159 State Street

What is it?
A small one story office building at the corner of State and Dwight Streets, two major thoroughfares, in the center of downtown Springfield. It is a perfect example of a structure not being utilized to its full potential because it is being viewed through an auto centric lens. 100 years ago THIS MUCH VALUE would never have gone to waste!

What’s right?
*Location, location, location.

What’s wrong?
*As time has progressed it’s clear that the owners and occupants of this building have only seen value in the State Street façade of the building, and that only as far as it works to capture the attention of passing motorists. The front entrance is used as much as a billboard as a door, and horrible molded cinder blocks cover what had been large plate glass windows.

*The Dwight Street elevation is a combination of blank walls and undersized windows, and offers no means of egress and nothing to engage the pedestrian. As parking is limited to two spaces at the back of the property, the building’s capacity to deliver value is seen as extremely limited.

What to do?

*Remove the cinder blocks from the State Street façade and create a traditional American Main Street storefront designed to engage pedestrians.

*Exchange the blank walls and tiny windows on the Dwight Street elevation for traditional storefronts. Use the same motif on both façades to enhance the street level experience.

*Connect the two diverging sidewalks and the two London Planetrees (and the afternoon shade they provide) into an outdoor space shopkeepers and patrons could utilize.