Oak Street is filled with diverse sections. Park near Avery Field near Mitchell.
block 0 – Connecticut River Lumber Company
The Connecticut River Lumber Company owned the area from Avery to Mitchell to the river. They used Avery as a storage area. Mitchell was a staging and processing area. Just to the north of the parks was the processing area. Sweeping toward Log Cove was the area where logs were driven into. In 1909 Holyoke purchased this area and converted it into parks. Read a full length news article at the end of this page.
This area became Depression Beach during the 1930s and there was a hope to develop it more. Incredible STORY.
block 1 – Mitchell Field
block 2 – Avery Field
block 3 – Oak Street between Dwight and Suffolk Streets
The Dowling Double House at 219-229 Suffolk Street is the oldest structure in this section of the city. It was built in 1889 as a two family home. It replaced a conservatory.
block 4 – Oak Street between Suffolk and Appleton Streets
The Roslyn Apartments at 156 Oak was built in 1931. It is one of the few tenement houses on Oak Street.
This block was mostly taken up by Howland greenhouses from 1885 to 1930. They also were located where the Dowling Double House is. Howland was bought by George H Sinclair a florist and turned into greenhouses. The Sinclair Greenhouses were here for a long time. Even in 1911 he called them the Howland’s Hothouses so I do not know when the change in name was.
He was a great supporters of the parks of Holyoke and also donated many flowers. He lived at this address too. At some point you moved his firm Sinclair the Florist along with his residence out to Smith’s Ferry. Viola Sinclair would continue the business into at least the 1960s.
block 5 – Oak Street between Appleton and Essex Streets LINK
block 6 – Oak Street between Essex and Cabot Streets
211 Oak Street (at the SW corner of Essex and Oak) is the home of Arthur Chapin from 1897 to 1905. From 1905 to 1945 it was the Judd home. William Judd was the president of both Carew Paper and Hampshire Paper both in South Hadley. It is built in the Tudor Revival style.
Tyner was the founder of the Holyoke Envelope Company in 1879.
The Louis Strauss house at 216 Oak Street was built in 1911 and is another Tudor Revival style home.
Second Baptist Church Parsonage LINK
Nautilus Building LINK
block 7 – Oak Street between Cabot and Hampshire Streets
Fairmount Square – LINK
block 8 – Oak Street between Hampshire and Sargeant Streets
The street is anticlimatic after the Fairmount area. Near the end of this city block, you will see the Jean and then the Rosewood on the eastern edge of the Sargeant Street corner. They are very well grade with the change in height of the street.
block 9 – Oak Street between Sargeant and Franklin Streets
In the 1910s this last block of Oak was made and developed as it was not part of the original Oak plan. The only building of note is Noma Electric. This business still exists but not in Holyoke.
Sanborn maps
Sanborn 1889 map A – map B – map C – map D
Sanborn 1895 map A – map B – map C – map D – map E
Sanborn 1915 map A – map B – map C – map D – map E – map F – map G
Sanborn 1949 map A – map B – map C – map D – map E – map F – map G
Sanborn 1956 map A – map B – map C – map D – map E – map F
