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Republican Block
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<h2 id="description-and-history">Description and history</h2> <p>The Republican Block is located in downtown Springfield, on the east side of Main Street just north of Court Square, one of the city's oldest public spaces. It is a four-story brick building with Italianate styling. Its ground floor is occupied by two storefronts, set on either side of a central building entrance. The second floor has a band of arched windows topped by a dentillated cornice. The third and fourth floors have windows set singly and in pairs under bracketed segmented arches or rounded arches. The building is crowned by a bracketed projecting cornice.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p><p>The block was built in 1858 for <i><a href="/facts/The_Republican_(Springfield%2c_Massachusetts)/72EWrgrM">The Republican</a></i>, a newspaper founded in 1824. <i>The Republican</i> occupied the premises until 1867, and is the only surviving reminder of the period of ownership by its founder, Samuel Bowles. It was then bought by D. H. Brigham, a clothing retailer. Brigham greatly expanded the premises to the rear, and operated a clothing factory and shop in the building, which remained in business until 1969. The building is believed to have been designed by A. L. Chapin, a prominent local architect who designed a significant number of Springfield's Main Street buildings of the period.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Union_Trust_Company_Building_(Springfield%2c_Massachusetts)/fRFldGFn">Union Trust Company Building (Springfield, Massachusetts)</a>, 1351 Main Street</li> <li><a href="/facts/Court_Square_Historic_District_(Springfield%2c_Massachusetts)/w35W3Cj9">Court Square Historic District (Springfield, Massachusetts)</a>, across Main Street</li> <li><a href="/facts/National_Register_of_Historic_Places_listings_in_Springfield%2c_Massachusetts/ulDPPCgc">National Register of Historic Places listings in Springfield, Massachusetts</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/National_Register_of_Historic_Places_listings_in_Hampden_County%2c_Massachusetts/mNtd3XeP">National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampden County, Massachusetts</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008. <a href="https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP" target="_blank">https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"NRHP nomination for Republican Block". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved December 13, 2013. <a href="https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=spr.251" target="_blank">https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=spr.251</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"NRHP nomination for Republican Block". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved December 13, 2013. <a href="https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=spr.251" target="_blank">https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=spr.251</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>