The O'Leary Block (Maple and Lyman Streets)

 A conversation about the 95-97 Maple Street address, which housed S. Marks and Company for 99 years, should include information about this historic building.

James O’Leary, a Holyoke saloon keeper, purchased the Maple Street land with frontage of 25’ and 130’ deep to the center line of the alley from the Holyoke Water Power Company on April 19, 1860. The deed showing this conveyance is shown below.

Although no news articles or other sourced information provided information regarding the year a building was constructed, the 1869 Holyoke City Directory listed John O’Donnell’s grocery store operating in the O’Leary block at Maple and Lyman streets. Unfortunately, there are no known Holyoke City Directories before 1869.

I will note that in 1868, James O’Leary borrowed money from Lewis P. Bosworth (mortgage $3,254) and the Holyoke Savings Bank (mortgage $5,000) and may have used the funds to construct the brick building at Lyman and Maple Streets. This is supposition, as there were no major loans previously encumbering this land.

James O'Leary does not appear in the 1869 City Directory, but does appear in 1871 as a distributor of Philadelphia Ales.

In 1873, an advertisement appeared in the Holyoke Transcript, in which Mr. O’Leary listed the property for sale. It was described in sufficient detail to be the building that still stands today. The property was subsequently sold to Levi Perkins in 1876.

In 1883, James O'Leary applied for a license to dispense alcohol at 95 Maple Street.

At the time of purchase by Jane Marks, the wife of Simon Marks, in 1907, the building had 8 tenements, a grocery store, a butcher shop, and a bakery. 

A 2026 photo of the refurbished building is shown at the end of this string. The structure now houses 14 studio apartments and one ground-level retail space.

Citations:

Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.

Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories

Hampden County Registry of Deeds, Springfield, Massachusetts

Massachusetts Cultural Research and Information System, Boston, Massachusetts

A photo taken in 1984 of the O’Leary Block (courtesy of the 

Massachusetts Cultural Research and Information System)

95-97 Maple Street

Deed conveying the real estate (land) at Lyman and Maple Streets 

from Holyoke Water Power Company 

to James O’Leary on April 19, 1860

Below- Photo of Deed recorded conveying 95-97 Maple Street real estate 

from James O' Leary to Levi Perkins on August 23, 1876

March 31, 2026 Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican