A mystery B&M photo, c.1918

I promise Ill get over there and take pictures next week. now the leaves are off the trees anyway. Im working nights, which means on my way home, I can stop around dawn, which will give the highest contrast to the hills.

3rdrail wrote:Just a couple of thoughts. It's curious that a site which is pictured as large as this one is hasn't been positively identified by someone so far. Man-made structures change over time, but usually mountain's profiles don't. Would it be possible for somebody to get in back of the trees which apparently are covering up the range that exists now at this site and photograph the range so that it's profile may be compared with the original photograph's ? A striking similiarity in profile, even from a slightly different angle, would almost certainly positively identify this as being Northampton if indeed it is. Likewise, a shift in direction would point us in the right direction also, as it would give us reference from Northampton.

i'd say mr. sullivan's photo is of the same location as the original photo in this thread.

count the number of windows in the two-story brick building in the original, and compare with sullivan's. there are six across in each, although in mr. sullivan's, the leftmost is very difficult to discern, as it has been bricked in. also, notice the roof line details of the brick building. there is a small facade rising above the roof, on the "gable" end, and it is clearly visible on the building in the original photo.

the building with the cupola is also the same. count the number of panes in the left side (both photos), and look at the cupola's roof line. they are the same.

the only thing different is the point from which the photos were taken.

another reason we could assume the photos are not summertime is the lack of vegetation on the trees in the original photo. yes, they could be dead, and thus not have leaves. but there are at least 5 different trees visible in the original photo without leaves, so that makes the photo more likely to be in leaf-off season, from november into late april.

An 07-07-2011 visit to Historic Northampton Museum and Education Center did provide a bit more information about the Belding Brothers Silk Mill in the background of the photo. As might be expected, both the post-WW I crash and the later Great Depression caused a number of ownership combinations and changes as well as operational contractions. Evidently, WW II did nothing to help the Belding Brothers Hawley Street operation because a clipping of the 02-08-1944 "Daily Hampshire Gazette" (sorry, the italics function still doesn't for me) has a photo taken from the viaduct showing the remains of the mill, the powerhouse, round smokestack, and towers, being the only standing portions of the complex. The story had no mention about the time or nature of the collapse, but mentioned that being so near the tracks, the ruins presented an unfavorable impression of the community for visitors.