One of the notable sights in Holyoke that intrigues me is the small, free-standing commercial block with residential apartments on one or two upper floors. There is one such block, located a few streets away from where I spent my early years, that has stood the test of time and remains active today.
The story of the Smith Bros. building starts many years before the actual structure was built. In the latter part of the 1800s, James H. Newton and Oren D. Allyn were building residences in the Sargeant and Magnolia Streets neighborhood.
On September 18, 1891, Newton and Allyn sold a parcel of land with a newly built home located at 236 Sargeant Street to Herman G. Burkhardt, a postal employee. The property extended to the southwest intersection of Sargeant and Magnolia Streets. The purchase price was $3,600.
On April 23, 1909, Mr. Burkhardt sold the piece of land on which the commercial and residential block would be built to Theodule Smith, a grocer, and his brother, Albert W. Smith. Albert W. Smith operated a pharmacy at 95 High Street.
226 Sargeant Street:
The earliest indication that the Oakdale Pharmacy was operating was November 6, 1910, which places the construction of the block in the 1909-1910 timeframe. The building had two retail spaces on the Sargeant Street side (#226 and #230), and several apartments on the upper two floors (#228).
The Oakdale Pharmacy operated until 1967 at 226 Sargeant Street. There were several different proprietors of the pharmacies noted along the way, including William V. Kane (1922-1947), Bernard Cannon (1947-1964), and John T. O'Neil (1964-1967).
Following the pharmacy, an antique shop operated briefly in the early 1970s. From 1972 to 1993, Holyoke Appliance Service conducted business at this location.
230 Sargeant Street:
The other commercial retail space was home to predominantly small grocery stores. Several of the operators included Theodule Smith (1910-1912), part-owner of the building, who resided upstairs at 228 Sargeant; Arthur Labrecque (1912-1948); Lionel A. Picard; Lee's Market (1948-1964); and Cumberland Farms (1965-1977).
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription), Price & Lee City Directories, Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Assessors' Office, City of Holyoke, Massachusetts
Registry of Deeds, Hampden County, Springfield, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS), Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston, MA
1911 Richard's Atlas of the City of Holyoke, MA
No comments:
Post a Comment