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North Adams, Massachusetts, circa 1907. "Church Street looking west." At right, potted palms and lightbulbs! 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Looking down the street on the Google Street View, much of the architecture is still there and still original. The big difference is, these are not single family homes anymore. Several of them appear to have been turned into rooming houses or are shared by a group of tenants. I see several with more than two or three small cars parked out back. Perhaps young college grads starting out their first jobs or figuring out which path to follow in life. So glad housing like this is still available for young people ... speaking as a parent of one such young grad student.
Still do wish I could go back and spend a couple of days taking it all in -- in 1907.
Below is a street view of the Houghton Mansion. The brick addition is good looking in its own right, but not when attached to this house. If the barn where the chauffeur committed suicide was on the same property, it's gone now.
I looked at the 1907 panorama Dave linked to. Houses numbered 1 and 3 are at 129 and 149 Church Street, respectively. Number 2 is at 170 Pleasant Street. If you swing street view to the right, Number 2 is the red house at the top of the hill. I believe the Houghton Mansion was hidden in the trees in 1907 (see arrow).
It appears at one time a studio apartment was listed for sale here. The post includes several photos of the large public rooms. Much of the original paneling, fireplaces, staircase, etc. are still intact. But doubtful someone is going to buy this place to restore, haunted or not.
This is the Houghton Mansion. The owner and his daughter died from injuries in a car crash when their chauffeur had to pass a work crew on a road, hit a soft shoulder and rolled down a hill. The chauffeur, who survived, was deemed innocent of the accident, but soon afterwards committed suicide in the basement of the estate's barn. The Houghton heirs eventually sold it to the Masons, and it now has a huge brick addition in the rear. The lovely porches appear to have been enclosed -- poorly, I might add. It's apparently been vacant for years.
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