Avery Field
85 Beech Street at the northeast corner of Avery Field is the former gatekeeper house from the Holyoke Canal System.
Hampden Playground was the original name of Avery Field. It was the first municipal playground in Massachusetts. Nathan Avery the mayor of Holyoke spearheaded the project this get this playground put in place. In 1908 Massachusetts passed a playground act and in August 1909 land for three parks was bought – Hampden, Maple, and West. During 1910 the park was made. Four feet of topsoil was added to the grading process. Trees were planted around the perimeter. The playground was in the SW corner. A basketball court and a baseball field were added. The park opened for good on May 5 1910.
Between 1910 to 1912 a wading pool was added along the eastern edge of the park. However by 1922 it was gone.
In 1916 the wrought iron fence that is at the ends of the park was put in place and then in 1917 the brownstone entrance pillars were put in place at both ends of the playground. In 1925 a few quoit courts were added to the park.
By the 1920s it is called Hampden Street Park.
The Nathan P Avery Wildflower Club was organized in the spring of 1927. The Holyoke Museum was started in the spring of 1927 at the Holyoke Public Library. When the museum started one of its many clubs was The Wild Flower Club. This club morphed into the Avery Club mentioned above.
Then in 1933 it was the field was renamed once again this time Avery Field after the former mayor and playground advocate Nathan Avery. His FINDAGRAVE honors him. He died in 1947. A good story is found about the park in the Holyoke newspaper of December 1 1945
1939 was the first year of publication of the Avery Rattler was written on a weekly basis by the children of Avery.
In 1954 Avery received a new softball field. 1960 was the Golden Anniversary of the field. At speeches William Howes the chair of the parks department in 1910 was honored. Also Joseph Lee the father of the American Playground Movement is honored.
In 1967, there were 2 slides, 1 merry go round, 20 swings, and a playset.
