Valley Arena Gardens

Not to be confused with Valley Garden Arena.
Valley Arena Gardens
The Old Gas House[1]
The Arena after its reopening in 1944, which added a new dome and expansion
Former namesHolyoke City Gas Works
Address560 S Bridge Street
LocationHolyoke, Massachusetts
Capacity1,600–4,000[5][6][7][b]
Construction
Built1884[2]
1926 (converted to arena)
Opened1926 (1926)
Renovated1944, 1953
Closed1960
Demolished1964[3]
ArchitectOscar Beauchemin[4][a]

The Valley Arena Gardens, most commonly referred to as the Valley Arena, was a sporting and entertainment venue in Holyoke, Massachusetts, best known for hosting weekly boxing matches which included Rocky Marciano's debut professional fight.[8] Though best known for its history as a boxing venue, the Valley Arena also hosted wrestling, basketball, roller hockey, miniature golf and featured its own restaurant.[9] As a nightclub and theatre in the round venue it also hosted an array of vaudeville acts such as The Three Stooges and Bela Lugosi,[10][11] as well as renowned musicians including Count Basie, Duke Ellington, The Ink Spots, The Dorsey Brothers, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Sarah Vaughan, and The Temptations.[8][12] In an interview with Woody Herman and band alumni, Jack Dulong, saxophonist and member of Herman's "Third Herd", described it as "an 'institution' for big bands."[13]

Plagued by several fires, at least one of which was from suspected arson, as well as a decline in attendance with the emergence of television, the venue was closed following the 3rd such fire on May 12, 1960.[1][14] After considerable delay, the building was ultimately demolished in August 1964.[15]

Today the space where it once stood is occupied by the Valley Arena Park, a small recreational green space managed by the city.[16]

  1. ^ a b Imelio, Carlo (April 4, 1982). "The Valley Arena (1923 – 1960)". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass.
  2. ^ "Sports - Boxing". Creating Holyoke. PassportHolyoke. 2009. Archived from the original on 17 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Board Questions Extra Costs on Demolition Job". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. December 3, 1964. p. 73.
  4. ^ "Deaths- Orcar Beauchemin [sic]; Well Known Architect and Designer Dies at Pearl St. Home; Was Member of Bowling Team That Established World's Record 25 Years Ago". Holyoke Transcript-Telegram. January 17, 1938. p. 10. In drawing the plans for the Valley Arena, Mr. Beauchemin remodeled the old gas holder, formerly the property of the Municipal Gas & Electric department, into a perfect indoor sports center. Regarded as one of the most model boxing plants in the country the building was praised by Jack Dempsey, former world's heavyweight champion, on a recent visit here as one of the finest he had ever seen.
  5. ^ Della Penna, Craig P. (1997). Holyoke. Images of America. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 48. ISBN 9780738586571.
  6. ^ Collins, E.J. (January 24, 1926). "Valley Arena Holyoke's New Indoor Sport Home To Be Ready for Boxing Shows Early Next Month". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. p. 1.
  7. ^ Kane, Martin (1957). "Sad Samuel". Sports Illustrated. Vol. VI. p. 82. Thirty-one of Rocky Marciano's 49 fights were promoted by Sad Sam, he recalls. The other night Sam Silverman was reduced to just one fight club, the Valley Arena in Holyoke, Massachusetts, which seats some 1,600 persons— a club so small that no seat is more than 60 feet from the ring.
  8. ^ a b Burke, Mike (May 22, 2013). "Valley Arena lives in Holyoke's heart 50 years after fire". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015.
  9. ^ "Homer Rainault Dies Suddenly in Holyoke Hospital; Sports Promoter, President of Valley Arena, Succumbs to Cerebral Hemorrhage at Paper City". Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. December 15, 1944. p. 1.
  10. ^ Rhodes, Gary Don (1997). Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 196. ISBN 9781476600772.
  11. ^ Kelly, Ray (January 13, 2015). "Forgotten shows: Three Stooges rescue floundering revue at the Paramount Theater in Springfield on May 18-22, 1939". The Springfield Republican. Springfield, Mass. Archived from the original on May 15, 2020.
  12. ^ "Duke Ellington and Sarah Vaughn; Arena". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. October 21, 1950. p. 24. Two star attractions will be offered at the Valley Arena Gardens tomorrow in Duke Ellington, occupying the bandsland with his world famous orchestra, and Sarah Vaughan, recording artist and star of radio and television...
  13. ^ Clancy, William D. (1995). Woody Herman : chronicles of the Herds. New York: Schirmer Books. pp. 164–165. ISBN 9780028704968.
  14. ^ "Firemen Fight Final Round at Valley Arena". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. May 13, 1960. p. 36.
  15. ^ "Valley Arena Awaits Final KO". Springfield Union. Springfield, Mass. August 22, 1964. p. 12. Holyoke's former sports palace, the Valley Arena, is shown as demolition work continued on Friday. Still left standing is a front entrance with mosaics of boxers, shown in the above photo. The demolition of the fire-wrecked building was ordered by city officials after several years of standing vacant.
  16. ^ Hatheway, Allen W.; Speight, Thomas B. (2018). "Holder Houses of Massachusetts". Manufactured Gas Plant Remediation: A Case Study. CRC. ISBN 9781351652308.


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