Dan Antion

Springfield Doors

Welcome to Thursday Doors! This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time). If you like, you can add our badge to your post.

In addition to Thursday Doors, I am participating in Linda G. Hill’s Just Jot It January challenge (JusJoJan)/ Today’s JusJoJan prompt is Family, and it’s from one of my favorite bloggers. J-Dub. You can check her out just about every day at her JillyWily blog. I’m going to take a shortcut to the challenge. The doors in my gallery today are from a trip to the Springfield Armory National Historic Site. I’ve wanted to visit this site for many years. It’s one of those “Oh, I can go there any time” places. You know, the ones that are right around the corner. Thankfully, our daughter took be to this site back in November, for my birthday.

I have shared most of the doors from the Armory and the grounds, which are now the home of Springfield Community College – STCC. Today’s gallery includes several houses from the ride to STCC after entering the city of Springfield. There aren’t any important buildings in the gallery, just some houses and apartments I liked. Sorry about the bright sun.

Thanks for visiting my blog. As the host location for Thursday Doors, I hope you will take a few moments to visit some of the links contained in the pingbacks and comments from the other participants.

I like the steps leading up to this house
Apartments
Balconies between turrets. I’ve never seen that before
I don’t care for the modern door, but I like the entrance
Corner door on a law office
Hard to find the doors, but I like the street art
There’s an interesting church on the way out of town
A closer look at that church
This is an interesting house – sorry about the sun
A mansard roof and a mansard dormer and a turret
I love that porch!
Another great porch and turret and a balcony
Approaching this house, I knew I needed to get a better photo
That is a substantial widow’s walk

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116 comments

  12. You’d think there would be a special traffic lane devoted to door people so they could just poke along, park, take some photos, poke some more…think what a civic service that would be! Meanwhile, we will enjoy what you nab at fire hydrants. I am really intrigued by that church; I had to look at that a while. Ditto the mansard-turret place. But, oh, those porches! Thanks for taking us along!

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    • I’ve often thought we should get special privileges in traffic and around town. I wanted to stop and get a better picture of that church, but that road is essentially the on-ramp to the highway. I think this is why Norm started Thursday Doors with the caveat of “No bail is available from the host!” That’s a tradition I still enforce.

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  13. These are definitely grand homes with their stonework and brickwork, arches, turrets, balconies, porches and even a widow’s walk. I think a lot of books have been read on those porches and balconies!

    The best part is that all these structures are still in use today as private homes, apartments and businesses. What a testament to the way things were built “then”.

    And the church is quite unique. It almost looks like a toy building even though the building next to it isn’t big.

    Nice collection from Springfield.
    Ginger

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    • I’m glad you liked these, Ginger. You’re right, these are a testament to the craftsmanship of a past era. Even though the porches are close to the street, I think I’d enjoy sitting out there and reading a book, sipping a glass of something. Maybe Maureen could bring one of those peach cobblers.

      I’ve never seen a turret on a house with a mansard roof, but it works! In addition to a large porch, I’d like a turret.

      I hope you get a chance to dry out today. Take care.

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    • I don’t know about the church, but I think the house is in the Second Empire style. There are a couple styles that use mansard roofs, but Second Empire drifts away from the symmetry of the other styles. Since this one has that turret on one side, I’m guessing that is the style. I tired to find information about the church. The building looks well maintained, but I don’t think it’s in operation. It appears a candle company may have been using the building, but that is now closed.

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  24. The little additional views from your trip are interesting. I liked the apartments. Between the turrets was a good unused corner to stick balconies into, Glad someone noticed and put them there; I wouldn’t have seen the space.

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  25. Great houses and old buildings, Dan. Don’t worry about the sun, just enjoy it. :-) I understand about the we-can-see-it-anytime (but you never do) idea. I had friends who used to always love when I visited because (beside my sparkling personality) they’d think of just that sort of place to take me, usually places they hadn’t been because those places were for tourists. Just another reason to have people visit. :-)

    Thursday Doors…classic doors

    janet

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    • Thanks Janet. I think you’re right. I remember visiting the attractions around Pittsburgh when people would visit my parents. My mom was pretty good about taking us to see things (before she went back to work) but they were usually a bit out of town.

      I liked your classic doors today!

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  27. The widow’s walk and that wonky fence make the house in your last photo just this side of scary, but gosh it’s a pretty one. Don’t you just love burglar bars on an attorney’s office? Something comical about that.
    Your comment to Gwen about not stopping to view modern houses is so true. We drive past them for the ‘wow, look at that’ factor, but we stop to sit and admire the older houses.

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  32. I agree the balconies and turrets appearing that way looks unique. Those big ‘ol porches reminded me of my aunt/uncle’s house up in the coal regions of NE Pennsylvania. Their street seemed to feature a lot of those wide, wide-open porches. They did a lot of porch-sitting as I recall!

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    • I miss porch-sitting. I wish we had a porch that was conducive to sitting. I can’t build a bigger porch, or a turret (or a widow’s walk). I guess I could build a balcony, but I probably won’t. Not much of a view from here.

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  33. Some are really fancy! I love the porches, turrets, and the one with the dome is cool, and that Mansard roof one too is neat. Good finds! What are those little half windows on the first house called any idea? They look like sleepy eyes. .😀

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  48. Hi Dan – interesting to see the buildings, and great you were able to share the day with Faith … happy birthday day. I’d never heard of a widow’s walk – fascinating look-out … and I see they came from when mariners were keeping an eye out for their husbands returning … if they were lucky: hence the name. Fun post – thank you … cheers Hilary

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    • I don’t know if this house is old enough to have needed the widow’s walk, but you could see the Connecticut River from up there. Perhaps they go down and hitch up the horses to go fetch hubby. Oh the things we did before text messages – cheers.

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    • Daughters are pretty cool, Brenda. I went back up for a second look, that’s why some of the pictures in this series were under cloudy skies and some under clear. I wish I knew more about the church, but I do like the look of it.

      You have a great collection today. Thanks!

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