Monarch Place is a commercial office tower with ground-floor retail spaces, located in
Springfield,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. Monarch Place is the tallest building in Springfield, the
tallest building in Massachusetts outside of Boston, and the eighth tallest building in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
outside of Boston.
Originally built by the namesake Monarch Capital Corporation, at the time of its completion in 1989 it was the largest mixed-use development in Massachusetts outside of Boston.
History
Monarch Place was built on the site of the
Forbes and Wallace Inc. Department Store, commencing construction in 1987.
In a tribute to preserve the heritage of Forbes and Wallace, whose flagship store had stood at that site for decades, the architects Jung Brannen and Associates developed a replica of that building's facade, used in tandem with a fountain at a plaza at the corners of Main and Boland. The building was originally constructed as a joint venture between the Monarch Capital Corporation's "Forge Springfield" subsidiary, Flatley Springfield of Braintree, and
Sheraton Hotels
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is an international semi-luxury hotel chain owned by Marriott International. As of June 30, 2020, Sheraton operates 446 hotels with 155,617 rooms globally, including locations in North America, Africa, Asia Pacific, Ce ...
at a cost of $120 million dollars. After Monarch Capital's bankruptcy in 1991, the building was sold at auction for $24 million dollars to Peter L. Picknelly, of
Peter Pan Buslines, whose company has managed it since.
Since 1989, working with the
Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, the building has on-and-off served as the site of a nesting pair of
peregrine falcons
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, ...
, making it one of three reintroduction sites on buildings in Western Massachusetts, including the UMass Campus Center site which subsequently was moved to the
W.E.B. DuBois Library in
Amherst.
Tenants
As of December 2021, tenants include:
*
Gallery
MonarchPlace.png, The Monarch Place tower and ground structure seen from Main Street
Forbes and Wallace memorial facade at Monarch Place, Springfield, Massachusetts.jpg, Forbes & Wallace plaza, modeled after the department store which once stood on the site
Monarch Place as seen from Steiger Park during night, Springfield, Massachusetts.jpg, With illuminated frustum
In geometry, a (from the Latin for "morsel"; plural: ''frusta'' or ''frustums'') is the portion of a solid (normally a pyramid or a cone) that lies between two parallel planes cutting this solid. In the case of a pyramid, the base faces are ...
crown at night
Monarch Place main entryway, Springfield, Massachusetts.jpg, Main entryway and logo
General lobby of Monarch Place, Springfield, Massachusetts.jpg, Lobby and marble staircase
See also
*
Metro Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
Metro Center is the original colonial settlement of Springfield, Massachusetts, located beside a bend in the Connecticut River. As of 2019, Metro Center features a majority of Western Massachusetts' most important cultural, business, and civic ve ...
*
Tower Square
References
External links
Official websitemaintained by Peter Pan Properties
Sheraton Monarch Place Hotel Marriott Hotels
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Tallest Buildings In Springfield, Massachusetts
*Springfield
Jung Brannen buildings
1980s architecture in the United States
Postmodern architecture in the United States
Tallest buildings, Springfield
Tallest buildings, Springfield
1986 establishments in Massachusetts