Kimball Towers to Celebrate 100 Years in Downtown Springfield
by Bill Dusty
News from Kimball Towers, via press release dated August 16, 2010…
WITH A SERIES OF EVENTS DOWNTOWN
The Kimball Towers Condominium Association will host a series of events downtown, beginning with an Art Show, Live Music and Open House during the weekend of the Mattoon Street Art Show and Festival, on Saturday, September 11 and Sunday, September 12, 2010, from 1:00pm until 4:00pm. The Kimball is downtown Springfield’s hidden residential treasure, and the public is invited to hear a free concert by the jazz trio of Springfield’s native Frank Varela from 1-3 in this historic building’s Centennial Room. The painting, Hillman Street Scene, by local artist Caleb Colon, will be unveiled. Art work by children will also be on display. There will be a “condo” tour of apartments on both days. Refreshments will be served by the Armory Quadrangle Civic Association (AQCA) whose office is in this historic building.
Once the grand Hotel Kimball, The Kimball Towers Condominium, located at 140 Chestnut Street, was remodeled and modernized throughout the 1990’s into 132 studios and 1- and 2-bedroom units. Other events to celebrate the Centennial year include the kick-off of the Springfield Saint Patrick’s Day Parade by a proclamation for 100 years of stewardship by Mayor Domenic Sarno. A Christmas gala sponsored by AQCA is planned, and on the Fourth of July there will be a picnic with live music and another art show. The year of celebrations continues again on the weekend of the Mattoon Street Art Show and Festival in September 2011.
“We want to invite everyone to this great old building to join us in celebrating our 100th anniversary,” says Steve Daly, Chairman of the Board of the Condominium Association.
“We have a downtown multicultural environment here that works, and we have a whole new century in which to enjoy it,” says Brad Latham who has lived in the building eight years.
“This is an opportunity for the public to see our Centennial Painting and the works of children,” says Morocco Flowers, who lives at Kimball Towers and is a professional photographer with a history of coordinating community arts in Boston. Mr. Flowers, who has produced images for Eastman Kodak, Hallmark, NBC and many others, will curate the art show.
“Kimball Towers is a great, elegant place to live close to everything downtown,” says Elaine Ramos Edwards, a building resident and member of the Board of Directors for the Association. “We would like to show people what it means to live in the city in a community where everyone from all walks of life gets along.”
Real estate agents from Century 21 Hometown Associates, Lortie Landmark Realty and other agencies will be on hand to answer questions for prospective buyers. Representatives from local lending institutions will also be on site during the weekend.
Hotel Kimball formally opened on St. Patrick’s Day in 1911. The Kimball was splendid in every phase of its construction and fitting. Solid mahogany floors and chairs with upholstery of hand tooled-leather, bearing the Kimball coat-of-arms, were only part of its elegance. Among its guests were U.S. Presidents, kings, wealthy American industrialists, and stage, screen, and radio stars.
Built in what was the affluent residential neighborhood of Chestnut and Bridge Streets, the Kimball offered 309 rooms, a dining-room capacity for 450, a 22-foot-high banquet hall for 350 guests, and, in 1912, room rates from “$1.50 to $3.50 per day”.
Proms, wedding receptions, conventions, balls, and weekly Rotary and Kiwanis meetings kept Kimball facilities fully booked. For years, radio programs were broadcast from its Westinghouse WBZ studios.
Difficulties after World War II, with a decrease in train travel and the rise of motels to accommodate highway travelers, gradually closed the hotel, banquet, and office services.
The building changed hands several times between 1964 and 1980; was renovated into residential apartments, and renamed Kimball Towers. In 1985, the building was again renovated and converted to residential and commercial condominiums.
Contact: Linda Caron, Property Manager
Phone: Caron Management LLC at Kimball Towers Office, 413-739-4551
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