Belle and Franklin Streets Historic District

This 2.1-acre district in Springfield's North End contains seventeen contributing buildings and one noncontributing 1930 garage. Most were built between 1914 and 1916 by William Lay, a realtor and contractor who named his apartment houses after U.S. presidents. Eight three-story frame buildings with stucco and full-height porches line Franklin Street. Six four-story brick blocks stand on Belle Street, and a brick block with twelve apartments and six storefronts sits at Franklin and Cass Streets. Louis G. H. Kinsman was architect for the Belle Street blocks and one Franklin Street block, and William Fredette was builder of most of the others. A revised 1914 building ordinance banned three-story frame buildings, so Lay switched to brick in 1915. The district also includes an 1862 Italianate house built for Dr. Samuel D. Brooks, later stuccoed and given a two-story porch to match the development. The group is valued as a distinctive example of early twentieth-century apartment development in Springfield.