Schultze and Weaver, the legendary architects of the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, as well as many other prominent hotels in the United States, Cuba, and Canada, designed the Springfield News-Sun Building in the late 1920s. Built by the A. G. Samuelson Construction Company, this building on Limestone Street was occupied by two different newspapers: the Springfield Daily News Building and the Springfield Sun. They later merged to form the Springfield News-Sun. Former president of the United States Calvin Coolidge started the presses in the new building by pushing a button from his Massachusetts home on October 19, 1929, just ten days before the infamous Black Tuesday.
Based on an Italian palace, this brown brick, St. Paul stone, and Indiana limestone building represents the Italian Renaissance Revival style that reemerged as an interest in American architecture beginning the 1890s. The façade of the building with its brilliant design stands as a testament to the cultural and intellectual wealth of Springfield of the early twentieth century. Schultze and Weaver utilized limestone arches to create a stunning façade detailed with Asiatic faces and five decorative relief shields alternating between paired dogs and eagles. The building’s low pitched, hipped, tiled roof and capitals on the top windows support the fundamental nature of the style. Another stunning symbol of this revival style is the roman numerals on the side of the building revealing the dedication date. Other traditional Italian Renaissance Revival elements include a horizontal emphasis, arched openings, and striking ornamental structure.
