After the 1939 A.T. Gallup Co. relocation from 293-297 High Street to diagonally across at 302 High Street, what became of the space at its former location? That question will be answered, as we now move through another chapter of High and Suffolk.
It did not take very long for the space to again be occupied by a thriving business. Walgreens Drugs, a growing national chain of approximately 500 pharmacies in 39 states, was looking to make inroads in New England. In September 1939, the Walgreen Company signed a 15-year lease with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
The Holyoke store became Walgreen Drug's second store in New England. The first had recently opened in Springfield, Mass.
LaFrance Construction Company of Holyoke was awarded the contract in November 1939 to make the necessary alterations to the building. Although A. T. Gallup used both floors and the basement for its business operations, the pharmacy would not need the second floor.
The main entryway was moved from mid-building along High Street to a corner entrance at High and Suffolk streets. The former entryway was converted to an additional display window. The work was anticipated to cost $9,000 and take two months to complete.
On Saturday, February 3, 1940, the store celebrated its Grand Opening at 295 High Street. A two-page display ad in the Holyoke Transcript featured numerous items available for sale.
The store installed a luncheon counter and booths. The menu offered luncheon items, sandwiches, and dinners, along with ice cream and coffee. Complete Sunday dinners were served. At least 12 waitstaff were hired at its inception to serve customers.
The second floor of the building, with a separate entrance at 291 High Street, was divided into smaller commercial spaces. This became the home to the Vera-Loretta Beauty Shoppe, Dr. E. R. Frost, Optometrist, the Thompson Business School, among others. John H. Woods Real Estate was the property manager and rental agent.
In October 1944, Metropolitan Life ended its nine years of ownership and sold the entire 289-295 High Street property to a Rochester, New York group incorporated as Suffolk-High, Inc. The sales price was $304,500, extraordinary for its time.
In 1945, six tenants on the second floor and a store named Mason's on the first floor of 289 High Street received eviction notices from the building's new owners, who had other plans for the space. The entire second floor and storefront at 289 High Street were leased to Darling Stores of New York, a women's and children's wear chain. Walgreen Drug would remain under its lease at 295 High Street.
On April 11, 1946, The Darling Shop opened for business. It was an ultra-modern store with the interior work performed by Casper Ranger Construction Company at a cost of approximately $15,000. At the time, there were about 110 stores in the chain.
On December 2, 1946, the entire property was conveyed to the Darling Shops' realty wing, the Suffolk St.-Holyoke Corp. The Darling Shop store lease was also extended to 1965. The purchase price was a High Street record-setting $365,000.
In June 1954, Walgreen Drug denied rumors that it would soon close. However, on October 11, 1954, the Darling Shop closed due to a lack of business. Spencer Shoes was to move into the 289-291 first-floor retail space. The second floor would not be immediately used.
Also in October, Walgreen store officials indicated that they were seeking a new store site in Holyoke. This did not materialize, and the Walgreen's store closed at the expiration of its 15-year lease on December 31, 1944. It was not until 1999, when the rebranded Walgreens returned to Holyoke at the southeast corner of Northampton and Dwight streets.
The story continues at the northwest corner of High and Suffolk streets when another Holyoke retailer relocates to the former Naumkeag, A. T. Gallup, and Walgreen Drug site. The story continues in the next chapter with the Youth Centre.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Second and Third Photos Courtesy of Facebook, Growing Up in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
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