The Whitcomb Warehouse is located on the northwest side of downtown Springfield, on the north side of Hampden Street east of East Columbus Avenue. The area is now generally devoid of other 19th-century or early 20th-century buildings, the result of urban decay and renewal activities. It is a four-story masonry structure, finished in yellow brick. The ground floor facade consists of two garage-style doors, flanking a pair of pedestrian entrances sharing an access stair. The garage doors have been covered over by large display windows, set on a low brick wall in the door openings. The upper floors are eight bays wide, with sash windows set in segmented-arch openings, headed by rows of soldier bricks, one projecting slightly. The building is crowned by a frieze band of decorative brick work and a modest patterned brick cornice.[2]
The warehouse was built in 1896, and was first associated with the Springfield Cigar Manufacturing Company, the city's largest manufacturer of cigars. It was later sold to Colby Manufacturing, a maker of rulers. Other 20th-century uses of the building have included as an arts center.[2]
