On October 29, 1912, Holyoke Water Power Co. (HWPCo) sold the Bijou Theatre Company of Holyoke a 5,940-square-foot parcel of land on the east side of Main Street, about 110 feet north of Cabot Street. This was the site selected for constructing a new and larger theater
Louis Carreau & Son won the contract to build the theater. Oscar Beauchemin had long ago prepared the architectural plans. Mr. Beauchemin filed the plans with the city to build the New Bijou Theater, estimated to cost $24,000. The open space had been occupied by pushcarts and a shoe-shine stand.
The corporate officers were Frank Rainault, a former saloon owner, Albert Smith, a junior member of Lynch and Smith Jewelers on High Street, and Albert Hubert, a garage owner in South Holyoke.
The theater building would be 55 by 100 feet, and initially one story. The foundation would be poured to support a future four-story addition. G. Haarman & Co. performed the ironwork, David McCormick & Son provided the cut stone for the building, Moriarty Brothers installed the heating system, and E. H. Friedrich worked on the roofing, metalwork, and plumbing.
The theater advertised its first performance on March 10, 1913. However, this plan changed. Several days before the theater was set to open, the mayor delayed issuing a license to the theater operators because several residents protested the theater opening in their neighborhood.
The mayor issued the license on March 14, 1913, and the 700-seat theater opened at its third location on March 24, 1913. From its inception, the new theater could not accommodate the number of patrons who wanted to see its presentations.
10 months after opening, management announced plans in January 1914 to raze the theater and build a new 5-story building, with the 1,500-seat theater three floors high at the rear of the Main Street entrance. The upper floors would house a hall and offices. They planned to complete the work over the summer months, when business was slow. It is doubtful that they built a 5-story building; it was likely three stories adjacent to the theater entrance on Main Street. The first floor had storefronts, the second offices, and the third a large hall.
To accomplish the project, the owners purchased an additional 55- by 108-foot parcel of land from HWPCo adjoining its property. The seating for the "old" theater ran easterly to the stage from Main Street to the alley. The new theater would run north along the alley with the stage at its northern end. A lobby provided access from the front to the rear of the building.
Balcony seating would accommodate 200-300 additional patrons. A.W. Carreau & Son was awarded the contract. Before-and-after Sanborn Insurance Maps below show each of the theater's footprints.
The theater reopened (date unknown), and other groups, such as the Circle Rochambeau, used the third-floor hall in December 1914. The first movie advertisement appeared on April 6, 1915. The Bijou operated 3 locations and 4 theaters over its first 7 years.
The Bijou and the nearby Majestic were very popular, and smaller theaters such as the Palace and Wonderland could no longer compete with these much larger Main Street theaters.
In 1923, the owners planned to sell the theater and real estate to Calixte Blais for $220,000. The plan fell through, and the owners kept running the theater. More will be shared about this in the concluding chapter.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript -Telegram; publication dates and pages shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Genealogy Records and Price & Lee, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
1915 and 1946 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Holyoke, Massachusetts
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