While driving along Northampton Street recently, I remembered a few stores that were located on the site where Friendly's now stands. This is the first part of a series about the businesses that occupied the addresses from 1739 to 1747 Northampton Street before Friendly's was built in 1967. The first business I would like to highlight is Ridgewood Pharmacy, located at 1741 Northampton Street, which was the longest-tenured tenant in the building.
First, here's some background on this parcel of land on which six connected storefronts were situated. Dennis J. and Ann G. Cleary, who resided at 11 Ridgewood Avenue, owned an oversized lot that extended to Northampton Street. In 1923, they constructed a six-plex commercial building designed for retail and services. The building was completed in 1924.
One of the four original lessees in 1924 was the Ridgewood Pharmacy, which was owned by Alfred E. Weinrich and John J. Curran. The pharmacy was located at 1741 Northampton Street.
As many pharmacies in the early 20th century and prior operated, the focus was on medicinal remedies. To increase foot traffic, the pharmacy often sold tickets to local events.
The pharmacy suffered some smoke and water damage from a fire at a neighboring storefront in 1926.
In the 1930s, the pharmacy sold household goods and placed advertisements for items such as sponges, shaving implements, flashlights, tongs, camera film, and snacks, including ice cream desserts.
In 1936, the owners purchased the Colonial Pharmacy from E.A. Loiselle at 1373 Dwight Street. Mr. Weinrich remained at the Ridgewood Pharmacy, and Mr. Curran moved on to the Colonial Pharmacy.
On January 16, 1942, Alfred Weinrich died, and the pharmacy was sold to Joseph Berinstein of Springfield. On September 1, 1944, Joseph and Mildred Berinstein purchased a home located at the southeast corner of Northampton and Corser Streets. This was a short walk to his pharmacy.
The pharmacy continued to evolve with the times in the 1940s and 1950s, selling fragrances, boxed candy, and a wide range of household essentials.
On Wednesday, May 1966, a devastating fire destroyed the pharmacy and all adjoining stores. Ridgewood Pharmacy did not reopen, having transferred its prescriptions and refills to Normand's Pharmacy at 2014 Northampton Street.
Rather than rebuild, the real estate owners, June F. Flanders and Dorothy M. Bond, sold the property, including the residence at 11 Ridgewood Avenue, to S. Prestley and Curtis Blake, the founders of Friendly's. A restaurant, along with a parking area, was constructed on the property. The house at 11 Ridgewood Avenue was moved to 89 Ridgewood Avenue. As of this writing, the restaurant is one of the remaining ninety or so still operating in 2025.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Registry of Deeds, Hampden County, Springfield, Massachusetts
Price & Lee, City of Holyoke (Massachusetts) City Directories
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