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 Main Street
    
Main Street

looking North from Park Street



This photograph is the oldest known to Nashua's image history, dated somewhere in the early 1850's. In 2002, I entered the crosswalk between Temple and Water Street to recreate this timeless image.



Railroad Square and Library Hill

intersection of Main, Canal and Franklin Streets





Not much has changed in the background from 1910, but I still enjoy looking at the subtle differences in this particular example. The tree in the right side of the photo has blossomed into quite an attractive architectural landscape piece; and It's nice to see we still have funny looking convertibles in our present day! That guy on the right side of the top photo, well, he's a street cleaner! Seems in 1910 they still had horses about town.


The Whiting Building

North corner of Franklin and Main





The Indian Head Bank was located on the ground level of the Whiting Building from 1893 to 1909.



Main & West Pearl Street

facing west





Here is a glimpse of what Main Street looked like with dirt roads and trolley tracks. The building on the right is The Tremont Hotel, previously The Pearl Street House, frequented mostly by investors and Industrialists during the Mill period.

See more on the Tremont Hotel



The Parkinson Block

Main Street





It seems there is a bit of a role reversal in this set of photos. The Bank of New Hampshire in the top photo is very modern looking compared to the storefronts and housing on Main Street the 1920's.

The recent photo shows the 1926 Montgomery Ward building at 221 Main Street with a new vintage facing in contrast to the other buildings next door.



The Nashua Telegraph Building

corner of Main and Pearson





The Nashua Telegraph Building was built on Main Street in 1928. In the 1980's, they outgrew their landmark location, and had to move the offices and printing presses to Hudson, the next town over east of the city.

The Nashua Telegraph first began in 1832; its name then was 'The New Hampshire Telegraph'. It was located in a business block near Franklin Street called The Central Building.

Built on the corner of Main and Temple Streets in 1871, The Telegraph remained there until 1909. The building burned in 1922 in a fire listed as 'One of Nashua's worst'.

There have been other papers started in Nashua, including the The Constellation and Nashua Advertiser, the Nashua Gazette and Hills County Advisor and The Oasis.


The Masonic Temple Building

corner of Main and Eat Pearl





The Masonic Lodges laid the first stone of this building in September 1889. By 1891, construction was complete.

In 1900, The Nashua Trust Company moved in from the McQuesten building across the street. The signature clock has stayed all these years and is now sporting an advertisement for 'Villa Banca', a semiformal to formal Italian Restaurant. The miniature fence out front was especially created by Gate City Fence Co., Inc.

The old photograph was taken in the early 1900's. As you can see, the entrance was changed and the unique column was enclosed. The traffic light is interesting in this photo because at that time, a police officer had to change the light manually.


The Chase Building

172 - 178 Main Street





Amoskeag Properties purchased this part of Main Street in 1916 from William H. Beasom, who later became one of our Mayors. If you look, part of the architecture atop the building is missing; In my photo you can still see one of the transcending fleurs! Although they recently changed it to some sort of fleur.

William D. Beasom built his home for his family on this site in 1847, when homes were the primary real estate of this street.



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