The final installment of this 6-part series takes us into May 1961, when the new Al Marcotte Ford dealership opened at 1 Ross Ave. in Holyoke. An Open House was held to celebrate the new business on June 8, 9, and 10, 1961. Unlike its recent predecessors at this location, the business concentrated solely on Ford vehicles. Foreign-made cars were no longer part of the new-car sales inventory.
Albert Marcotte, a Derry, New Hampshire native, was 40 years old when he started his business. Mr. Marcotte had a long history with Ford, having served as comptroller for two dealerships in Boston and later as the President and Treasurer of one of New England’s largest Ford dealerships in Manchester, New Hampshire. As will become evident later in this discussion, he was a businessperson with keen foresight.
The property was leased from former Phillips Motors owners, Philip L. and Esther Kay, for 5 years beginning May 1, 1961, with an option to extend for an additional 5 years.
The dealership, as did many, sold new and used cars and operated a service department. Vehicles were sold to individuals and businesses, and Marcotte Ford was often the low bidder for supplying towns and municipalities with police cars and other vehicles.
The dealership used the nearby bowling facility to park its overflow of new vehicles. In October 1962, a major fire leveled the bowling alleys, and the cars were at risk of being destroyed. Firefighters turned the hoses on the cars to help prevent the heat from blistering the paint. Marcotte employees moved the cars to a safe location.
Marcotte Ford was quickly growing and quite successful. It needed additional space for its sales and service departments. Additionally, the owners of the South Street Shopping Plaza were considering expanding on the vacant property where the bowling alley had once stood. Marcotte Ford had parked part of its overflow inventory there. Another factor was the mid-1960s plan of the new I-391 to either use High and Maple Streets as a terminus or continue through to Beech Street. This would result in a land taking that would impact the business.
In December 1963, Albert Marcotte made a decision that favorably affected the trajectory of his business. He purchased the William Whiting farm, located between Northampton and Ingleside Streets to the west and Main Street to the east. The property contained about 18 acres, about 3 of which were north of Anderson Hill Road, and the remainder to the south of that street.
The 3 northern acres would be used as a used car center. To the south, a new 30,000 square-foot, 12-car showroom and 36-car service center would be constructed on a portion of the remaining land. The estimated cost of this project was $350,000.
In March 1965, the project was underway as the buildings on the old Whiting farm were being razed to make room for what would become Holyoke’s largest car center. With plans to use only 8 of the purchased acres, the future of the remaining 10 acres was uncertain. There were some thoughts about commercial development, potentially a hotel or a shopping center being built on the remaining land.
Site work began in August 1965, and foundation work 2 months later. In January 1966, the structural steel for the side walls was erected. Michael Ciolek Construction Company of South Hadley was the general contractor of the project financed by Holyoke Savings Bank. The project would triple the space of its Ross Avenue location. The 4,000-square-foot showroom would be the largest in Western Massachusetts. Employment would increase from its present staff of 40 to about 60 workers. The project’s anticipated completion date was May 1966.
The project was on schedule, and the Ross Avenue building was closed on May 26, 1966. The new location was occupied and opened for business on May 31, 1966. As of this writing, Marcotte Ford has served its customers for 65 years and is likely the longest-running new-car dealership in Holyoke.
For a brief period in 1969, the 1 Ross Ave showroom was the home of Reidy’s Auto Mart, a used car dealership.
I-391 was on its way to Holyoke. The Kay property land-taking by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Public Works, occurred on May 2, 1972. The former dealership remained standing until it was demolished between March 1976 and 1982, when I-391 was completed into Holyoke.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Hampden County Registry of Deeds, Springfield, Massachusetts
