly appropriate for an urban hotel. The two story addition of 1905 by the Springfield firm of Kirkham and Parlett enhanced the hotel's Renaissance character.
The principal features of patterned brickwork and overhanging cornice reflect Renaissance Revival styling in vogue at the beginning of the twentieth century- Bibliography and/or References (continued) The American Architect and Building News, 2/1/1896 plate 1049 "Business Premises for A.N. Mayo & Co., Springfield, Mass. Ibid, plate 1050 "The Phoenix Building, Springfield, Mass." Staple to Inventory form at bottom VATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES Inited States Dep the laterier iational Park Servics Worthy Hotel (Downtown Spring field MRA) Hampden County MASSACHUSETTS EYALUATION / RETURN SHEET resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviower's comments: Working No. 1/1082-3025 Fed. Reg. Date Date Due: 12/9782 - 2/25/82 Action: ACCEPT. RETURN 1427/82 REJECT.
Federal Agency: - sample - request - appeal - NR decision -Nomination returned for: Recom. / Criteria - Reviewer_ Discipline_ Date _see continuation sheet technical corrections cited below -substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification datur aoocolan e Voe wole M 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys on lheproperty teon detnained oligicia- 7. Description Sondltlo erceller g0od tair eteriorater ruins bock em - unaitered atered Chack one _ origmal site moved dete - acorte the prosent and ariginel (il kaowe) pinpeiaed anqoerenas summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection 8.
Significance Partod Aroas ef Stontthes alder Areh emont of signtthern summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked - relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data - ol nominated property medrangle ram UNIT Potorance lerbel boundery dossratton and justtcetien Please promil VBD 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The eraluated sigrificence of thie property within the erate ie: atione! _ state toca Buute Muetonic Preserration Officer signeture 13. Other Maps - Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to.
Signed - Nyan - Date/2 Phone: 202 272-3504 Comments forany Item may be continued on an attached sheet MPS Form 10-800- United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Continuation sheet Item number Multiple Resource Area Thematic Group Name State Downtown Springfield Multiple Resource Area MA - Nomination/Type of Review J. Whitcomb Warehouse Entered in the National Register '2, Patton Building Intered Ir the National Register 3/ Patton and Loomis Block Entered in the Natienal Pegister 4. Carlton House Block Entered in the National Regiater X c123" 5. Stacy Building Substantive Review 6. Springfield Steam Power Company Block Entered in tae National Register I. Bicycle Club Building Entered in the National Register 8.
Wells Block Entered in the National Regiater Worthy Hotel Entered in the National Begiater For NPS use only received date entered Page , 19 dnr-11 '10. Smith Carriage Company District Substantiva Revier Keeper Attest keeper Attest HKeeper Attest Keeper Attest Keeper Attest fikeeper Attest fReeper Attest fKeeper Attest fiseeper Attest Keeper Attest Date/Signature deburBzer 24413 Delrußyen o4/8. demBgun 1/24/83 AluByeu /24/83 pruenla magl 5/2127 OlomBzun 7/4/83 Keln Bzur 3/4/83 delneBjunspslts AelouBye 7/24/83 Aer lnbing s aks ATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES HomasPart Departman el of the laterio WORTHY HOTEL DOWNTOWN SPRINGRIELO MRA) HÄmPDEM Co MA EYALUATION / RETURN SHE resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: Working No. #/10/82-3025- Fed. Reg.
Date: 2-1.84 Date Due:_ 411/83 Action: ACCEPT 2/24/83 Entered in the Nat1onal Register - RETURN _ REJECT- Federal Agency:- - sample - request - appeal - NR decision Recom. /Criteria - Reviewer_ Discipline Date - so0 continuation sheet -Nomination returned for: - technical corrections cited below -substantive reasons discussad below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification -rehe wote Aooutettion 4. Owner of Property Prosond Uoo 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Iee Pue property been derer 7. Description andtlo menorae ruine ,unertered aitered d (Il kaowat payen summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity datas chock ene - moved 8.
Significance erte Arees of oldor kretites summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data aap of ne wnd preserty. srengle re T Poteron 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification bance of thie property wiwn ihe tane loca morton Omcer exgneture 13. Other Maps - Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to Signed . Date. Phone: 202 272 - 350 RED TOP CAFETERIA WIG STUBIO KIM& LEE Downtern Springfidd MRA, Ma Wurthy Hetel 38 1571 man 157/ 156- 1565 1559 12-7 1553 1545 :5+3 1539 1530 1531 17C 38 21,280 denniilel 20.00 101 :7 126.50 8: WORTHINGTON 18 21.86 39 40 6023 3548 2365 PASSAGE WAY 0463 3143 -22.
2820 44 20: 64 2151 BRIDGE 4. 3597 e2.za 13953 235 41.75 c5. 73 -74- itotr. 335 23e 105 2 29c 292 52. +° - 293 291 297 5. 301 29A -402 3 c a 503 T15 308 -Llg 9E# Png um pusi