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 Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...

. 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 Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

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 artist ...

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. 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 Roswell Parsons Crafts (September 17, 1822 – September 3, 1904)"The Death of R.P. Crafts". was an American businessman, politician, fire chief, and the second and sixth mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts. Born in Whately, Massachusetts on Sept ...

, 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 Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As ...

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

Description and history

See also

References