Union House is the third oldest commercial building left in Downtown. It was designed by regional architect Henry Sykes, who also designed the Mills-Stebbins Villa in Springfield and the Amherst College
observatory. For many years, it was Springfield’s finest hotel. In 1847, it hosted President James Polk during a trip through the Northeast. In his entourage were Attorney General Nathan Clifford and Secretary of State
James Buchanan. The building continued as a hotel until the Great Depression and has been used for retail since then. MGM will demolish this four-story building and replace it with a new four-story building with retail and restaurants on the ground floor and apartments above. The Historical Commission has asked that the building be adaptively reused for the same uses.