The Roseland Ballroom was adjacent to the Holyoke Theater at 461 Dwight Street in the Windsor Building. Chicopee resident John Lachowetz owned the business, and Sidney Epstein owned the building. The ballroom was the successor to Kelly's Trianon Ballroom, which operated there from 1924 to 1943.
The Roseland Ballroom opened on March 17, 1944, and celebrated its grand opening on September 7, 1944. Its activities included live bands, dancing, and providing dance lessons. It was also a meeting hall for events such as proms, as it could accommodate large crowds. A teen dance sponsored by the Police Progressive Association held in 1948 was attended by 1,500 teenagers from Holyoke, South Hadley, and Willimansett.
In December 1945, a calamity occurred when an improperly disposed cigarette started a fire in the women's lounge, causing $10,000 in damage.
In its early years, Polish-American bands and other orchestras played to suit patrons' musical and dancing tastes.
A midnight-to-dawn dance was held in February 1957, and estimates pegged the number attending as close to 2,000. The music of legendary jazz performer Lionel Hampton and his band was the featured artist. Nineteen police officers were detailed to the event. The audience was drawn from many states, including New York and New Jersey.
The Glen Miller orchestra performed in a January 1958 show, and the Tommy Dorsey Band in September of the same year. Duane Eddy's twangy guitar opened the 1960 season at the Roseland.
Unavoidable problems occurred in 1961 and 1962, which may have set in motion the closure of the business.
In 1961, a water or sewage pipe burst in the old opera house and surged into the theater portion of the Windsor Building. Water overtook a retaining wall between the opera house and theater buildings, resulting in eight feet of water in the theater's cellar. This impacted the boiler room servicing the ballroom. At the time, E. M. Lowe's owned the opera house.
Of interest, the news article mentioned a common hallway connecting the theater and opera house. I had wondered about the layout and access points of both.
In July 1962, the fourth-floor east-facing wall of the Equi Building collapsed, raining bricks through the roof of the Windsor Building. The offending building had been weakened by removing an adjoining building, which had been razed. There was uncertainty about the future of the Windsor Building.
In November 1962, the Roseland Ballroom reopened. Entertainment was provided to appeal to college-age people. The advertisements for musical acts stopped in 1963, and the final Transcript-Telegram or Springfield Republican publication for the Roseland Ballroom was for a candidate's rally scheduled for October 3, 1963, and a breach of the peace that occurred on December 13, 1963.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican) publication dates are shown.
Holyoke Public Library, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories.
Photo Credit: HolyokeMass.com The vertical Holyoke Theater sign is on the right. This was the entry to the ballroom.
No comments:
Post a Comment