A collection of photographs by Bill Hughes donated to the Wood Museum of Springfield History. Thirty-six images in all, they were taken in 1991 of the Latino community in the North End of Springfield. They show, in his words, “an…
Extended! This exhibit features 343 portraits by artist Dawn Howkinson Siebel, one for every New York City firefighter lost in the World Trade Center attacks. Together, the images create a wall measuring 21 feet long, allowing visitors to come face…
Early fire pumpers were a great improvement over the bucket brigade system of fighting fires. Now instead of throwing water onto a fire from small buckets, hand pumper engines were utilized, pulled to the scene by teams of firefighters. The…
The M. Allen Swift 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I After World War I, Rolls-Royce, the British luxury car maker, decided to set up a manufacturing center in the United States. This was in response to the high demand for Rolls-Royce cars…
This Victrola is an excellent example of the record-players available to the American public in the 1920s. This particular player was sold at Meekins, Packard & Wheat Department Store, then in downtown Springfield. Meekins, Packard & Wheat, founded in 1874,…
Westinghouse maintained a large manufacturing plant in Springfield making a variety of electronic products. Electric fans, like this one, were a very popular product in the 1920s in an era before modern air-conditioners.
This cased Massachusetts Arms Company pocket revolver is a .28 caliber six-shot pistol which has a 3" octagonal barrel. This is a rare and important hand gun; rare because of its unusual and short-lived experimental ignition system, and important because…
This painting is colorful and endearing at first glance, and provides a delightful look into the play room of two Victorian children, but once we know why it was painted this picture takes on a very somber quality. Willie and…
This Kibbe Brothers candy box is a representative example of the boxes the company employed to house their candy products. The company used unpainted pine boxes assembled with machine cut finger joints at each of the corners. The bottom is…
The artist's decision to show Annie standing at the piano holding a sheet of music reflects the importance of music to this young woman. We also know from other historical records the centrality of music in Annie's family, since her…