The Caledonia Building, also known as Caledonian Hall or The Caledonian, is a historic commercial building located at 185-193 High Street in downtown
Holyoke, Massachusetts. Built in 1874, it is one of that commercial district's finest examples of Victorian architecture and a rare representative example of the development of the city's
Scottish immigrant community. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on July 3, 1979,
and was included in the
North High Street Historic District on June 26, 1986.
Description and history
The Caledonia Building is located in Holyoke's downtown North High Street commercial district, on the northwest side of High Street opposite John Street. It is a four-story
brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material.
Type ...
structure, sharing party walls with neighboring buildings and topped by a
mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...
. The ground floor is divided into four storefronts articulated by fluted pilasters, with the main building entrance near the center. Three of the four store fronts have recessed entrances flanked by display windows on both sides, while the storefront left of the entrance is flanked by a window on just one side. A cornice separates the ground floor from the upper floors, which have eight bays of windows. Piers of decorative stonework separate the window bays, which are capped by ornamented brownstone lintels. The roof is slate, with single-window dormers flanking a central projecting pavilion.
The building was constructed in 1874 for
Roswell P. Crafts, a local businessman and politician who served as
Holyoke's second mayor, and was thus known as the Craft Building. Its first floor housed businesses, the second and third floors house offices, and the fourth floor was an open ballroom space. In 1879, the Caledonian Benefit Society, established to assist immigrating Scots, began meeting on the top floor; it purchased the building in 1909.
From 1910 until 1966, the third floor banquet hall of the building served as the regular practice space of the
Holyoke Caledonian Pipe Band
The Holyoke Caledonian Pipe Band is a pipe band based out of Holyoke, Massachusetts. Founded in 1910, it is the oldest pipe band in continuous existence in the United States. A regular feature in the Holyoke Saint Patrick's Day Parade since the ...
.
See also
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References
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Holyoke, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Hampden County, Massachusetts
Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts
Commercial buildings completed in 1874
1874 establishments in Massachusetts