North High Street Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Also known as: See Also:North High Street Historic District; Holyoke City Ha
Why it's listed
Three blocks of High Street in downtown Holyoke, between Dwight and Essex Streets, make up this extension of the North High Street district. A nearly continuous row of commercial buildings, joined by party walls and built flush to the sidewalk, faces the granite City Hall, which is set back behind grass and trees. Most of the buildings went up between 1880 and 1930, when Holyoke reached its peak prosperity as a retail and banking center. The facades show changing fashions: brownstone and brick Romanesque Revival blocks from the 1880s, cream cast-stone Beaux Arts fronts such as the Steiger Building of 1899 and 1901, and yellow brick Renaissance Revival towers like the eight-story J.S. Smith Building. A Gothic church complex and the 1913 City Hall Annex are also included. Together the buildings document the city's commercial growth and its architectural development, and the area was found significant at the local level.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the district extends the original North High Street district's story of Holyoke's commercial growth, showing the city's peak prosperity from 1880 to 1930. It is cited for its sequence of late Victorian and early 20th-century commercial architecture, including Romanesque Revival, Beaux Arts and Renaissance Revival styles. It is of local significance under criteria A and C, with a religious-use consideration for the church complex.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 92001725, listed December 24, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 233--411 High St., Holyoke |
|---|---|
| County | Hampden County |
| Listed | December 24, 1992 |
| Reference number | 92001725 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1871-1930 |
| Architect / builder | Alderman, George P.B.; Clough, James A.; Allens & Collens; Johnson, P.B.; Kilburn, H.F.; Reid, W.B. |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian (Gothic, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Romanesque Revival, Renaissance Revival); Late 19th & Early 20th C. Revivals (Classical Revival, Tudor Revival); Modern Movement (Art Deco) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Several buildings are noted as unoccupied or vacant with boarded windows, including the Steiger and Woolworth buildings and the LaFrance Block, while many other commercial buildings remain in use. Many storefronts have been remodeled at street level. |
| Acreage | 9.8 |
| Coordinates | 42.20568, -72.60900 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 92001725.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7055614
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.