The Majestic Theater was a theater in Holyoke from 10 March 1913 to 1956. It was at 207 Main Street (store fronts from 205 to 209 Main). The EXTERIOR is viewable here. It is no longer there since it burned in a large fire in 1960. It held about 1000 people.
Sanborn map analysis:
Sanborn 1895 map shows it as a photographer’s studio
Sanborn 1915 map shows it as a one floor structure
The Saint Patrick’s Church of South Hadley is the first Catholic church in South Hadley. It opened at 7 Crescent Lane in 1867.
stop 1 – Rectory
| name | years | image | burial | |||
| 1 | Patrick Harkins | 1867-1878 | Saint Jerome Cemetery (Holyoke) | |||
| 2 | David McGrath | July 18 1878 to 1882 | Saint Mary’s Cemetery (Milford, Massachusetts) | |||
| 3 | Lawrence Dervin | 1882 to 1885 | Saint John’s Cemetery of Lancaster | 1895 | 22 of Nov | |
| 4 | Eugene Toher | 1885 to 1901 |  | Saint Leo Cemetery (Leominster) | 1930 | 7th of Feb |
| 5 | John Conway | 1901 to 1913 | Saint Rose Cemetery (South Hadley) | 1913 | 1st of March | |
| 6 | Dennis Sullivan | 1913 to 1913 | ||||
| 7 | Humphrey Wren | 1913 to 1933 | ||||
| 8 | James Casey | 1933 to 1944 | ||||
| 9 | Martin Tracey | 1944 to 1950 | ||||
| 10 | John Engstrom | 1950 to 1969 | Saint John’s Cemetery (Worcester) | 1969 | Sept 25 | |
| 11 | Thomas Price | 1969 to 1982 | 1982 | 2nd of June | ||
| 12 | Brian Boland | 1982 to 1994 | Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Springfield) | 1994 | 3rd of March | |
| 13 | Richard M Turner | 1994 to 2001 | ||||
| 14 | John Sheaffer | 2001 to 2002 | ||||
| 15 | William Rousseau | 2002 to 2003 | ||||
| 16 | Thomas Shea | 2003 to 2015 | ||||
| 17 | James Nolte | 2016 |
stop 2 – Saint Rose Cemetery
stop 3 – church
stop 4 – chapel
stop 5 – social center
stop 6 – statues
stop 7 – neighborhood
stop 8 – Crescent Street church
stop 1 – Arthur Bernier – The work shed behind you was for the workers in this cemetery. Arthur Bernier built and designed it in 1935. He was a home contractor that attended St Patrick’s Church. His parents are buried 20 feet away on the other side of this entry road. Arthur is buried with his wife west down this road. He has a military stone since he fought in the US Army in the Coastal Artillery. (Findagrave)
stop 2 – Patrick Hartnett – Patrick Hartnett was a Confederate veteran of the American Civil War. He moved to Holyoke Massachusetts in 1864 and married to Ellen Shugrue at the Saint Jerome Church. Nothing is known about his time in the war. Notice the two marks at the base of his stone. He is buried with his wife and children. (Findagrave)
stop 3 – John Conlan gravestone – John died a month after his wife did. He was a poor man with no family left. The Bricklayers Union number 2 of Holyoke decided to expend some of their money on a nice gravestone for John and Mary Jane. She might have been the first burial ever in Saint Rose Cemetery since they died that year of opening. (Findagrave)
stop 4 – Robert Comeau – This is in the modern section of the cemetery. He had 11 children and they are all listed on the back in order. One of the children was deaf and hence the sign language symbol for “I Love You” is on the reverse. St Rose bought the two large sections to the west of the old sections. (Findagrave)
stop 5 – Potter’s Field and Children’s Graves
To the back middle of the cemetery, find the potter’s field. Most of the back row of this area is very old and most are pauper’s grave. The children’s area to the front left of this area is very nice to visit.
stop 6 – John Conway – Father Conway was the priest that helped Sainte Anne Church in Chicopee become a parish. From 1891 to 1912 it was a mission church of St Patrick’s Church of South Hadley. In 1912 the church was built that is still there. The former chapel remained just in back of the church until 1964 when it was razed and an addition added to the church. John is the only pastor from either St Patricks or Ste Anne that is buried in St Rose Cemetery. (Findagrave)
stop 7 – Plains area neighborhood and Precious Blood Cemetery
The Precious Blood Cemetery is to the back of the St Rose Cemetery. It is an older cemetery and of the Quebec ethnicity. Click on their link to visit there with interpretation.
The Plains neighborhood is one of the newest of South Hadley. Walk a bit around. Old Willimansett Street was once part of Willimansett Street until the early 1970s. The Plains School is across Route 202 from you.
The Empire Theater (at 419-433 High Street) lasted from 2 November 1893 to 22 April 1915 when a very large fire destroyed it. A summer theater was across the street from the Empire. The Don Caesar de Bazan was the first production ever at the Empire.
It did theater and then burlesque but by the end was a nickelodeon. In the photo the Empire is the ornate building in the middle and the Grand is two buildings to the right.
Sanborn map analysis:
Sanborn 1884 map shows all is empty
Sanborn 1889 map shows an empty lot
Sanborn 1895 map – design is visible – curved look to the upper seating area
Sanborn 1915 map – ruins of fire
Sanborn 1949 map – 2 floor building with stores on ground level and a hall on the 2nd floor
Sanborn 1956 map – 2 floor building with stores on ground level and a hall on the 2nd floor
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