Republican Block

The Republican Block is a four-story Italianate commercial building of red brick built in 1858 on Main Street in downtown Springfield, believed to have been built by local architect-builder A.L. Chapin; it was the first commercial building erected north of Court Square and was enlarged and tripled in size in 1861. It is significant as the home of the Springfield Republican newspaper during the editorship of Samuel Bowles II (1858-1867), one of the earliest daily newspapers in Massachusetts, whose staff included J.G. Holland (later co-founder of Scribner's Monthly) and Clark W. Bryan (later publisher of Good Housekeeping). It is also significant as the last surviving mid-19th-century commercial building in Springfield's business district, and from 1867 it housed D.H. Brigham's large clothing and dry-goods store.

Republican Block is a landmark in Springfield, Hampden County. It is one of 3,654 landmarks documented in Hampden County, among 3,815 historic sites cataloged across the county on MassRoam.

The site sits at 42.1024, -72.5893 near Springfield. The nearest cataloged historic site is Union Trust Company Building (landmark), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Haynes Hotel, Springfield City Hall, and Court Square Park - Springfield Soldiers Monument.

This record is drawn from public historical records. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.