Before starting the story of the Whiting Street estate building at 28-36 Main Street. I’ll take a few moments to speak of Whiting Street and the administrators of his estate’s land acquisition.
Whiting Street was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 25, 1790, and lived most of his life in Northampton, Massachusetts. His home in Smith’s Ferry along the Connecticut River bank is now a part of Holyoke by way of annexation in June 1909.
Mr. Street was extremely thrifty and invested well in Holyoke’s early papermaking concerns, including Parson’s Paper Co. and Valley Paper Co. He also had business interests in The Hadley Falls National Bank, Northampton National Bank, and the Agawam Canal Company. He also invested in government bonds and mortgages. He also amassed 1,200 acres of land stretching from his home to the Mt. Tom range.
Before his death on July 31, 1878, he specified that his wealth be shared among 24 Western Massachusetts towns in amounts ranging from $1,000 to $25,000. The money would be placed into savings accounts with interest distributed annually to the “worthy poor”. At the time of his passing, it was estimated his worth was $500,000, or about $16m in 2026 dollars.
A Board of Commissioners was appointed to invest and manage Mr. Street’s estate. The group included J. C. Parsons, J. S. McElwain, both of Holyoke, and H. H. Chilson of Northampton.
On March 12, 1885, a deed was recorded transferring real estate from David F. Coghlan and Benjamin F. Mullin to Whiting Street (estate), consisting of a 100’ x 104’ oversized lot on what was to become 28-36 Main Street. Messrs. Coghlan and Mullin had purchased the lot from Holyoke Water Power Company on May 2, 1871. The sellers needed more space for their business, Coghlan Holyoke Steam Boiler & Iron Works, which relocated to Crescent Street, south of Appleton Street. For those who enjoy viewing copies of 150-year-old deeds, hand-written in cursive, I have included them below.
E. A. Ellsworth, architect and city engineer, designed the new 4-story building constructed for the Whiting Street Estate. The ornate building would be built of granite and include 4 ground-floor stores, each 22’ x 100’. The store interiors would be hard pine with cherry or ash finishes and large plate-glass windows. The fourth floor was designed with granite gables and dormers.
The building would have a hydraulic elevator from the cellar to all floors. The second and third floors would be reserved for offices. Each office would have a fireplace and transom lighting. Store rooms were located at the rear of the offices, and the entire fourth story was used to accommodate the wholesale trades. The estimated construction cost was $60,000. Watson Ely & Son was the general contractor. Many of the contractors who contributed to the building are shown in the news articles below.
There were construction problems, including issues with a softer-than-anticipated subsoil. Approximately 600 piles had to be driven deeply into the soil to support the foundation. This work was performed by Daniel O’Connell.
The building was completed by May 1886, taking about one year to build. It is considered Holyoke’s first granite block and is identified by the Holyoke Transcript as one of the three greatest building projects to occur in 1885. The other two were John Delaney’s Marble Building at High and Dwight Streets and the substantial renovation work performed at St. Jerome’s Church.
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
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