Wood Museum of Springfield History
Tankful Travels began its first foray into *Free Fun Fridays with a visit to the Wood Museum of Springfield History at the Springfield Museums.
*free admission to select art museums and other cultural institutions in Massachusetts throughout the summer on Fridays.
Visitor Center with the Seymour Planetarium (the oldest operating planetarium in the US) visible on the upper left.
"One stop, five museums"—that's the Springfield Museums motto. We had just a day to visit so we chose to primarily focus our attention on the Wood Museum knowing it would be dense with local history.
After checking in at the Museum's visitor center we headed over to the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History. The goal of the museum is to represent the city's achievements during the 19th and 20th century, which were embraced by the nation as a whole.
Springfield, MA (not Detroit), is the birthplace of the American automotive industry. It has a rich and important legacy involving transportation, reaching back to 1894 when J. Frank Duryea invented the first gasoline powered combustion engine automobile in America.
The vehicle on the left is one of the first automobiles produced by Duryea, and the model on the right represents a later Stevens-Duryea car. These vehicles were handmade by former carriage makers, of which Springfield had been a leading manufacturer. Springfield's automotive industry failed to adopt Henry Ford's assembly line production model, and it wasn't long before major manufacturing shifted permanently to Detroit.
A photo of Everett Barney driving a Knox Car (seen in foreground, right). Everett, a wealthy philanthropist, whose estate became Springfield's Forest Park, patented boots with permanently attached blades, thus, creating the first modern ice skates. The Knox Car company was a competitor to Duryea, and a pioneer in the automobile industry, utilizing revolutionary technology of the time.
Gallery showcasing Rolls-Royce cars, manufactured in Springfield, its only US division. The factory was closed after just 10 years, wiped out by the Depression and competition by less expensive American luxury car companies.
M. Allen Swift received this Rolls-Royce from his father on his 25th birthday. He drove this car until his death at 102! In 2005, he bequeathed this car and 1 million dollars to help establish this museum.
Mr. Swift outside of his Connecticut home with his Springfield-made Phantom I Rolls-Royce Roadster. The Rolls-Royce Corporation presented Swift with a crystal "Spirit of Ecstasy" award as the longest single owner of one of their cars.
Image: courtesy of the Springfield Museums
The Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament was inspired by Eleanor Thornton, an actress and artist's model who posed for sculptor, Charles Sykes, in 1911 (I've always wanted to mount this particular ornament on the hood of my car, which, by the way, is neither a Rolls-Royce nor a luxury vehicle;)).
Interior of the Phantom I.
Detail of the Phantom I exhaust pipe—even that's a work of art!
1925 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Roadster owned by S. Prestley Blake, co-founder along with his brother, Curtis, of that venerable New England institution, Friendly Ice Cream.
Interior of the Silver Ghost.
1928 Pierce Arrow Brougham 81 Opera, given to Mary Ida Young, whose company introduced Absorbine Jr. (a muscle/joint pain reliever ointment, created and manufactured in Springfield by her son, Wilbur F. II). The car has only 2763 miles recorded on its odometer.
Detail of the highly sculpted and distinctive Pierce Arrow hood ornament- the "Helmeted Archer"— designed by Herbert Dawley, who also originated the concept of mounting headlamps on the front of car fenders. The Pierce Arrow Car Company was considered one of the most highly regarded, quality luxury automobiles of its day.
Detail of the unique passenger lamp of the prestigious "Opera" model.
In the golden age of aviation, Springfield was a leading manufacturer of competitive (racing) aircraft, as evidenced by the Granville Brothers famous "GeeBee" racer on display in the museum's entrance hall.
1937 Zeta military trainer prototype in the foreground.
The National Air Races were a highly competitive series of races that arduously tested both the pilots and their wonderfully fast machines, and the GeeBee was considered one of the best.
The famous aviator, James "Jimmy" Doolittle, won the NAR in 1932 in the GeeBee R-1, of which a replica of that famous plane hangs in the Museum. Doolittle would go on to lead the famous Raid over Tokyo after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Although possessing no strategic or tactical value, the raid was a huge morale booster to the US in the early, dark days of World War II, and signaled what was to come--the "sleeping giant had been awoken".
Precursor to the motorcycle.
The first Indian Motorcycle, 1902, is shown on the left. George M. Hendee (on the right) was a competitive biker, who along with Carl Oscar Hedstrom, designed and built the Indian.
The second floor of the museum is largely dedicated to one of the most celebrated American motorcycles ever made, as they were created and built right in Springfield at the Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company.
Indian Motorcycles were loved by Hollywood celebrities...
the competitive racer...
the adventurer...
and the open road enthusiast!
Motorcycles were promoted for their low cost, and for being fun and fast to drive.
Along with Harley-Davidson, Indian produced and delivered hundreds of motorcycles to the US Army during WWII, which were in turn used in all theaters of the war.
The 1928 Indian Experimental Roadster, first introduced in 1922, was an attempt by the company to enter the automobile industry. The 1929 stock market crash caused the demise of this foray.
Detail of step plate produced exclusively for the Indian Roadster by Tiffany.
Another profound and influential aspect of Springfield's history includes the manufacturing of firearms. Both the Springfield Amory, and later Smith and Wesson contributed firearms from the early days of our Nation, through the cauldron of the Civil War, to the opening of the West, and service in the World Wars.
In a separate gallery, the Museum offers a glimpse into a few of the landmarks that were mainstays of the greater Springfield retail/commercial landscape. A New England icon, Friendly's remains a family tradition, after 80 years, with 385 restaurants throughout New England and the mid-Atlantic region. Founded in 1935 by the Blake brothers at their mother's urging to keep them occupied during the summer, they launched an ice cream shop where they sold five cent cones, paid themselves 2 dollars each per week, and invested the rest of the net profits back into the company. (please note Prestley Blake's Silver Ghost Roadster, highlighted earlier in this post in the automobile section)
Although no longer de rigueur, many New Englanders can still recall the Friendly's waitress attired in this familiar uniform. Other companies featured in this gallery include Steiger's, Forbes and Wallace, and Johnson's Bookstore--all closed but not forgotten by anyone over the age of 40, and Big Y Supermarket, as well as Peter Pan Bus Co., and Mass Mutual Insurance--still in existence.
After several hours of touring the Springfield History Museum, we made our way over to the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum for a quick peek. Along the way we passed by the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden where Horton appeared to be walking alongside this family. Noted sculptor and Theodor Geisel's (aka: Dr. Seuss) stepdaughter, Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, was commissioned by the museum to create 30 bronzes for the sculpture garden.
Who House. A Stick sculpture by artist, Patrick Dougherty stands nearby "Horton Court".
Cherub holding a palette over the entry to the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum. The cremains of founders Mr. Smith and his wife Belle are interred behind a wall in the Asian galleries.
From the museum's website:
"This art museum holds the eclectic collections of George Walter Vincent Smith (1832-1923) and his wife, Belle Townsley Smith (1845-1928) in an Italian palazzo-style building established in 1896. The vast holdings include excellent examples of Japanese lacquer, arms and armor, ceramics and bronzes; one of the largest collections of Chinese cloisonné outside of Asia; Chinese jade and ceramics; and a superb collection of 19th-century Middle Eastern carpets. In addition, the collection contains significant American 19th-century paintings (especially landscape and genre), Italian 19th-century watercolors, a fine assembly of Greek and Roman antiquities, a rare plaster cast collection, objects created for 19th-century International Expositions and examples of lace and early textiles."
The American Salon on the second floor of the GWV Smith Art Museum.
Image: courtesy of the GWV Smith Art Museum
Mark enjoying the gardens and grounds in front of the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum building.This unique collection of museums is a jewel in the heart of downtown Springfield!
Update: The Dr. Seuss Museum now occupies the CT Valley Historical Museum building and opened in 2016).
Plan your visit here.
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