Historic Buildings of Massachusetts

Victory Theater (1919)

by Dan/December 31, 2016December 31, 2016/Art Deco, Holyoke, Neoclassical, Theaters

The Victory Theater (spelled “Theatre” in stone on the building itself) is a grand movie/stage show palace erected in 1919 by Goldstein Brothers Amusement Company at 81–89 Suffolk Street in Holyoke. It was named in honor of the Allied victory in World War One. The theater suffered fire damaged in 1942, but continued in operation until it closed in 1979. The building remained vacant for decades, its blade sign being removed in 1986 and marquee torn down in 1991. In recent years a restoration of the old theater has been undertaken by the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts with plans to open in 2017.

Conway Block (1885)

by Dan/December 31, 2016/Commercial, Holyoke, Italianate

The Conway Block, located at 301 High Street in Holyoke, is a commercial building erected c. 1885. It takes its name from early tenant Martin P. Conway, a dealer in pianos and organs.

Herbert J. Frink House (1885)

by Dan/December 28, 2016December 28, 2016/Holyoke, Houses, Queen Anne, Shingle Style

Herbert J. Frink was an agent and later president and treasurer of the Holyoke Machine Company, president of the Peoples Savings Bank and a director of the Hadley Falls National Bank. He had patents for a calendar-roll, an adjustable bearing box and a wood-pulp grinder. Frink lived in the house at 228 Pine Street in Holyoke. It remained in his family into the early 1960s.

Taber Block (1884)

by Dan/December 28, 2016/Commercial, Holyoke, Romanesque Revival

The commercial building at 281-283 (285) High Street in Holyoke, designed by George P. B. Alderman, was built c. 1884. By 1891 the building was owned by Frank L. Taber, a watchmaker and jeweler. Other businesses have occupied the building over the years, including, starting in 1965, the camera shop of Raymond D’Addario, a photographer who once headed the photography department at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials.

Lyman Cotton Mill (1865)

by Dan/December 26, 2016December 26, 2016/Holyoke, Industrial, Italianate

The Lyman Cotton Mills in Holyoke erected a complex of buildings in the city in the second half of the nineteenth century. The company started with two original mills, built c. 1850, located between the First and Second Level Canals, that it inherited from the earlier Hadley Falls Company. Mill No. 3 was erected in 1872-1873. The company office and other additional buildings were erected on Front Street, along the First Level Canal. The one pictured above contained the Cloth Room Building (on the right) and the No. 2 Store House (on the left). Located at 72-100 Front Street, it was built c. 1865-1870. It is now called Canal Place and is used for offices.

Valley Paper Company (1864)

by Dan/December 26, 2016December 26, 2016/Holyoke, Industrial, Italianate

In 1864, David M. Butterfield, previously a finisher at Parsons’ Paper Mill in Holyoke, started the Valley Paper Company and built a new mill on the bend of the Second Level Canal, near the South Hadley Bridge (4 North Bridge Street). A wing extending toward the Connecticut River was built in 1877. The tower once had a Mansard roof.

Childs Building (1912)

by Dan/December 26, 2016/Commercial, Holyoke, Neoclassical

The commercial building at 275 High Street in Holyoke was probably constructed in the 1880s by John Tilley, but the current facade dates to 1912. It is a highly ornamented Beaux Arts design executed in brick and terra cotta to plans by local architect G. P. B. Alderman. The facade was created when Thomas S. Childs moved his shoe store, previously located at 210 High Street, into the building in 1912-1913.