tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43323350515607132172024-03-13T06:03:23.806-04:00And This Is Good Old BostonBoston history - sort of.Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-78422375937758294052018-02-27T16:35:00.000-05:002018-02-27T16:35:06.159-05:00Boston's (Original) South EndOn the 28th of July, 1888, the Boston Globe ran an article titled South End, 60 Years Ago, with the typical subtitles: <i>Time and People Erase Its Former Beauty. Once Popular as a Residence for Wealthy Bostonians. Romantic Tales of "Ye Olden Tymes" told by a nonogenarian.</i><br />
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So that puts us in 1828, right? What did Boston's South End look like in 1828? Probably not what you think. Most readers will know that much of the South End is built land, filled the same way the better known Back Bay was. But Boston history nerds will know that Boston had a South End before the South End was built up around the old Boston Neck. That is, the old town of Boston, on the yet-to-be-expanded Shawmut peninusla, had a triangular residential district between the Common and Washington street that was, at the time, the southern part of town.<br />
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Let's take a look at the original layout of the town.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b-FHbMBHzkI/Wo9Y8KEpbuI/AAAAAAAAE9Q/sZrpnBrlgW4UZeBs8FFm7B5XIb_oqP-qACLcBGAs/s1600/bos.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="408" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b-FHbMBHzkI/Wo9Y8KEpbuI/AAAAAAAAE9Q/sZrpnBrlgW4UZeBs8FFm7B5XIb_oqP-qACLcBGAs/s320/bos.png" width="230" /></a></div>
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This is a German map from 1780. (Thanks to the BPL Norman B. Leventhal Map Center for sharing this and the following maps online). You probably know that the knob of land sticking out at the upper right is the North End. But the district towards the lower left, adjacent to the Common, was the original South End. Interestingly, the 1888 Globe article cited above didn't see the need to tell its readers the difference between the new and old South End.<br />
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To jump ahead in time and give you context, this 1874 map shows the district covered in the article.<br />
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Focus on the pink section labeled with the red 'R.' It is bordered by Boylston and Washington streets. On the left, extend the pink area a block to Pleasant street and you've got Boston's original South End. The article mentions Fayette, Elliot, Pleasant, Carver and Warrenton and Warren streets.<br />
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The following is an 1838 map from G. W. Boynton that shows the area with the then-new Boston-Providence train station at Park square.<br />
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Note the Charles river on the left, Boylston street running along the Common, Washington street and the curving Pleasant street. That was the South End, before new land created along Washington street and Boston Neck created a new South End. <span style="text-align: center;">Boylston Market, at the corner of Boylston and Washington streets was considered part of the neighborhood, and its upstairs Boylston Hall was the original home of the Handel and Haydn Society. Later, the corner would become part of Boston's Combat Zone, but at one time it was one of the original South End's neighborhood amenities. </span><br />
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<br />Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-53281888868550944392017-12-18T18:11:00.000-05:002017-12-18T18:12:34.477-05:00Book Review: The Boston Jazz Chronicles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YQKsQ_HXonk/WjhJVXgeFvI/AAAAAAAAE8k/RzOKTW6K8ZwLAKwKzw96uxt8A71gNC7EwCLcBGAs/s1600/51jXAUIDG5L._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YQKsQ_HXonk/WjhJVXgeFvI/AAAAAAAAE8k/RzOKTW6K8ZwLAKwKzw96uxt8A71gNC7EwCLcBGAs/s320/51jXAUIDG5L._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Somehow, I seem to have let this wonderful book slip through the cracks, but my recent post on the Duke Ellington band shook the cobwebs out and I'm back to feature it today. Author Richard Vacca does a wonderful job bringing back a Boston long gone, a city just over the horizon for many of us. Vacca gives us the people, the music and the clubs that once made Boston a swingin' town, if not a center of jazz like the behemoth to our south-west.<br />
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Rather than go through the book, I'll send you to his web site, which is chock-full of great little articles on local musicians, visiting giants and the clubs where they played.<br />
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https://www.troystreet.com/<br />
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<br />Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-74793066655857816712017-12-11T13:51:00.002-05:002017-12-11T13:51:52.984-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2E89dyKwOLA/Wi7OPLj1NUI/AAAAAAAAE8I/52YjsmXDg1AgcrJntfpbUQS_9NaB4SKigCLcBGAs/s1600/ritz.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="732" height="237" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2E89dyKwOLA/Wi7OPLj1NUI/AAAAAAAAE8I/52YjsmXDg1AgcrJntfpbUQS_9NaB4SKigCLcBGAs/s320/ritz.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">On July 26, 1939, the Duke Ellington band played a show on the summer terrace rooftop venue of Boston's Ritz Carlton hotel. One set was broadcast by the NBC network by way of WBZ in Boston. Live music from remote sites were a programming bonanza for the radio networks. The bands weren't paid by the stations or networks, but the publicity generated by the shows nationwide allowed bands to ask for more money from live gigs. The Ellington band made its name nationally with its broadcasts from the Cotton Club in Harlem. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">This version of the Ellington band carried two Bostonians - alto sax master Johnny Hodges (born in Cambridge) and baritone sax pioneer Harry Carney. Both lived on Hammond street, where the South End and lower Roxbury meet. The band spent quite a bit of time in New England and the Boston area. Early on, they played summers in Salem, MA, and later played the New England circuit of clubs, dance halls and theatres. With a fairly dense population, New England allowed the band to play many one nighters in a row with little travel from location to location. Thus, they could give New York a rest, squeeze in a lot of paydays, and get home in reasonable time. Regions like the Midwest required much more travel between gigs, and made less money for them. </span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_M9dlo2Viy0/Wi7SbKbXm2I/AAAAAAAAE8U/VofwWejN4FIS0frXWyLdHdvvIBtrXHDcQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screenshot%2B2017-12-11%2Bat%2B1.45.29%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="877" height="245" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_M9dlo2Viy0/Wi7SbKbXm2I/AAAAAAAAE8U/VofwWejN4FIS0frXWyLdHdvvIBtrXHDcQCLcBGAs/s320/Screenshot%2B2017-12-11%2Bat%2B1.45.29%2BPM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The Ellington band with Ivie Anderson. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.870588235294118); font-family: Roboto Slab, Times New Roman, serif;">https://archive.org/details/BigBandRemotes/Remote-DukeEllington_1939-07-26_From_Ritz-Carleton_Boston.mp3</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">The songs:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">a jazz potpourri </span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"> lawrence brown stomething to live for</span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"> johnny hodges old king dooji? </span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ivie anderson in a mist</span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">ivie again rose of the rio grande</span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">pussy willow</span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">ivie you can count on me</span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">way low</span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" />The band:<br />
<br style="background-color: #fafafa;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet – Harry Carney</span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Johnny Hodges</span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tenor Saxophone – Otto Hardwicke*</span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – Barney Bigard</span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trombone – Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol, Lawrence Brown</span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trumpet – Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart, Wallace Jones</span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bass – Billy Taylor</span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">Drums – Sonny Greer</span><br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" /><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: "Roboto Slab", "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: none; white-space: pre-wrap;">Piano – Duke Ellington</span>Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-16114871175668302822017-12-04T13:38:00.003-05:002017-12-04T13:38:43.962-05:00Shocking Murder of Bandleader! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cQkTCKId6_Y/WiGryozfEGI/AAAAAAAAE7E/_kiJhHLJZqYS9KnUKcNTmr3xNtU-n2xIQCLcBGAs/s1600/james%2Br%2Beurope%2Bphoto.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="407" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cQkTCKId6_Y/WiGryozfEGI/AAAAAAAAE7E/_kiJhHLJZqYS9KnUKcNTmr3xNtU-n2xIQCLcBGAs/s320/james%2Br%2Beurope%2Bphoto.png" width="286" /></a></div>
May 10, 1919<br />
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In the early years of the 20th century, James Reese Europe was probably the leading African American figure in popular music. Reese came to New York at a time when it was difficult for black musicians to get jobs in theaters and dance halls. He helped organize the first African American musician's hiring hall in Harlem, and led a major fund-raising concert that gave the group its first publicity. Soon after, he connected with Vernon and Irene Castle, providing them with music for their dance shows.<br />
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The Castles were among the first superstars of 20th century entertainment, teaching the New York social set - and the rest of the country - to do the new social partner dances that were sweeping the nation. Irene has been called the first modern woman, and Vernon showed that a man who spent his time dancing - rather than sticeng to the business of making money around the clock at the office - could be a respected figure. Irene said that Europe had taught them with Foxtrot (which they then 'cleaned up' for genteel society), and the association with the Castles made Europe the black bandleader of the era.<br />
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Europe enlisted in the army during WWI, and was asked to form a band for his regiment. The band, known as the 'Hellfighters' due to their regimental name, became the favorite of General Pershing, and played to the acclaim of French audiences.<br />
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On his return from France (I almost wrote Europe), Europe and the band began a tour to take advantage of the publicity they had been accorded. The Boston Globe article that reports the crime states that the Mechanics's Building show was his first in Boston. I have a book that says they played at the Boston Opera House first, and moved to the Mechanic's Building for its larger hall.<br />
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One of two drummers, a young man named Herbert Wright, had been acting strangely during recent concerts, wandering across the stage while singers were performing. It seems as if between shows, Wright approached Europe in his dressing room, ranted at him, and then struck him across the neck with a pocket knife. Wright was subdued by some musicians, and the police called. Europe's jugular vein had been cut, and while he was taken to a hospital, he did not survive the attack.<br />
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<br />Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-81385990114626768372015-04-21T14:27:00.002-04:002015-04-21T14:27:37.924-04:00Book Review: Imagining Boston: A Literary Landscape<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In <em>Imagining Boston</em>, author Shaun O'Connell provides a survey of the best known authors who came from Boston, spent time in Boston, or lived anywhere in the general vicinity while they did their writing. Which means that the connection to Boston in the writing is sometimes rather tangential. Then again, books by Bostonians about Boston would make a quick read. The usual suspects of the first half of the 19th Century are here - Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, etc. If the book stopped there, it would have covered material already mined over many times. Luckily, we get authors of 20th Century cultural history references, like Martin Green, Dennis P. Ryan and Gary Willis, and autobiography from Theodore H. While and Charles Angoff. And new to me, the edited diaries of the lunatic Arthur C. Inman. For that reference alone, this book was worth reading. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Imagining-Boston-Landscape-Shaun-OConnell/dp/0807051020/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429640805&sr=8-1&keywords=imagining+boston">Imagining Boston</a><br />
<br />Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-79374946189114890372015-03-04T12:39:00.001-05:002015-03-04T12:39:09.344-05:00Once Upon A Time On Dover StreetI've had an eye out for Boston-themed poetry for a while now, and just came upon a keeper in the 1936 anthology <em>Best Loved Poems of the American People, </em>edited by Hazel Kellerman, editor of the Queries and Answers page of the New York Times Book Review for 15 years. Ms Kellerman received inquiries for favorite poems over the years, and collected them in this volume. <br />
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When I saw Dover street in the first line of this poem, I knew I had to look. The name of the poet was not familiar to me, but many if not most of the poems in the collection were not written by 'name' poets, and would never be anthologized today. In fact, the book is full of the kind of verse one would expect from the popular culture of the time - inspirational, patriotic, motherhood, humor, etc. It was when I looked up the author's name that things got interesting. <br />
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James Norman Hall was born in Iowa in 1887, and graduated from Grinnell College in 1910. He then moved to Boston to get a Master's degree in writing at Harvard. In England at the start of World War I, Hall enlisted in Lord Kitchener's Volunteers. Returning to the States (and Boston), he wrote his first book, Kitchener's Mob, the first pro-British book of the war. After returning to the war and winning the Croix de Guerre, the returned to the United States. In 1920, Hall moved to Tahiti, and with his writing partner, Charles Nordhoff, wrote many books, including <em>Mutiny on the Bounty</em>. Who knew? I'm one of the many people who saw the movie but never read the book. <br />
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At some point during his time in Boston, Hall wrote the following poem. A bit of a clunker, no doubt, but I think the plain-spoken language fits the topic. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Eat And Walk</span><br />
James Norman Hall<br />
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There's a three-penny lunch on Dover street<br />
With a cardboard sign in the window: Eat.<br />
Three steps down to the basement room,<br />
Two gas jets in a sea of gloom;<br />
Four-square counter, stove in the center,<br />
Heavy odor of food as you enter;<br />
A kettle of soup as large as a vat,<br />
Potatoes, cabbage, morsels of fat.<br />
Bubbling up in a savory smoke - <br />
Food for the Gods when the Gods are broke.<br />
A wreaked divinity serving it up,<br />
A hunk of bread and a steaming cup;<br />
Three penny each, or two for a nickel,<br />
An extra cent for a relish of pickle.<br />
Slopping it up, no time for the graces - <br />
Why should they come, these men with faces<br />
Gaunt with hunger, battered with weather<br />
In walking the streets for days together?<br />
No delicate sipping, no leisurely talk - <br />
The rule of the place is Eat and Walk. Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-32461751013947394752015-03-03T11:32:00.000-05:002015-03-03T11:32:08.689-05:00Link Time: Irish Boston History & HeritageI just found another Boston history blog that's definitely worth a look: <a href="http://irishboston.blogspot.com/">Irish Boston History and Heritage</a>. My own Boston Irish history only goes back one generation - my father's family spent time in East Cambridge before moving across the river. Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-436312453034558592015-02-18T12:08:00.000-05:002015-02-18T12:08:08.524-05:00Book Review: Witches, Rakes and Rogues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you're interested in Boston's Colonial Era naughtiness, this is the book for you. Salem didn't have all the witches, and adultery, illegitimacy and divorce were not unknown to Boston's Puritans. Mix in swindlers, thieves and fraudsters, and the City on a Hill looks a little less upright. The book does suffer from a lack of documentation - we are going back three hundred years and more. This leaves some of the stories a bit thin. Not what I'd call a thrilling read, but interesting in a mild way. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Witches-Rakes-Rogues-Stories-1630-1775/dp/1889833541/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424278788&sr=8-1&keywords=witches+rakes+and+rogues">Witches, Rakes and Rogues</a><br />
<br />Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-8331774577136137722015-02-14T11:42:00.001-05:002015-02-14T11:42:28.272-05:00Book Review: Boston's Cycling Craze, 1880-1900<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I read a book on the history of the bicycle last year, and wanted to get into greater detail about cycling in the United States, and especially here in Massachusetts. The title of this book made it seem exactly what I was looking for. Unfortunately, I didn't catch the sub-title: <em>A Story of Race, Sport, and Society</em>. Actually, with chapters about the bi-racial Kittie Knox, and chapter headings like <em>Women's Cycling Clubs</em> and the <em>Movement to Oust Women from a Boston Club</em>, <em>Ethnic Cycling Stories</em>, and <em>African American Cyclists</em>, this book would be more accurately titled <em>A Progressive Whiggish History of Boston Cycling</em>. And yes, I must confess that when I see the word 'gendered' in print, my sixty year old eyes roll back in my head. I'd love to know what Umberto Eco would do with the semiotics of such language. But that's just me. <br />
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If your interest in local history consists of reaching into the past to support your own political/ideological beliefs, and said beliefs are of the left-progressive color, then you should enjoy this book. It seems well documented, although it's not particularly systematic in its approach. That being said, history by anecdote is quite popular these days, so give it a try.<br />
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If, after I find a good book on the cycling craze of the late 19th century with a focus on Massachusetts, I want to look further into the subject, I'll come back to this book. The problem I have with it is no doubt the fault of the editor or marketing manager, not the author. The main title is simply deceptive, and led me to disappointment.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bostons-Cycling-Craze-1880-1900-Society/dp/1625340745/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423931005&sr=1-1&keywords=boston%27s+cycling+craze">Boston's Cycling Craze, 1880-1900</a> <br />
<br />Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-28248096383629047402015-02-13T13:16:00.002-05:002015-02-13T13:16:34.976-05:00Book Review: King Philip's War<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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During some recent reading, I was reminded that I had little or no knowledge of the period and events known as King Philip's War, so I with this book to correct my ignorance. The book is structured into three sections. The first is a concise history of the events leading up to and including the war itself. Second is a guide to locations where various events occurred. The third gives excerpts from contemporary descriptions of the events, written by those who were there. <br />
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The closest Indian raids got to Boston were attacks on Braintree, Hingham and Sudbury. So why review this book on a Boston-centric blog? Both because Boston men fought in various militias, and because Indians were brought to Boston and executed on Boston Common. And as a final surprise to me, the author states that men mustered and trained on the Dedham Plain - that being the same site in today's Readville where the famous black 54th Regiment trained for the Civil War. <br />
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Although King Philip's War didn't reach Boston otherwise, it did scare the bejesus out of residents of Boston, Roxbury and other surrounding communities, and its outcome ended the need to deal with the native peoples in the area permanently. Recommended for those who want to know about the history of Massachusetts beyond the Tea Party and Paul Revere. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/King-Philips-War-Americas-Forgotten/dp/0881504831/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423850438&sr=1-2&keywords=king+philip%27s+war">King Philip's War</a>Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-15405115680711593872015-01-30T12:46:00.001-05:002015-01-30T12:46:34.390-05:00Book Review: Between Two Worlds How the English Became Americans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My grasp on early Boston history is probably representative of that of many people: the Puritans arrive in 1630, and then the Tea Party happens. I've often wanted to take the time to increase my knowledge on the subject, and this book gave me the opportunity to do so. The author covers New England, Virginia and the British Caribbean islands, but New England gets the greater amount of content. <br />
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Malcolm Gaskill emphasizes the connections between New England and Old England - the religious and political controversies shared across the Atlantic. And in New England, the conflict between English and Natives is well laid out. And finally, at the end of the time period covered, the Salem Witch Trials are put into context. <br />
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This book gets one of my rare 'Buy' recommendations - it's one for the bookshelf. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Between-Two-Worlds-English-Americans/dp/046501111X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422639175&sr=8-1&keywords=between+two+worlds">Between Two Worlds</a><br />
<br />Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-29723349567898812802015-01-29T13:36:00.002-05:002015-01-29T13:36:21.066-05:00Book Review: The Race Underground: Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry That Built America's First Subway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A book about the building of Boston's subway? Sounds cool. Unfortunately, this book isn't the one we've been waiting for. When three of five praising blurbs on the back cover are from Boston Globe colleagues, you have reason to be skeptical. And sure enough, this book does not pay off it's title. <br />
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The 'race' - between New York and Boston to build the first subway in the country - turns out never to have happened. Both cities saw the benefits of getting streetcars off their gridlocked roads. The author does try to connect the two efforts by virtue of the efforts of the Whitney brothers, one in each city. Except that they seem to have had little contact during the relevant period. And more importantly because Henry - Boston's Whitney - ended up retiring from his West End Railway Company before Boston build it's subway. <br />
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There is a photo section in this book, but you can see much more today on the Internet with a few keystrokes. I was surprised by the absence of streetcar line maps - one would have made the need for a subway clearer in one view. <br />
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I get the sense that this book started as an effort to write about the opening of Boston's first subway, and got extended to the New York/Boston thing by an editor wanting a larger possible market for sales. As the author points out, there are already books about the New York system, so it's a shame that this effort didn't end up Boston-centric. <br />
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If you know nothing of the building of Boston's subway, or at least the opening of the first section, which is all that's covered here, this book is worth a look. I'd get it at the library. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Race-Underground-Incredible-Rivalry-Americas/dp/0312591322/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422555750&sr=8-1&keywords=the+race+underground+boston+new+york+and+the+incredible+rivalry+that+built+america%27s+first+subway&pebp=1422555758183&peasin=312591322">The Race Underground</a><br />
<br />Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-76377559307608591882014-09-29T12:10:00.002-04:002014-09-29T12:10:18.616-04:00Book Review: Rogues and Redeemers - When Politics Was King in Irish Boston<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Gerard O'Neill does a very good job in this look at some of the leading Irish politicians of 20th century Boston. This is less a general history than a story of prominent individuals, chapter by chapter. It would be a story of Irish mayors, but for the chapters on Ed Logue, the BRA Bulldozer, and Judge W. Arthur Garrity. While I would have preferred footnotes, the 'Notes' section at the back does give sources for each chapter. <br />
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What I liked about Rogues and Redeemers was that it provided the full sweep of Irish leadership in Boston politics, from Honey Fitz to Ray Flynn. At 375 pages, you get enough information on each era to make sense of the changes that occurred over time. Both John F. Fitzgerald and James Michael Curley have been dealt with in other books, so it's nice to see John Hynes and John Collins get their due here. Collins was the first mayor I remember, and lived a block away from us along Centre street in Jamaica Plain. <br />
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Now for the Quibble Department. I was surprised to see Gerard O'Neill get a famous quote wrong. Somehow, Martin Lomasney's much-quoted "Never write if you can speak; never speak if you can nod; never nod if you can wink" becomes "never write it down if you can talk, and never talk if you can nod." Maybe he knows something I don't, but I've never seen his version of the Lomasney wisdom. <br />
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Next, in a very common mistake, more than once he refers to Scollay Square's Cornhill as Cornhill street. Why did Cornhill lack the Street appellation? I dunno - it's just one of those accidents of history that students of Boston history have to know. <br />
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Finally, in a puzzler, is this quote: "In a contemptuous slight by the Yankee authorities, the El overshadowed the Holy Cross Cathedral's grand portico while providing nary a stop in the South End." The truth is that the choice of the South End for the Archdiocese's Cathedral was recognized as a poor one long before the Elevated line was erected. If there was going to be an elevated line through the South End, it was going to go down Washington street, as it runs under Washington street downtown. And as to 'nary a stop,' it was a rapid transit line. Too many stops would have made it a not-so-rapid transit line. And in fact, both the south and north sides of the South End were covered, with Northhampton and Dover streets receiving stations. <br />
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No, wait... another definite quibble. The treatment of Louise Day Hicks is typical of what we get today - knee-jerk distaste, but I have to call out O'Neill for his language. When Hillary Clinton is criticized for her wardrobe, the Sexist Alarm goes off, but O'Neill feels free to refer to Louise Hicks as 'frumpy.' And feel safe from criticism because, you know, SHE'S RACIST! While there's barely a word on Kevin White's late term scandals. Cause he Had A Vision. <br />
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My quibbles took longer to cover here than my praise, but Rogues and Redeemers is definitely a book to read. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0307405362/?tag=mh0b-20&hvadid=4961711632&ref=pd_sl_1yrcy42g9l_e">Rogues and Redeemers</a><br />
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<br />Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-43132136442119969722014-09-27T12:44:00.002-04:002014-09-27T12:44:32.708-04:00The Portland Gale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I usually feature buildings and sites lost to current memory, but Boston's long life as a seaport (as opposed to the non-seaport 'Seaport District') leaves us a remarkable history of lost ships to explore. The Portland Gale of 1898 - named for an eponymous lost passenger steamer - was one of the great Nor'easters of Boston's history. The great Perfect Storm of its day came up the coast, reaching New England on November 26. Warned to stay in port, the Captain of the Portland decided to go to sea, confident that he could outrun the storm. Somewhere off Cape Cod, the Portland went down, with the loss of 192 lives. <br />
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One hundred and fifty ships were wrecked along the New England coast, and four hundred lives were lost. Please note: As a result of the recent Superstorm Sandy, an estimated two hundred and sixty eight people died. <br />
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I was reminded of the Portland Gale by a mention in David Traxel's 1898: The Birth of the American Century. He describes how, while at the Boston dock, a mother cat carried her kittens one by one off the Portland and into a shed. Hmmm.... <br />
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<a href="http://portlandgale.blogspot.com/">The Portland Gale Blog</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.historylecture.org/portland.html">Photos</a>Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-65393428907979759332014-09-20T12:33:00.003-04:002014-09-20T12:33:59.965-04:00Book Review: Cityscapes of Boston<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Cityscapes of Boston is a classic Then and Now photography book of Boston's buildings and street scenes. The content comes from photo-essays that were originally featured in the Boston Globe magazine. Architectural critic Robert Campbell and photographer/archivist Peter Vanderwarker do a good job of showing changes over time. The emphasis here is on architecture, so the text features that Voice of Architecture style that will please some and send others turning the page for the next photo. You'll know which side you're on when you consider whether the word 'suburban' is geographic locator or an epithet. <br />
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The collection of old photos is a good one, with quite a few new to me. The book was published in 1992, so there have already been quite a few changes in downtown Boston that aren't covered here, including the removal of the Central Artery. <br />
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Minor quibbles/major rant: when they leave downtown Boston and look at surrounding communities, things start going wrong. Jamaica Plain's Centre street is featured in a pair of then-and-now photos. Here, we get the following text: " <em>In the 1950s when everybody began to have cars, it was exciting to abandon the screechy, slow sociable streetcar - and, sometimes, to abandon the old corner merchant as well - and instead drive to the new supermarket or the Mall."</em> I was born in 1954, and in fact, my father rode the streetcar to work every day through the 1960s, my mother brought me shopping downtown on the streetcar, and I went to school on the streetcar or a bus or the elevated train throughout those years. We had a car, but saved it for when public transportation didn't get us where we wanted to go. And regarding the 'sociable' aspect of riding those old cars, I have to question whether Mr Campbell ever rode them in those years. If sardines in a can are socializing with one another, then I socialized with my fellow riders. Campbell is referring here to the evolution of the nation in the post-war years, not, in any accurate sense, to 1950s Jamaica Plain. <br />
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A puzzling factual error is also thrown in. In the later photo, the second story of a storefront building is missing. Campbell says "<em>The street wall is lower now because second-story uses on Main Street don't do well in a car culture</em>." No, in fact, the street wall is lower because there was a fire in the bowling alley/pool hall that filled the second floor of the relevant building, and the cost of replacing it was prohibitive. This is what happens when you lead with your ideological chin. <br />
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All in all, a good coffee table book to impress your friends with.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cityscapes-Boston-Robert-Campbell/dp/0395700655">Cityscapes of Boston</a><br />
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<br />Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-64660048354936379352014-09-09T14:15:00.002-04:002014-09-09T14:15:29.700-04:00Book Review: The Boston Jazz Chronicles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is a book I've been meaning to read for a while. While it may seem to be a book strictly for jazz fans, it actually fits the subject of this blog quite well. The years covered are mostly the 1930s through about 1960, and as is true of many locations featured here, most of the old clubs and bars and dance halls have been lost to urban renewal and the hazards of time. For anyone interested in mid-20th century Boston, there's much to learn in these pages. <br />
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Did you know that Huntington avenue was the home of big-band dancing in Boston? Or that strippers and gay bars existed in the Lower Washington street area before the closing of the Old Howard and the destruction of old Scollay Square? Or, (for the jazz lovers) that you could have seen Miles Davis with John Coltrane near Copley Square for no cover, no drink minimum? <br />
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The Boston Jazz Chronicles is full of historical nuggets, and tell of a time that some still alive remember, but has been totally lost to the New Boston. Definitely recommended. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Boston-Chronicles-Paperback-Author-Richard/dp/B00E7G9GKS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1410285759&sr=8-2&keywords=the+boston+jazz+chronicles">The Boston Jazz Chronicles</a>Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-64235261585789815752014-07-09T12:51:00.003-04:002014-07-09T12:51:59.179-04:00Book Review: Boston's Changeful Times: Origins of Preservation and Planning in America<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've just finished Michael Holleran's 1998 book on the evolution of the preservation movement in Boston and America. It started a bit dry and academic - no surprise there, given the subject - but it went on to be quite informative. Featured are the early battles over the old Brattle Square and Old South churches, the Old State House, and the loss of the Hancock house on Beacon Hill. Over time, we see questions of motivation arise - what is worth saving, and why? A chapter on parks and open spaces leads on to a exploration of the skyline and building height limits, with an emphasis on Copley Square and Beacon Hill and the State House. The book ends with the institution of zoning regulations around the time of the First World War. <br />
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All in all, an interesting entry in the story of Boston and how the past was integrated into the modern city. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bostons-Changeful-Times-Preservation-Landscape/dp/0801866448/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404924615&sr=8-1&keywords=boston%27s+changeful+times">Boston's Changeful Times: Origins Of Preservation and Planning in America</a>, by Michael Holleran. <br />
<br />Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-75690174075744431852013-06-11T13:35:00.000-04:002013-06-11T13:35:11.652-04:00Taverns of Boston Town. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lamb Tavern - site of the later Adams House, Washington street. First stage coach to Providence started there in 1767. Present during the Siege of Boston, pulled down in 1845 for the Adams House. <br />
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City Hotel, Brattle street, ca. 1860.<br />
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A stage coach terminus, the building was taken down in about 1868. It is reported that for almost 100 years, a cannon ball fired by Washington's troops sat lodged in it's wall.<br />
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The Province House <br />
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King's Head Tavern, North and Lewis (or Fleet) streets. Erected in 1691, This etching was drawn from an 1855 photograph. <br />
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Green Dragon Tavern.<br />
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One of Boston's most famous tavern, frequented by patriots during the run-up to the Revolutionary War. Also the first Boston headquarters of the Freemasons, Joseph Warren being the Grand Master. The building was torn down when the street was widened in 1828. <br />
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The Sun Tavern was built in 1690, opposite what would be Faneuil Hall. A James Day kept a tavern in the building in the 1750s, and the Portsmouth stage coach stopped there.<br />
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Hancock Tavern. <br />
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Province house, 1679, 1864 fire - residence of Royal Governors, Inn and boarding house, Mr T. Wait. Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-55687964215748081142013-05-12T16:30:00.000-04:002013-05-12T21:41:33.191-04:00The Great Roxbury Fire of 1894<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Boston baseball grounds before the fire (BPL Leventhal Map Center).<br />
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Boston has suffered many disasters in her history, but most, putting
aside a single big earthquake and the odd hurricane (and the molasses
flood), have been fires. Colonial Boston was a city of wood frame
buildings, and was swept repeatedly by fire. While the memory of these
events are lost to all but the specialist, most Bostonians are familiar
with the great fire of 1873, which left much of the warehouse district
in ruins. But gone from popular memory is the city's second largest
fire, the great Roxbury fire of 1894.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V37wWXzx3Gs/UNJh61GRbSI/AAAAAAAAEMQ/NlmLMYK72zw/s1600/heart%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bfire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="566" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V37wWXzx3Gs/UNJh61GRbSI/AAAAAAAAEMQ/NlmLMYK72zw/s640/heart%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bfire.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The Heart Of The Fire From The Corner Of Tremont and Cabot Streets (From the Boston Globe, May 6, 1894). <br />
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The Boston Beaneaters were playing the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, May 15, 1894. The ball park had been built in 1871, and rebuilt and enlarged with new stands in 1888. After the end of the third inning, smoke was noticed coming from under the right field bleachers. Reports after the fire said that a small group of men saw the fire, and could easily have stomped it out, but a policeman told them to leave it alone, and that he would take care of it. When Beaneater right fielder Jimmy Bannon saw flames through the stands, he ran to put it out. A gust of wind fed the flames, and Bannon was driven back. Soon, the right field bleachers caught fire. From there, the outfield fence caught fire, and ran to the left field bleachers, engulfing them as well. Fans stood in the middle of the field to avoid the flames.<br />
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1890 map showing where the fire would occur.<br />
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Observers later said that district fire chief Sawyer, present at the game, refused to call in the alarm until it was too late to prevent the spread of the fire from the bleachers to the grandstand and out into the surrounding neighborhood. The buildings that backed on Berlin street were soon burning. In an hour, twelve acres had burned, 200 buildings had been destroyed, and 1900 people were homeless. <br />
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1895, showing lost buildings in the burned district.<br />
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From Berlin street, the fire spread to Burke, Cunard, Coventry and Walpole streets. driving people from their homes so fast that they didn't have time to save any of their property. <br />
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Looking At The Fire From Rear Of Ball Grounds.<br />
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Three Abandoned Engines on Tremont Street<br />
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The Burned District. <br />
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Scene At The Ruggles Street Church.Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-57113634328266129412013-04-26T14:40:00.001-04:002013-04-26T14:40:25.612-04:00New Boston Blog: Retro Boston RememberedCharles from <a href="http://shoppingdaysinretroboston.blogspot.com/">Shopping Days in Retro Boston</a> has a new blog: <a href="http://retrobostonremembered.blogspot.co.uk/">Retro Boston Remembered</a>. Make sure to check it out - Charles does a lot of work for his posts, and always comes up with great material .Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-52199117362333544612013-03-31T19:31:00.001-04:002013-03-31T19:32:49.550-04:00Boston's Film Debut: 1901-1905I just wanted to share this link to four short films made in Boston at the very start of the 20th century, courtesy of the Boston Public Library. The quality isn't good, but then again it comes from the start of the cinema era. Enjoy.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bpl.org/online/bostonmovies.htm">Boston's first movies.</a> Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-39631241170023743882013-03-15T16:58:00.000-04:002013-03-24T16:30:25.139-04:00Telegraph Hill<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V3KrtRX_uB8/UT-8fvjV96I/AAAAAAAAEZ8/l3U2y-9UCl4/s1600/telegraph+hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="403" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V3KrtRX_uB8/UT-8fvjV96I/AAAAAAAAEZ8/l3U2y-9UCl4/s640/telegraph+hill.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
"View of Boston from Telegraph Hill, South Boston" by Bernard Spindler, 1854. <br />
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George Washington famously brought cannon to bear on occupied Boston from Dorchester Heights, and forced the British to evacuate the town. In the early years of the 19th century, what had been Dorchester land was annexe to Boston, and the district of South Boston came into being. Dorchester Heights, so called, was a pair of adjacent hills, <br />
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Dorchester Heights, 1806. The left of the two adjacent hills became Telegraph hill.<br />
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This 1839 map (turned 90 degrees from normal orientation) shows Telegraph street, showing the earliest example of the name I can find.<br />
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When I decided to write a post about Telegraph hill, I assumed there would be a source giving the origin of the name. In fact, there is no source I can find that gives the history of the name. Rather, the story comes roundabout from multiple sources. And like all such inventions, many people in many places contributed to what is now called a the telegraph. For our story, we can begin in France, where Claude Chappe developed a semaphore system in 1792 that eventually spread from city to city across the nation. Signals were sent by manipulating two flexing arms that could represent 196 characters. The arms were placed on towers in sight of each other, and could relay messages much faster than a man could travel.<br />
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Claude Chappe's telegraphe. Jonathan Grout's mechanism would have looked similar. <br />
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In 1801, Jonathan Grout, a Massachusetts, built the first such optical telegraph system in the United States, spanning 70 miles between Boston and Martha's Vineyard, to serve the commercial shipping business. Mechanisms similar to that used in France were built on hills running down the South Shore of Massachusetts and across Cape Cod to Woods Hole. Little is available on the actual system used, but apparently it differed somewhat from Claude Chappe's original design. Grout used the name telegraphe, so he must have known of the Frenchman's work.<br />
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Grout's system was not a money-maker, and went out of business by 1807. In 1822, John Rowe set up a similar system in Boston harbor, which remained in operation until the 1850s. The problem is that there is no reference I can find to the use of Dorchester heights in either Grout's or Rowe's system, although it certainly must have been so. There is a reference to Rowe's signals being transmitted from Boston to a harbor island, and from there to Hull, but I cannot find South Boston's Telegraph hill in any of the sources that are online. And unfortunately, the older books that may contain such citations are hidden away in libraries.<br />
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Of course, Boston has a place in the history of the electric telegraph as well, but that is a story for another blog post. <br />
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<br />Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-90504939907905188322013-03-04T12:27:00.001-05:002013-05-12T22:05:13.630-04:00Old Girl's Trade High School<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-snxmGtR1N2I/UR1JZyImPBI/AAAAAAAAEXo/sZhFziZ_-OA/s1600/girl%27s+trade+building.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="515" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-snxmGtR1N2I/UR1JZyImPBI/AAAAAAAAEXo/sZhFziZ_-OA/s640/girl%27s+trade+building.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
The Students of Girl's Trade High School, circa 1914 (all photos, taken from glass slides, courtesy of the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cityofbostonarchives/">City of Boston Archive</a>).<br />
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In a <a href="http://goodoldboston.blogspot.com/2012/02/high-schools-of-yore.html">previous entry</a>, I posted a photo of Girl's Trade High School on Hemenway street. At the time, I didn't know that Girl's Trade had an earlier home in the South End. Although the school may have had a still earlier home, I suspect that Girl's Trade started its life in the former Academy of the Sacred Heart on Chester Square. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zcxo-VYml7I/UR1LzC0SQII/AAAAAAAAEYY/g-mPRCZDjqk/s1600/sacred+heart+1888.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="624" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zcxo-VYml7I/UR1LzC0SQII/AAAAAAAAEYY/g-mPRCZDjqk/s640/sacred+heart+1888.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Academy of the Sacred Heart, 1888. The name of the street was, from the Harvard bridge, West Chester Park, Chester Park, Chester Square, and East Chester Park to Edward Everett Square. In 1894, the name was changed to Massachusetts avenue throughout. <br />
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The Academy of the Sacred Heart was a Catholic school for girls, first located in Boston's South End. Wikipedia says it was founded in 1880, but an 1883 map doesn't show it present at the Massachusetts avenue site. The school moved to Commonwealth avenue, and then to Newton, where it continues today as the Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8XqK_kPAIBQ/UR1MqhgqM9I/AAAAAAAAEYg/yOkQ_bbfIR4/s1600/girlsl+trade+school+1928.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="462" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8XqK_kPAIBQ/UR1MqhgqM9I/AAAAAAAAEYg/yOkQ_bbfIR4/s640/girlsl+trade+school+1928.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Girl's Trade High School, 1928.The school has expanded into two adjacent buildings.<br />
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The city of Boston took over the property, and kept its use as a girl's school, in this case the Trade School for Girls. The city bought the two adjacent buildings as well, and expanded the school into them. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z08-3F11K84/UR1Jsh6TIcI/AAAAAAAAEYI/-kf2ku-CR14/s1600/girl%27s+trade+exercize.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="516" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z08-3F11K84/UR1Jsh6TIcI/AAAAAAAAEYI/-kf2ku-CR14/s640/girl%27s+trade+exercize.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
Working out in the gymnasium.<br />
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I particularly like this photo, because it shows what I imagine would have been the chapel of the Sacred Heart school. I assume this was the back of the building that extended behind the Puritan Theatre, as shown in the map directly above.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LA-Xbmv9Lws/UR1Jg2eth-I/AAAAAAAAEXw/Le8x_2oaRv4/s1600/girls+trade+draper.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="516" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LA-Xbmv9Lws/UR1Jg2eth-I/AAAAAAAAEXw/Le8x_2oaRv4/s640/girls+trade+draper.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
A future draper, working on a dress.<br />
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The caption for this tinted photo describes this girl as doing draper's work. A draper was the highest level of dressmaker, working to fit the individual as she assembled the dress, rather than working for measurements. This would have been high end work, so these girls were not all being prepared for low-income drudge work. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CwvDJMx29Lg/UR1JiMYooyI/AAAAAAAAEX4/8kOscxgkhC4/s1600/girls+trade+designer.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="516" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CwvDJMx29Lg/UR1JiMYooyI/AAAAAAAAEX4/8kOscxgkhC4/s640/girls+trade+designer.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
A costume design student sketching at the blackboard.<br />
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Apparently, senior students could study costume design and do real creative work. I love that hat.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kAmen9bdOEw/UR1JnBuaDNI/AAAAAAAAEYA/goFrSQ2z7wU/s1600/girls+trade+evening+class.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="516" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kAmen9bdOEw/UR1JnBuaDNI/AAAAAAAAEYA/goFrSQ2z7wU/s640/girls+trade+evening+class.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
Evening class students making themselves dresses.<br />
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In the early years of the 20th century, Boston had many evening school programs. Some were for young people who had to work during the day, and others must have been for adults. We can see we're in one of the bow-front rooms that can be seen in the first photo above. And of course we can also see that this school was integrated. Most of the day students shown in the photos are white, so this may have been particular to the evening school. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-71Jx17UeDQ8/UR1JydhufnI/AAAAAAAAEYQ/-5U5V0lz1n8/s1600/girls+trade+stitchers.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="516" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-71Jx17UeDQ8/UR1JydhufnI/AAAAAAAAEYQ/-5U5V0lz1n8/s640/girls+trade+stitchers.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
Learning to use stitching machines.<br />
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This scene is more like what I'd expect out of a trade school - learning to use machinery to do factory work. Or course the factories may have been quite small, and the girls could have worked doing alterations, or even started their own businesses. I've seen quite a few listings for dressmakers that were located in private homes. <br />
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Addendum: I just stumbled on this video from a 1911 short film showing the Manhattan Trade School for Girls, and it immediately reminded me of the photos above. <br />
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<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/84A7et-mvoo?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-16146400328627967632013-02-27T19:44:00.001-05:002013-03-01T14:18:56.911-05:00Two Scollay Scenes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fuzkMXtBmxk/USQpyquY3BI/AAAAAAAAEZU/YOBmO4phz20/s1600/tremont+and+pemberton+1860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fuzkMXtBmxk/USQpyquY3BI/AAAAAAAAEZU/YOBmO4phz20/s640/tremont+and+pemberton+1860.jpg" width="586" /></a></div>
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I fell in love with this 1860 photograph of a horsecar passing by Pemberton square along Tremont Row.This is Scollay square wayyy back in the day. The day in this case is pre-Civil War days, when the horse car was a new conveyance on the streets of Boston. Just a few years before this photograph was taken, there were no rails in the streets, and passengers would have been riding in omnibuses, which were long, multi-passenger coaches pulled by a team of horses. With the use of rails, horses were able to pull significantly more weight, and cars got larger. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PkVP3Q3kbkY/USQpLpOAz9I/AAAAAAAAEZM/HF-CScMRwNM/s1600/ScollayBuilding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PkVP3Q3kbkY/USQpLpOAz9I/AAAAAAAAEZM/HF-CScMRwNM/s640/ScollayBuilding.jpg" width="546" /></a></div>
Scollay's building, very near the time of the top photograph, and just before it was taken down in 1870.. Both photos show the sign for the Middlesex Railroad, which operated the horsecar line shown above, which ran to Cambridge. <br />
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When I first saw the top photograph, I wondered if I could identify S. R. Niles. Sure enough, Stephen R. Niles showed up in the 1855 Boston Directory at 1 Scollay's building. And the 1865 Directory identifies him as an advertising agent, with a home at 17 Pinkney street. The city took the building to open the street in 1870, and in 1870 Niles' business is located at 6 Tremont street.<br />
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George R. Hichborn, auctioneer, first appears in the Boston Directory in 1855 at 10 Faneuil Hall. In 1865, Hichborn (and son, apparently) are in the Scollay building as seen above. In 1872, the building has been removed, and Hichborn & Co. is at 63 Court st. They were still present at that address in 1885, but by 1905, the company is not listed, and Samuel Hichborn is principal assessor in City Hall. <br />
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George H. Chapin doesn't appear in the 1865 Directory, showing up in 1870, just as the building is going to be taken and pulled down. This dates the second photograph above (if we can trust the directories) to a date between those two years. Google informs me that the farm agency was a real estate agency selling farms. When Scollay's building came down, Chapin moved to 24 Tremont Row, basically across the street. In 1885, Chapin is also listed as a publisher, and is located on Washington street, and in 1905, the listing is 'real estate and publisher' - no mention of farms any more - although in 1925, it's back to 'farm agency.' <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Io2q2lglVsQ/US6eMiey6QI/AAAAAAAAEZk/AhVPOITIPZ4/s1600/1851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Io2q2lglVsQ/US6eMiey6QI/AAAAAAAAEZk/AhVPOITIPZ4/s400/1851.jpg" width="390" /></a></div>
Scollay square, with the Scollay building, marked in red, 1851 (BPL).The top photograph look from a building at Cornhill and Court streets, past the Scollay building, across Tremont Row and up Pemberton to Pemberton square. <br />
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If you're interested in Scollay square, make sure you visit <a href="http://www.bambinomusical.com/Scollay/">this great blog</a>. Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332335051560713217.post-8583175327339835282013-02-17T18:29:00.000-05:002013-02-18T12:39:34.299-05:00William Ladd Taylor's Washington Street<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wueDNXmBC3Y/UR72kskcdoI/AAAAAAAAEYw/f7Yp5YAWXI8/s1600/taylor+street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wueDNXmBC3Y/UR72kskcdoI/AAAAAAAAEYw/f7Yp5YAWXI8/s640/taylor+street.jpg" width="490" /></a></div>
Busy Washington Street Scene, 1901, W.L. Taylor (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/8450285993/">BPL Flickr photo group</a>). <br />
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W.L. Taylor was a painter and illustrator whose work was featured in The Ladies Home Journal. He was born in 1854 in Grafton, and studied art in Boston and New York. In the 1880s, Taylor had studios on School and Boylston streets in Boston, and was a member of various art clubs and societies.<br />
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Of interest to A.T.I.G.O.B. is the print featured above. I like to think that this print represents what we would have actually seen on a busy day at the turn of the 20th century. With the slow transportation of the day, pedestrians did cross the street as they pleased, and ragamuffin newsboys crossed paths - though not fates - with finely dressed ladies and their equally finely dressed children.<br />
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Beyond a look at the contemporary fashions, this print gives us a summary of downtown transportation. I wonder if the artist meant to put the electric streetcar directly between the horse carriage on the right, and the very new automobile on the left. And perhaps it's a coincidence, but the carriage, with it's driver at the top back, is reflected by the auto, which in this model also has its driver in the rear position, overlooking its passengers.<br />
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Sadly, we probably have a better sense of Victorian London than we do of the contemporary Boston. If only from Sherlock Holmes, we see the world of hansom cabs as being British, whereas our own cities would have appeared very familiar to Holmes and the rest of Victorian Britain's great literary characters. Unfortunately, while British writers explored their urban capital, Americans looked west for inspiration. And late 19th century America becomes the story of Cowboys and Indians, rather than Boston/New York/Philadelphia city dwellers. Henry James does write of Bostonians, but he chases them to Paris, and has no interest in the North End or South Boston.<br />
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Wouldn't you love to see a movie set in the Boston on 1901? If CGI can create alien planets for Hollywood, why not turn of the century Boston, with streetcars and carriages and automobiles all fighting to get through throngs of shoppers on Washington street? <br />
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Mark B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/03524735496130204611noreply@blogger.com4