W C A Boarding House
Why it's listed
Built in 1884 at 19 Bliss Street in downtown Springfield, this three-story brick building was constructed by the Women's Christian Association, a predecessor of the Y.W.C.A., to house 35 boarders. Its purpose was to give young women who came to the city for work a respectable, Christian home at reasonable rates. The design includes corbelled brick piers, a patterned brick cornice and a one-story wooden porch with Eastlake-type turned supports; two upper porch levels were removed in the 1950s. The plain massing reflects the restrained look of residential and social institutions compared with commercial buildings of the period. The association sold the house in 1910 after opening a new building on Howard Street. The Springfield Rescue Mission, a charitable organization founded in 1892, acquired it in 1962 and it remains the Mission's only surviving property tied to its early history. The house is considered one of very few remaining boarding houses of its era downtown.
Significance in brief: It is tied to social and humanitarian groups in the city, first the Women's Christian Association, which built it to house working women, and since 1962 the Springfield Rescue Mission. It is also a good local example of the Queen Anne style and one of very few surviving late 19th century boarding houses downtown.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 83000776, listed February 24, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 19 Bliss St., Springfield |
|---|---|
| County | Hampden County |
| Listed | February 24, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83000776 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Unknown architect; built by the Women's Christian Association |
| Architectural style | Eastlake/Queen Anne |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Used as a boarding house; owned since 1962 by the Springfield Rescue Mission. Upper stories of the wooden porch were removed in the 1950s. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.09989, -72.58675 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 83000776.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7958472
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.