Holyoke | CVAPI - BillRavanesi

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THE HIDDEN HOLYOKE:
A Cityscape and Its People

Bill Ravanesi documented the people and architecture of Holyoke, Massachusetts, from 1980-1983, a period of major inner-city turmoil, including arson, drugs, ethic tensions, and a policy of “urban removal” of the last wave of Puerto Rican immigrants that settled into the community.

To give the images historical and and sociological context, and to make them more accessible to the public, Ravanesi joined with local community organizer Carlos Vega and Mount Holyoke College historian Daniel Czitrom to form the Holyoke Public History Project.

The exhibition in 1983, The Hidden Holyoke: A Cityscape and It’s People, at the Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke, focused on the architecture and street lives of the Puerto Rican community. Ravanesi photographs were joined by a wide variety of vintage photographs between 1870-1940, including Lewis Hine’s work in the Holyoke Mills.

The exhibit also drew upon a large number of public records, oral histories, published and unpublished manuscripts to produce a narrative that accompanied the vintage photographs. See the essay on the Hidden Holyoke in Sally Eauclaire’s book “New Color/New Work: Eighteen photographic essays” published by Abbeville Press.

The Ford Foundation and the Massachusetts Foundation for Humanities & Public Policy funded the three-year project.

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Young men, arms crossed, and shirtless leaning on back porch.

A group of local teens loosely pose in a littered sun drenched playground that consists of bare dirt and a slide, with some bicycles, a ball, and a boombox. Behind them laundry hangs from tenement buildings. Pictured is divided by telephones.

A group of kids is standing on a handball court, one group gathere0 looking at the Polaroid pictures, four other face the camera, in the background is a tenement building and parked car.

Two young Puerto Rican men lean against a blue car, looking proud and happy, shirtless and strong. They are shirtless and wearing 16 ounce bright red boxing gloves.

The Survival Center is boarded up, kids from the neighborhood, boys and girls, stand in the doorway, or sit on the stoop, looking at the camera. One girl stands with hands on hips, attractive and confidant, another is well-dressed in a skirt and low heels, all looking stylish for the shot.

Young unwed teenage mother with cornrows leaning against the boarded-up Survival Center.

High School student seated on his multi-colored bed spread. Bedroom walls filled with colorful posters, martial arts, and a botanical covered bureau with candles and religious icons.

Four brothers, the youngest two twin toddlers are being held by their teen brothers. Behind the brothers are a brick wall and front end of a car.

Young Puerto Rican girl in lavender dress walking down the alley as photographer was coming from the opposite direction supporting his view camera and tripod.

Woman in window leaning toward camera with black eye

Two Hispanic men seated on bench in Community Garden, one is holding an aluminum pot with a bunch of freshly cut lettuce.

Two photographs, the first with a large number of the building residents lined up in front of the building. The had a four story mural of “Drink Coca-Cola” Red, Green and White paint.
The Second photograph was taken when the building was being demolished two years later.

One overcast afternoon while walking along the canal Ravanesi noticed a series of pipes “peeking” out of the water. His curiosity got the best of him, he headed over to the Holyoke Water Power Company and chatted-up the head of the company, John T. Hickey.

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