Friday, August 29, 2008

My Street, High Street


I finally moved into my new office today. I'm in historic downtown Holyoke on High Street.

From my window, I can see the majestic City Hall which was designed by C. B. Atwood and Hadley Falls Trust Building, designed by McKim, Mead, and White. When the weather is nice, my lunch spot will be the lovely Heritage State Park, overlooking the canals and the city's wide array of 19th-century industrial buildings. I have multiple Frederick Olmsted designed parks at my doorstep, who wants to have a picnic?

Holyoke was called 'The Queen of Industrial Cities' - in the early 1900's, she was the richest city per capita in the United States. It was a dense city of industrial entrepreneurs, diversity, culture, and innovation. During the industrial revolution, the streets here overflowed with energy... but that feeling has sadly died away over the last few decades. I won't get into the details, it's very complex.

The city of Holyoke has tremendous potential and the next 10 years are key for it's revitalization. Investing here (this is building #2) and moving my business here, are some of the steps I'm taking.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This sounds like a great space. It's reassuring to hear that young, motivated people are showing interest in the downtown area. How many offices are in this building? Are any of them available for rent?

Anonymous said...

I'm really impressed with the work you're doing in Holyoke. As Borat would say, "High Five!"

Jeffrey Byrnes said...

Hello Brendan,

I wanted to recommend taking a look at the exhibit that is currently up at Holyoke Community College. The Taber Gallery has photographs up from the Parsons Paper Mill. Parsons was once a thriving paper manufacturer in Holyoke. I know you will appreciate the exhibit. I have a little write up about the exhibit on my blog. lenshare.com


Jeffrey Byrnes

Brendan Ciecko said...

Hey Jeff, thank you for the info, I plan on checking it out soon for sure. I loved the Parson Paper building and still even admire what's left of it.