Loomis-Wesson House, Springfield, Massachusetts

 


Taking on a house that's almost 150 years old can be a scary prospect, especially when the garden ivy isn't the only thing that's a little creepy. (And when there's a frightening mannequin on the 2nd floor, but we'll get to that.)




This is the Loomis-Wesson house in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was built in 1874 for Frances Loomis, the widow of a cigar manufacturer. It cost around $25,000 to build. That's a lot of cigars.

It was designed by the same firm that designed Harvard's Memorial Hall, and there are some Victorian Gothic similarities between the two:


The Loomis-Wesson house is slightly smaller, though, at 5,504 square feet. It has 8 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. It still has many of its original architectural features, like the foyer flooring and wall paneling:


All it needs is a fabulous Gothic bench and lots of hats -- from visitors that will never return to reclaim them. You know, since this is a spooky Halloween house and all.

{source unknown}

The hallway leads...


...to this living room, which in turn leads...


...to this sort of pre-conservatory, which served as a billiards room at one time:


Now, however, I can see it dressed more simply (and slightly spookily) like this:


The pre-conservatory leads to the conservatory...


...which could serve as a beautiful gallery space:


The real estate listing doesn't feature many rooms, but it does show the dining room...


...which used to look like this:


We also get a glimpse of the kitchen and great views of the staircase.




Oh, yeah, and this bedroom photo with the frightening mannequin, to appeal to Halloween house hunters:


The listing also features a somewhat desolate side yard:


It could be a perfect outdoor dining space, complete with more scary statuary:


Finally, there's a pool area:


It just needs some stately landscaping to fit with the Gothic architecture. Scary statues are optional.


The house's second owner was Frank Wesson, the son of Daniel Wesson, as in Smith and Wesson. I suppose it's that firearms connection and the fact that the Wessons had their share of personal tragedies that might give the house a similar spooky vibe as the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. (Currently a Netflix movie starring Helen Mirren).

The house is located on Maple Street, which, until the 1960's, included another Wesson home built in 1898:


But, in the spirit of Halloween, maybe I ought to show it to you this way instead:



Maple Street still is home to many beautiful houses. If you'd like a neighborhood tour of old photos, go here. The Old House Dreams listing is here.


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