HOLYOKE — Elephant Snot, community cleanups, and $725,000 in grant money will revive a once treasured and admired city landmark that any old-time Holyoker could tell you a story about.
In 1923, on the 50th anniversary of the Paper City’s incorporation in 1873, Walter Scott, a wealthy philanthropist from New York City, donated land for Anniversary Park. Then in 1939, a 55-foot-high watchtower, originally used to monitor air raids and do blackout tests during World War II, was erected and named after Scott.
After the donation of the land, Anniversary Park was the largest in the city and a destination. Scott Tower was once the backdrop for Easter sunrise services and a place for picnics and community gatherings. But eventually the area became a haven for recreational graffiti and a dumping ground for beer bottles — and people largely blame the highway system for that.
The construction of Interstate 91 during the 1960s initiated the park’s decline, since it split the property in half and then only a tunnel could be used to enter the park.
An entire generation has missed out on the park due to the tired conditions and lack of accessibility. But goodbye and good riddance to the bottles and the graffiti, as well as a cumbersome way to get to the tower: Anniversary Park is being rehabilitated to resemble its younger self.
Trails, Elephant Snot, landscaping
A ramp will be added leading up to the tower, and new concrete stairs will replace the current deteriorating stone steps. Landscaping will receive attention and tie in to a new accessible trail installed last year.
It is possible that there may be designated places for people to do murals, but the existing graffiti will be removed using Elephant Snot, a chemical compound that evaporates the paint.
“Structurally, the tower is actually very sound,” said Yoni Glogower, director of conservation and sustainability in Holyoke. “It’s going to need repointing and re-mortaring. The steps are crumbling, and the whole face is going to be redone with a facade. But it’s in really good shape based on a structural analysis.”
Among the elements that need to be entirely replaced is the aluminum staircase within the tower. From the top of the tower, there’s a view of the city from the west, as well as the southern end of Mount Tom, which is typically only seen from Interstate 91, and a view of the rising Veterans Home.
This phase of work is being paid for with a total of $300,000 in Community Preservation Act grants and a park grant of $425,000 from the state. Contractors will get to work beginning July 1, and the restoration is scheduled to be completed in May 2027.
In 2020, the city of Holyoke and Kestrel Land Trust teamed up to preserve 14 acres outside Anniversary Park, and turned those acres into what are now accessible trails. The city purchased the land for $300,000 from Kestrel, and expanded the park from 135 to 150 acres.
The trails, completed last year, begin at the dead-end of Overlook Drive where there are also now parking spots. The trails meander for less than a mile before ending at the tower, and along the way new benches have also been installed.
“It’s not ADA accessible, but it meets forest service accessible trail standards, which is the closest we could come, and follows the most accessible grading. The idea is that even someone in a wheelchair can now make it to Scott Tower,” said Glogower.
All these plans and improvements followed a community survey conducted by the city in which residents expressed their desire for cleanup of litter and graffiti, new trails, and more upkeep.
Glogower said uses for the park could include a nature classroom for students. Among the impressive natural elements in the park are 80-year-old Eastern red cedars, which were planted originally in the park and can be seen on a 1940-era postcard of the tower.
Future generations
Despite his sciatica and missing disks in his back, Ward 6 City Councilor Juan Anderson-Burgos said the grading of the trails made for a comfortable walk to the tower.
He said the restoration will allow residents to form memories and connections to what was once a staple of Holyoke life — even for people like him.
“It will create new memories for our constituents who are currently living here … A lot of old-time residents have fond memories, so why not create those memories now and in the future?” asked Anderson-Burgos.
Anderson-Burgos also believes that Holyoke should continue to revive its existing tired infrastructure. The city is already saturated with amazing venues, he said, since Holyoke was once a major American city with the most millionaires per capita in the country.
“People in the city of Holyoke shouldn’t have to venture out of the city. Here’s an example: My husband and I, why should we have to travel to Boston or New York if you want to see a Broadway show? We have the building, Victory Theatre, we just have to repurpose it,” said Anderson-Burgos.
He continued: “When we want to go to a park, we shouldn’t have to go to Stanley Park [in Westfield]. Who’s benefiting from that? That community is benefiting from it.”
Anderson-Burgos shared his own memories of Chmura Pool, the community swimming pool that was once located a short walk from the tower. Although he has been sober 24 years, he and his friends would climb the fence of the pool and drink there before it was closed in the mid-1980s. When he was even younger, his grandmother would bring him, and he remembers the first thing they would always do was sit down at a picnic table.
Anderson-Burgos grew up on Beech Street, and despite the anti-Puerto Rican sentiments he experienced there, he always remembered Anniversary Park for its almost unparalleled success as a melting pot.
“Given the temperature of racism today, I don’t remember it, at least at Chmura,” he said. “There were so many different cultures there — Polish, Puerto Rican, Irish, African Americans — you name it, and there was never an issue.”
Anderson-Burgos said the graffiti on the tower is different from the graffiti found on the streets.
“The fact that you see graffiti on here, because it is not visible to the public, means it wasn’t meant for the public. It’s meant for individuals who come here to hang out, like people who drank, people who smoke, or people who just want to get away.”
He said that the graffiti there was more about bragging than it was about attracting public attention.
“I’m simply saying that when people tag on here, it’s not for the public,” he said, adding that as the park becomes more accessible and there more eyes watching the space, the graffiti and vandalism will hopefully slow down.
Jonathan Moquin, the city’s director of parks and recreation, recognized the current challenges that the city faces in attracting people back to the space, including safety concerns. He says the work being undertaken now is an important first step, but there will be more work to be done.
“We are committed not only to revitalizing the tower, but also to developing a long-term maintenance and security plan, and increasing our presence in this area of the park,” said Moquin. “For too long, the upper portions of the park have gone without the attention they deserve. Our goal is to bring the entire park back to life so that every resident and visitor can enjoy it safely.”
Anderson-Burgos also believes the tower should be placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in order to receive further grant money to restore it.
“This is historic, so we should be able to get historic credits and grants,” he said.