The small area surrounding Northampton’s Bridge Street between Hawley and Pomeroy Terrace has been feeling the pangs of gentrification for some time now.
Shaw’s Motel is gone and has been replaced by some expensive residences. Across the street near Historic Northampton there are more new living spaces and, around the corner on Phillip’s Place, yet more new condos have been constructed.
Hawley Street is the site of the new Northampton Community Arts Trust building, not to mention plans for a townhouse project called Hawley Manor on the location of the former St. John Cantius church. The church’s rectory and parish center building have been demolished and now the developer has asked permission to raze the church itself. (The city’s Central Business Architecture Committee recently voted to deny a developer’s request to demolish the church until the developer comes back with more detailed drawings of the structures it intends to build on the site.)
In the interest of disclosure, I was raised in St. Valentine’s Polish National Catholic church and so have no emotional ties to St. John. However, I did grow up on Pleasant Street and nearly everyone I knew attended the church. I know the pride the Polish community took in St. John and I fear a significant part of Northampton’s history will be diminished if the church comes down. Candidly, I would hate to see that happen and was pleased the building was given at least a temporary reprieve from destruction on April 6.
Whatever the ultimate fate of the church building, I would like to make the following suggestion in the interests of municipal harmony. At various sites in the city, such as the Cosmian Green in Florence and the Bridge Street Cemetery, Historic Northampton has erected signs which tell some of the history of those areas.
I think it would be a fruitful gesture for the city and the developer to team up with Historic Northampton and place similar signs in the Hawley Street area. At a minimum there should be information about Joseph Hawley, the street’s namesake, as to why he was important in colonial times.
There should also be mention of the large factory that once dominated the street and extended between Isabella Street and Eastern Avenue. One of the signs should highlight the fact that this was the area of town where Polish immigrants settled and that the first Polish mayor, Wallace Puchalski, grew up on Hawley.
Another sign could indicate the diversity of the Hawley-Bridge street section as there was a synagogue and some Jewish-owned businesses just a short walk from St. John Cantius.
I suspect the folks at Historic Northampton could come up with many more examples. If it is ultimately determined the church building cannot be preserved, let us, at least, preserve the history of the Hawley-Bridge street area.
Richard Szlosek lives in Northampton.