Continuing the theme of recreational pursuits in the Springdale section of Holyoke, the story relates to the property, which once featured the Holyoke Driving Park for 20 years, until it was abandoned in the mid-1890s. A new era in recreational and competitive sports was to begin at what was to be known as the Berkshire Street Grounds.
Baseball was gaining popularity, and there was a need to increase the number of local athletic fields to accommodate the number of games. The Holyoke baseball club, a semipro team participating in the Connecticut League, also sought a suitable venue to play.
In 1903, W. B. Reid, an architect, laid out plans for a new ballpark, complete with a grandstand to accommodate 1,700 patrons. Under the grandstand would be locker rooms, a concession stand, and a ticket office. Two sites were under consideration for the playing field: the Depot Hill grounds in the Flats and the location of the former South Holyoke Driving Park, situated on Berkshire Street between Main Street and the river.
Holyoke Water Power owned the latter property, which was taken back after the failure of the driving park. It had intended to subdivide the property to accommodate new businesses, but was agreeable with the ballpark concept as an alternative.
On March 24, 1904, the Holyoke baseball club signed a lease for the use of the land as an athletic field. The park's boundaries were from the N.Y., New Haven & Holyoke railroad tracks to Berkshire Street, a distance of 440 feet, and from west of the Holyoke Street Railway storage barn to Main Street, which was 400 feet. The map below provides the general location of the park atop the former trotting park.
Construction of the park began in late March or early April, 1904. An eight-foot-tall fence would surround the park, and the semicircular grandstand would provide seating for 1,200 spectators, fewer than initially designed. Baseball was played at the park in 1904.
In 1905, several improvements were made to the park to make it stand out more than any park in the league except for the New London ballpark. Dugouts would be lowered to below ground level to avoid obstructing spectators' views. A cinder path would lead from Main Street to the stadium to minimize wind-blown dust deposited by silt from the river. Access to the grandstand would be widened for easier entry and exit. The field was leveled to remove a hill, and damaged boards from baseballs would be replaced with thicker planks.
Over the next 15 years, the field's usage increased to include skating (1907), marathon races (1909), and ice hockey on Winkler's rink (1912).
The Holyoke Water Power Company turned over control of the facility to the playground commission for 1914 activities. Additional events, such as high school football, Gaelic football, and local athletic club events, were held.
In 1915, an estimated 5,000 people attended a football game between Churchill A.C. and St. Aloysius.
Although its sporting use was prominent, Holyoke Water Power was a steadfast advocate for utilizing its land holdings for industrial purposes. In 1919, consideration was given to selling the ballpark to Haarman & Company to retain the company operations in Holyoke. Railroad officials met, as they wanted to build a rail siding there.
In 1920, the playground commission was once again granted scheduling rights for the year. Howe's Circus came to Holyoke and set up at the Berkshire grounds. The site is still often referred to as the circus grounds, rather than the Berkshire Street grounds.
The Farr Alpaca Company approached the Holyoke Water Power Co. in 1920, offering to purchase the grounds, purportedly to build a new mill building. This subject leads into the next installment, relating the story of Falco Field.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Morning Union; publication dates and pages are shown.
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