Senior Building & Dooley's Inn circa 1906

The Senior Building on the southeast corner of High & Appleton streets. The ground floor was home to Senior Brothers Clothiers. The building is now occupied by the NewAlliance Bank and has gone through an extensive renovation recently.

Heading east behind the Senior Building was Dooley's Inn located at the southwest corner of Bond & Appleton streets. Dooley's was originally known as Yoerg Inn which opened in 1901 and named after it's owner, Kraig J. Yoerg. He sold the property in 1912 to Patrick Dooley and it remained open until the early 1920s.  (Photo taken from an eBay auction)

Cedar Knob and the Crag 1890s

This photo taken from the viewing tower atop Little Mountain shows the summer home of William Stiles Loomis at the area on the eastern side of Cedar Knob known as the Crag.

The Crag was the only property Loomis kept for personal use of the 385 acres he purchased as head of the Holyoke Street Railway for the construction of a trolley park in 1894.

The park would eventually be known as Mountain Park.  Also seen in the picture is the three story viewing tower atop Cedar Knob.

There were actually three towers in the area. In addition to the Little Mountain and Cedar Knob towers, there was a third tower just north of Little Mountain on the west side of I-91.

In the background is the Connecticut River and the "High Rock" area near Jones Point.  Today I- 91 runs through the bottom of the western slope of Cedar Knob .

A view of the Connecticut River from the third tower looking southeast towards the city of Holyoke. In the foreground is Thorpe Road (Route 5) with the William Stiles Loomis Crag property on the right.

Mt. Park Casino via the Northampton Street Railway 1912

The Northampton and Holyoke Street Railways operated a trolley route from Northampton to Mountain Park. The rail bed can be seen in the "treeless" area to the left above the trolley car. The route existed from the early 1900s to the 1930s.

This route crossed the present day RT 91 and went north towards the area that is now the northbound scenic area and exited onto RT 5 between Cedar Hill Road and Falardeau Drive. The route then proceed along RT 5 north towards Easthampton to Northampton.

A trolley from the Northampton Street Railway makes a stop at the Mountain Park Casino in July of 1912.  (This photo was taken from the roof of the Trolley Pavilion and is courtesy of the Seminole Bailey Archive)

Part of the rail bed still exists today as an entrance road to Mountain Park, then running parallel along the Mt. Tom Ski Area Road around the base of Little Mountain towards Route 91.

You can also see traces of the rail bed if you cross over to the east side of Route 91 near the old Mountain Park Junk Yard between RT 91 and Rt 5 and again further north by the I-91 Scenic Rest Area  Notice the boulder in the picture, it's still a landmark at the park. (Photo courtesy of the Seminole Bailey Archive)

This photo of the Northampton to Mountain Park trolley route was taken in the vicinity of the old Davignon Farm just below the location of the present day rest area on I-91. The Connecticut River and Route 5 are in the background. (photo courtesy of Robert Schwobe)

Switch track in the vicinity of the old Davignon Farm just  east of the present day northbound Rest Area on Route 91.

The Northampton to Holyoke trolley route as it looks today. In the top photo, the last bridge that was constructed for the line in 1924. In the bottom photo, the rail bed. Both these photos were also taken in the area of the old Davignon Farm near the Route 91 northbound rest area.

Holyoke Y.M.C.A. 

Three photos of the Y.M.C.A. at the northwest corner of High & Appleton streets in 1905. The building stood until 1943 when it was destroyed by fire.

The Greater Holyoke Y.M.C.A. has proudly served the community since 1886. The world’s second most played sport – volleyball – was invented in 1895 at the Greater Holyoke Y by William Morgan.

There’s a detailed history of Volleyball’s creation and early evolution on the International Volleyball Federation Website: International Volleyball Federation Website (FIVB).

The Greater Holyoke Y was first located at the corner of Appleton and High streets in downtown Holyoke. The site included a gym and rooms for rent. Unfortunately the building was lost to fire in 1943.

In 1950, a second building was completed at the corner of Appleton and Beech streets. This photo, courtesy of the Holyoke Y.M.C.A. was taken from the now extinct Chase Avenue which bordered the Y on it's north side. The street which ran east-west connecting Beech with Pine was eliminated when the Y built a new addition to house it's pool several years ago.  (holyoke ymca.org)

High Street 1905

Looking south down High street near the intersection of Suffolk street in 1905. This view hasn't changed much since, with most of these buildings still standing.

Gone of course are the A.T. Gallup building on the southeast corner of Suffolk & High, and the Y.M.C.A. building further south on the northwest corner of Appleton & High.

What A Beautiful View!!!

This is a photo taken in the early 1900s from a location near the present day McNulty Park and long before the Muller Bridge and causeway project would alter the flow of the river and size of the cove.

There are many landmarks seen in the picture that no longer exist, including the Saw Mill below Mitchell Field and the original Ice House near Prospect Park.

This is another spot in the city hidden by overgrowth and because of that, denies a spectacular view of the river and city looking east, and the Mt. Tom and Mt Holyoke Ranges to the north. 

The city claims one of the main reasons that clearing efforts are stifled, is because of erosion problems that threaten the Pan Am railroad tracks below. Of course this is bull since the railroad existed when this photo was taken,  Pulaski Park experiences a similar problem.

This photo taken in 1899 from the Summit House dining room shows the eastern slope of Mt. Tom with Whiting Street Reservoir and the Connecticut River in the background.

In between the two bodies of water sits Mountain Park. If you look real close, you can see Lower Station in the middle left of the picture and the road leading to the Botanical Garden on the right.

The rail in the picture is that of the supply track that transported supplies and goods to the Summit House via a special car.

Where the track was located is now part of the road that leads to the transmission towers atop the mountain. Notice the beautiful grassy area on the slope. Today this area is buried with debris and it's view obstructed with sumac trees and various other growth.