Another of Holyoke's major vendors of cemetery monuments and curbing was Brown, Stevens & Fifield Monuments, located on Forestdale Avenue.
Hugh Carroll had operated a store and had a display yard for monuments in the early 1920s. In 1923, he sold the property to a Northampton concern, Brown-Stevens Company, which was in a similar business located at 160 Pleasant Street in Northampton. The business was owned by Frank G. Brown and Gordon Stevens. Both shops remained open after the Holyoke acquisition.
A 12,000-square-foot parcel on Forestdale Avenue was purchased in 1926 from the Holyoke Water Power Company, on which the business was located.
The business added Holyoke's Ralph B. Field Sr. to the partnership. Mr. Fifield had been a representative of the Vermont Marble Company, and his knowledge and experience in the industry would be beneficial to the new firm. Ralph Fifield was a distinguished designer of monuments and mausoleums, consulted on numerous large projects throughout the country.
The firm was awarded the contract to design the entranceway to the new veterans' golf course in Springfield in 1932.
In 1934, the company established a presence at 43 Wahconah Street in Pittsfield.
The company rose to national significance when it was awarded the contract to build a marble temple in Santa Barbara, California, for the late actress Alice Sedgwick Minot of Boston. Her wishes included designing a replica of the Greek Temple of Poseidon in Paestum, Italy. Her request was to have the temple located on the Mediterranean shore or Lake Como, Italy. However, if this could not occur, then the West Coast of the United States was her choice.
The temple itself was projected to cost $50,000, and its location was selected in the Sunset Section of Santa Barbara Cemetery, for another $20,000.
Part of Mr. Fifield's obligation was selecting the site for the temple. He and his wife drove out to the cemetery for this purpose. The chosen location was on a 90-foot cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The design was created by Robert W. Remy, the company's architect.
The Minots lived in Paris, France, for several years, and upon returning to the United States, shared time between Boston and the Lord Jeffrey Inn in Amherst. Their attorney was William E. Dwyer of Northampton, a distinguished lawyer and civic leader.
Several photos of the mausoleum and its placement within the cemetery are included below.
Mr. Fifield died in 1952, and the corporation continued with its surviving shareholders.
In 1956, Robert W. Remy, who had been associated with the firm since 1935 as an architect and then in sales after Mr. Fifield's passing, purchased the company. He maintained the existing company name.
The company again changed hands in the early 1960s and remained in Holyoke through 1963, owned by Smith Monuments of Westfield. In 1964, the business consolidated at its Westfield location, 104 Court Street, where it remains as of this writing.
In 1964, Dr. Robert Moriarty opened his dental practice at the former location of Brown, Stevens, and Fifield Monuments in Holyoke.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Price & Lee, City of Holyoke (Massachusetts) City Directories
Holyoke (Massachusetts) City Assessors' Office
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