31 Elm St
Springfield, MA 01103
Byers Block · Property For Lease

The Byers block, is the city’s earliest surviving commercial block. Built by Simon Sanborn for James Byers, it is a three story building, transitional in style between the Federal and Greek Revival. Former tenants included Gideon Welles, Lincoln’s Secretary of the Navy, George Ashmun, Speaker of the Massachusetts House and U.S. Congressman from 1845 - 1851, George Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy under president Polk, founder of the U.S. Naval Academy, Reuben Chapman, Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court and 11 other justices and seven Springfield mayors.