The Holyoke Opera House was a theatre operating in Holyoke, Massachusetts during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Built in 1877, and christened on March 25, 1878, the theater was built by then-mayor William Whiting who privately-funded its construction along with the adjoining "Windsor House" hotel. Designed by architect Clarence Sumner Luce, its interior was decorated by painter and designer Frank Hill Smith, who is best known today for the frescoes in the House of Representatives' chamber in the Massachusetts State House, and whose commission for the venue's main hall paintings has been described by the American Art Directory and historian John Tauranac as one of his definitive works.
The Holyoke Opera House as it appeared abandoned in May 1967
Image: Longitudinal section, Holyoke Opera House
Image: Windsor Hotel fire and Holyoke Opera House
Image: Ornamentation, Holyoke Opera House
William Whiting was an American businessman and politician from Holyoke, Massachusetts. Whiting descended from an English family who first settled in Lynn, Massachusetts, during 1636.
Image: William Whiting II, 1873
Image: Emergency room, Holyoke Medical Center