Westfield City Hall improvements included a new roof, energy-efficient windows, doors, overhead lighting, a state-of-the-art heating and cooling system, and electrical upgrades are some of the many upgrades that are now in place. (File photo by Frederick Gore)
By JEANETTE FLECK
WSU Intern
In September 2011, Mayor Daniel M. Knapik requested $3.4 million to repair and restore Westfield’s city hall at 59 Court Street. The request went through, and overall the reception to these plans seemed favorable, but some dissented. The objections were raised that the repairs might add to the city’s debt, and that there were pensions and benefits that needed to be paid. Wouldn’t the acquisition of a brand new city hall be cheaper than repairs to a building originally built for the Westfield State Normal School?
Back in 1856, James C. Greenough, a native of Wendell, MA (about ten miles east of Greenfield), became Assistant Principal of the Normal School. At the time, the school was still located on Washington Street. On November 27th, 1860, he married Jeanie Ashley Bates, the oldest living daughter of William G. Bates. Greenough left the Assistant Principal position in 1871, upon request to become Principal of the State Normal School of Rhode Island (he left there in 1883), and then of Massachusetts Agricultural College – now known as UMass Amherst. In 1887, he returned to Westfield as full Principal, and he would keep this post for ten years.
At the time when Greenough became principal, the previously acclaimed schoolhouse on Washington Street was falling into disrepair, and the students and faculty were outgrowing it. The legislature decided to build a new school, and soon the lot on Court Street was procured, conveniently along Westfield’s trolley routes. The new school was built for no more than $150,000 (number not adjusted for inflation), and completed in 1892. The Boston-based firm of Hartwell and Richardson served as architects, imitating the famous style of H. H. Richardson, notable for distinctive Romanesque arches.
Rumors that Greenough resigned under pressure from dropping enrollment and increasingly strict admission standards could not be confirmed, but he did leave the school in 1897. He stayed in the public eye for the rest of his life, writing several essays on education and one on Westfield’s history. He was vice president of the Westfield Athenaeum from 1891-1916, and then was promoted to president in 1916. He held this last position until his death in December 1924.
A few decades later, the Normal School, renamed Westfield State Teacher’s College in 1932, was outgrowing its bounds again. It remained in the Court Street building until around 1955, when the school finally moved to its larger, current location on Western Avenue. The landmark building on Court Street sat vacant for about three years, though some of that time was surely spent in renovations. In 1959, it became the Municipal Building, and contained the District Court of Western Hampden County, the Westfield Police Department, and a long list of city departments. The first two now have their own premises, and that long list changed by necessity over the years, but to this day, the building is casually known as City Hall.
Moreover, it’s just been restored. The renovations began with emergency repairs in 2009, when a support beam in the City Council chambers broke. In 2010, the structure of the building was reviewed, and that inspection went pretty much as one would expect for a 120-year-old building. Discussions went forth about whether to fix up the current Municipal Building, to find another, or to build a brand new one. In the end, it was to be repairs. The $3.4 million was approved, and with bonds and additional funding from the Community Preservation Act, the most pressing repairs (to the roof) began in December 2011. The whole exterior of the building was updated, in keeping with its historical significance, and then by May 2013, it was the interior’s turn. All city departments were moved to temporary locations, until the final unveiling this past December. By all indications, the Municipal Building is back up and running, and greatly improved for its current and future function.
