The Spa Restaurant (Appleton & Newton Streets) 1923-1930

 William E. Bosworth Sr. was a well-known alderman and restaurateur in Holyoke; however, his most significant contribution may have been his two-year operation of The Spa Restaurant at the Appleton and Newton Street location.

On December 17, 1923, Mr. Bosworth purchased the 2 - 8 Newton Street real estate for about $48,000 from Daniel M. Foley. Sourced from the City of Holyoke City Directories, Mr. Bosworth had been running the Spa Lunch at a basement location of 277 Appleton (1910-1913), 276 Appleton (1914-1918), and 360 High Street (1919-1923). 

At the time of purchasing the Newton Street property, the upper floor contained tenement housing, and the lower floor had shops.

He saw opportunities in the larger Newton Street space. The new Spa restaurant would not open for several months, as significant alterations were planned.

Mr. Bosworth hired Casper Ranger Construction Company to work on the project in the spring of 1924. The old brick building was razed and a new two-story building constructed.

The first floor would be entirely dedicated to The Spa Restaurant with seating for over 200 patrons. This was three times the capacity of Mr. Bosworth's former location. The second floor would have offices and rooms. Mr. Bosworth and the architect, James Wall, traveled the country gathering ideas for the best in lunch restaurant designs.

Many prominent local subcontractors performed the specialty work. O'Leary Plumbing performed the steam fitting, and D.J. Bowler performed the plumbing for the building. Also, the electrical work was done by both Haskell Electric and R.T. Oakes. P. J. Kane provided electrical fixtures. Karl Koehler installed the metal ceilings; other metal work was done by E.H. Friedrich. There were additional contractors, too. The total expenditure rose to nearly $100,000, or approximately $1.9 million in 2025 dollars.

For nearly 15 years, Mr. Bosworth's vision was to have a first-class restaurant in a building he owned, with the latest in equipment, fixtures, and surroundings. The restaurant opened on July 1, 1924. The new edifice was named The Bosworth Building. Congratulatory messages were received from many.

A hair styling salon and a watch repair shop moved into the second floor to increase revenue for the operation.

But all was not well.

On November 23, 1925, Mr. Bosworth filed for an assignment for the benefit of creditors. The debt totaled $140,000, with a significant portion allocated to mortgages for the purchase of the building, its demolition, and the construction of the new building, as well as furnishing the new restaurant. Coupled with the day-to-day overhead, the business could not sustain itself.

Mr. Bosworth relocated to the Prew Building and opened his new restaurant on September 20, 1926, following the completion of alterations. Mr. Bosworth had a large and loyal following in Holyoke. He continued in business until about 1932.

The auction of the Bosworth Building in January 1928 resulted in the Franklin Savings Institution taking title. 

In May 1930, the bank sold the property to Joseph Ranger, Treasurer of Casper Ranger Construction Co., Casper Ranger Lumber Co., and Hampshire Brick Co., the subject of the next chapter of Appleton and Newton Streets. The building was shown as substantially vacant in the lead-up to Mr. Ranger's purchase.

Citations:

Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Morning Union; 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

Relocated to 26 City Hall Court

Vacant 6 Newton Street

Vacant

Vacant 6 Newton Street

Vacant 6 Newton Street

Vacant 254-260 Appleton Street

Hub Cafe (Appleton & Newton Streets) ~ 1878-1923

 Initially, my plan was to present the topics of the Pig's Ear Pub and the Golden Lemon Restaurant, along with a brief introduction referring to the real estate housing these two businesses. However, after researching the ownership history, the construction of the building, and the businesses that have operated there over the years, I decided to delve a bit deeper, and the story unfolded.

Early maps for the planned city of Holyoke omitted Newton and several other streets in the vicinity, such as Railroad Street (now Heritage Way) and Bond Street (now Nick Cosmos Way). These streets emerged on maps from the 1870s onward.

On February 4, 1875, the Holyoke Water Power Co. (HWP) sold a 5,250 square-foot parcel of land at the southeast corner of Appleton and Newton Streets to Jeremiah Shea. It is doubtful that Mr. Shea followed through with his ideas for the property, as it was sold back to HWP in May 1877.

On August 1, 1878, HWP sold the same parcel of land (without any buildings) to James Dougherty, who maintained ownership for the next 33 years. He was a well-known building contractor who had built the tenement on the southwest corner of this intersection. This was sold in 1899 to Kraig J. Yoerg and converted to Yoerg's Hotel, a building also known as "The Craig". 

The deeds are shown below, and reading nineteenth-century cursive was a challenge, as handwriting is rarely seen in this keyboard-driven and voice recognition era. 

The 1881 Bird's Eye View of Holyoke map and the Sanborn Map (Oct. 1884) both show a connected building at numbers 2, 4, 6, and 8 Newton Street. It was during Mr. Dougherty's ownership that the structures were erected. On September 30, 1878, the Springfield Republican reported that he was planning to build a three-story block with four tenements. When it was sold in 1911, it was identified as two stories.

Not much was discovered about the building in the latter nineteenth century, so it may have remained a tenement structure without storefronts.

It appears the origin of restaurant use started around 1906. Ads seeking kitchen and waitstaff help for the Hub Restaurant, located at 6 Newton Street, began appearing in the Holyoke Transcript that year. The restaurant was operated by J. Anthime Bourdon, who resided in the building.

In 1911, Mr. Dougherty sold the real estate to Michael J. Bowler, a well-known Holyoke entrepreneur. Mr. Bourdon continued to operate the Hub Restaurant at 6 Newton Street until about 1916. At 2 Newton Street, Alyre Couette ran a confectionery store. 

In 1916, Mr. Bowler sold the building to Daniel M. Foley. In March 1917, Frank A. Foley sought a licence to sell alcoholic beverages at the Hub Restaurant. Around 1921, the restaurant moved to 8 1/2 Newton Street and was run by Odilia Dufresne and Theodore Kaiaffas. The Hub continued to operate until 1923. The space at 6 Newton Street was subsequently made available to the Newton Street Delicatessen.

Significant changes were on the horizon when the real estate was sold to Alderman William E. Bosworth Sr. in 1923. The story continues in the next blog installment.

Citations:

Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Morning Union; 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

                          A segment of the Combined Map of Holyoke and Chicopee (1870)is shown below. 
                                 The yellow line denotes the approximate location of the future Newton St.

1875 Deed HWP to Jeremiah Shea

1878 Deed HWP to James Dougherty

Sanborn Map (Oct. 1884)

Sanborn Map (1895)

1911 was the year James Doughtery sold the real estate to Michael J. Bowler

2-4-6 and 8 Newton Street (1915)

Newton Street