tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29582359418771388792024-03-17T11:09:44.735-04:00Muddy River MusingsMeanderings through the thickets of Brookline's pastUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger135125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-59179960857987816412024-03-17T11:07:00.001-04:002024-03-17T11:09:11.926-04:00St. Patrick's Day in Brookline, 1887: A Call for Independence<p>137 years ago today, on St. Patrick's Day in 1887, Brookline heard the call for Irish independence. At a holiday banquet at Lyceum Hall in Brookline Village, Charles Endicott of Canton delivered a rousing call on behalf of the Irish people.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGVC1KE-gvQPEKrEZAwjbs2_l8fQc4qD9zV8mI5n25gm0V11IHLcI0m56ybTjUq-jTeMRWBk03QDfDqVyrvWmajUMkkvUFTheb5tB4HcywVO-Oc2sH3UXjrohi1Hl5sdS5pd96E-ARHYGwoP4vRZnOAwk-tAYJM19lmcLzj7EXfdmyng4iCSA-jwohB5T/s706/Charles%20Endicott.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="498" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGVC1KE-gvQPEKrEZAwjbs2_l8fQc4qD9zV8mI5n25gm0V11IHLcI0m56ybTjUq-jTeMRWBk03QDfDqVyrvWmajUMkkvUFTheb5tB4HcywVO-Oc2sH3UXjrohi1Hl5sdS5pd96E-ARHYGwoP4vRZnOAwk-tAYJM19lmcLzj7EXfdmyng4iCSA-jwohB5T/s320/Charles%20Endicott.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><p>"From my earliest boyhood I have entertained a deep regard for the people of the Emerald Isle," said Endicott, "and I have always had, and shall ever have, the profoundest sympathy and admiration for the manner in which they have endured for centuries the continued oppression of their British tyrants</p><p> </p><p>"Never has the Irish heart submitted without protest to the yoke of England, and the hope of eventual emancipation from the unjust rule of Great Britain has ever sprung eternal in every Irish breast." </p><p><br />"In spite of poverty and starvation the Irish people have always held steadfastly to the faith that their country must some day be free to develop the material and mental resources with which heaven has so bountifully blest her, the perfection of the possibilities of which has been prevented by the jealousy and greed of their English rivals at the point of the bayonet and at the mouth of the cannon."</p><p><br />The event was organized by Brookline's Grattan Club, organized a year earlier and named for Henry Grattan, an 18th and early 19th century campaigner for Irish rights. Ireland would not gain independence until 34 years later.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-14645524339296802382024-03-16T11:32:00.002-04:002024-03-16T11:32:06.282-04:00Sunday, March 24th: A History of the Brookline Fire Department<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ictwqu01b5-IVK8OCZ9H2Ug67bKBeQo4LeS0YOgAa-fjlQobin6QEie6cbpqnXHDX1Bzp7IcY-WPap-9-9lleSqfsAde_jfmJIFMQiX8SOX5woXZ2Czv3VWZPiUlfAD8jhr6-tLuPCCqzpf6ZrxBYPpaiyRvcOFt0PkhVc4TX1-yYjTHtLmY8dw3igOw/s1663/BHS%20Fire%201936%20-%202%20images.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1663" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ictwqu01b5-IVK8OCZ9H2Ug67bKBeQo4LeS0YOgAa-fjlQobin6QEie6cbpqnXHDX1Bzp7IcY-WPap-9-9lleSqfsAde_jfmJIFMQiX8SOX5woXZ2Czv3VWZPiUlfAD8jhr6-tLuPCCqzpf6ZrxBYPpaiyRvcOFt0PkhVc4TX1-yYjTHtLmY8dw3igOw/w400-h193/BHS%20Fire%201936%20-%202%20images.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>In September 1936, the main section of the 1895 Brookline High School building -- the first on its current site -- was destroyed by fire. It was a spectacular blaze, captured in photos like the ones above and in newsreel footage. (You can <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-4001515-1930s---brookline-massachusetts-high-school-fire">watch the newsreel online</a>.)</p><p><br />The high school fire will be included in a talk -- "A History of the Brookline Fire Department" -- by retired Fire Chief John Spillane presented by the Brookline Historical Society on Sunday, March 24th. (There will be two sessions: at 2:00 pm and 3:30 pm). The program is free but registration is required.</p><p><br />Chief Spillane's talk will also cover other famous fires from Brookline's past, as well as the overall history of the department, including Brookline firefighters who died in the performance of their duties. The talk will take place at the Fire Department training facility behind Station #6 (by Horace James Circle).</p><p><br /></p><p>For those interested, there will be tours of Station #6 and the training facility after the presentations.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTe6XcwR55axM68Oxnp_QVQwyrsE-HZhsdMpavIPzFch7C6VF-BPGYTeE-aIU4U33mSbhnMgrnkDQq-XMGwmEXxD807dcepCXj0Ym8zc7TwUjCobR49O9kHxUt5hwQnHSJGumMsz803cbmt7tpf2ZQ0fnbLDZpz21fDLWXakEsPoQGMUQx_12-1XMXVGt2/s4608/Station%206.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTe6XcwR55axM68Oxnp_QVQwyrsE-HZhsdMpavIPzFch7C6VF-BPGYTeE-aIU4U33mSbhnMgrnkDQq-XMGwmEXxD807dcepCXj0Ym8zc7TwUjCobR49O9kHxUt5hwQnHSJGumMsz803cbmt7tpf2ZQ0fnbLDZpz21fDLWXakEsPoQGMUQx_12-1XMXVGt2/w400-h300/Station%206.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p>To register for one of the programs, go to <a href="https://bit.ly/fireshistory2pm">https://bit.ly/fireshistory2pm</a> or <a href="https://bit.ly/fireshistory330pm">https://bit.ly/fireshistory330pm</a>.</p><p><br />There is plentiful parking on site for bikes and cars.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-80949070416181980522024-03-06T17:03:00.004-05:002024-03-06T17:26:33.438-05:00House Numbers Are Where It's At!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixYem-cyRXVw9pdwVcQIvjTNrj74Hvn_coz76yvlv6rCXb_L2c2WcbGdelezhrbi0_2oXhLdm0r3dWSXErTF3cPIPjgofHuapAp6l9fyOq7FWVd3BcVnrRB-lwoUUM2d8LCKZWxkpCajqnF0Z6zdIav4d7xGt2b_dV4NQfIs68_-0cHgIhZ6L-AT7Lf5Uv/s1412/Street%20number%20montage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1412" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixYem-cyRXVw9pdwVcQIvjTNrj74Hvn_coz76yvlv6rCXb_L2c2WcbGdelezhrbi0_2oXhLdm0r3dWSXErTF3cPIPjgofHuapAp6l9fyOq7FWVd3BcVnrRB-lwoUUM2d8LCKZWxkpCajqnF0Z6zdIav4d7xGt2b_dV4NQfIs68_-0cHgIhZ6L-AT7Lf5Uv/w400-h238/Street%20number%20montage.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><p style="text-align: left;"> "Though fog or night the scene encumbers,<br /> Why don't all the buildings show their numbers<br /> On lintel, wall, or door?<br /> Why can't a house say good and plenty<br /> 'Hey look at me! I'm Nineteen-twenty,<br /> The joint you're looking for.'"<br /><br /> -- Arthur Guiterman, 1950<br /> </p><p>Street numbers for houses -- and other buildings, too -- serve a fairly simple function. They make it possible to locate a particular building on a particular street. The numbers themselves, with rare exceptions, have no meaning beyond that basic navigational role.</p><p><br />They are a ubiquitous and utilitarian part of our everyday environment. But despite their ordinariness, building numbers can appear in an almost boundless variety of styles and designs, as the images in this post -- all gathered walking around Brookline -- show. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLi8aM2ShtNjG1ppzcR-KdNuh4RHgRuGynxqN5b3w9ESAWKKGl0xwab1Y35yl1Wim4CupYnzbAWxNSTEltOzb_3C3uwa_bGDpqQt6kaq5ZwBYiCJNjiMT6aZtsdnjXDydjQWLQO7wtdrjzt9OoJVoYacsolcxFlQW9KqddJvtfjMImbbolXvWsygwkcCb/s2142/House%20numbers%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1344" data-original-width="2142" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLi8aM2ShtNjG1ppzcR-KdNuh4RHgRuGynxqN5b3w9ESAWKKGl0xwab1Y35yl1Wim4CupYnzbAWxNSTEltOzb_3C3uwa_bGDpqQt6kaq5ZwBYiCJNjiMT6aZtsdnjXDydjQWLQO7wtdrjzt9OoJVoYacsolcxFlQW9KqddJvtfjMImbbolXvWsygwkcCb/w400-h251/House%20numbers%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>They come in different fonts and different colors. They are made of different materials. They are displayed as numerals or words, arranged horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. They may have been bought off a rack in a hardware store or designed and created by an architect or graphic designer.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuRmYvQgEWLpSlZu-A5ALOkHHlDP4_WM0tI-l4BFHgNY1NMrHKyiIaezD3d7vBS7Bsq0IEM3X2NrKRJTIh0nInMN-JHOgknI_3-uzgXZGHOvmruTbR1umMHxCSDXTvxWSY68S2JBdM_sZ7qFImf-8jO1JppEN0J_k2zTP9WzA6K75Hvsshizi8wo9fCWvL/s1938/House%20numbers%20in%20hardware%20store.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1428" data-original-width="1938" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuRmYvQgEWLpSlZu-A5ALOkHHlDP4_WM0tI-l4BFHgNY1NMrHKyiIaezD3d7vBS7Bsq0IEM3X2NrKRJTIh0nInMN-JHOgknI_3-uzgXZGHOvmruTbR1umMHxCSDXTvxWSY68S2JBdM_sZ7qFImf-8jO1JppEN0J_k2zTP9WzA6K75Hvsshizi8wo9fCWvL/w400-h295/House%20numbers%20in%20hardware%20store.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>House Numbers Come to Brookline</b></div>House numbers were first introduced in Brookline in the 1880s, when mail delivery began in town. (Until then, residents and business owners would pick up their mail at the post office.) They were more common on some of the busier streets at first, though even there the use of numbers could be spotty, as seen in two excerpts from an 1890 town directory.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRje_eiaCZoX8wLPul0lBIMsKrZaaMN8kFqjEPmD2HddRn25z9HDHK5MJLyuVlawB4H5FsSf6T_v5-dm8BJpXMe5TAfQBKs4M6fbkfDHihRu_vP73y8ATGfXzhGiWT7VHBRx2jQovBa8tNv5nI7tyz4p63xWCobgV_Mg1c1Zu1cBDqkQ1R52454n_kziD/s1396/Harvard%20Street%201890%20directory.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1396" data-original-width="1038" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRje_eiaCZoX8wLPul0lBIMsKrZaaMN8kFqjEPmD2HddRn25z9HDHK5MJLyuVlawB4H5FsSf6T_v5-dm8BJpXMe5TAfQBKs4M6fbkfDHihRu_vP73y8ATGfXzhGiWT7VHBRx2jQovBa8tNv5nI7tyz4p63xWCobgV_Mg1c1Zu1cBDqkQ1R52454n_kziD/w298-h400/Harvard%20Street%201890%20directory.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This page from the 1890 <i>Blue Book of Brookline</i> shows a portion of the Harvard Street listing, with some residences showing house numbers and others with no number.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcMqEVnBm_H_DJ6rXZFGaz9DQDnB6fcM5gPI7Ocbd3pnwBoswk-iC5Fc8pIViHPfUca4_O61Ln25GWEG2VUTTT8h3cU_qXHyC7NC4ae1FIzd6hQKrqhNJcHsijcIcplqmqf5jHP_cZHhvpQgnWKfiqaFAn2PmjxQWUoXyFVtivxoSSNvhOW6U0tJTnt8Zb/s1654/Other%20streets%201890%20directory.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1654" data-original-width="1206" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcMqEVnBm_H_DJ6rXZFGaz9DQDnB6fcM5gPI7Ocbd3pnwBoswk-iC5Fc8pIViHPfUca4_O61Ln25GWEG2VUTTT8h3cU_qXHyC7NC4ae1FIzd6hQKrqhNJcHsijcIcplqmqf5jHP_cZHhvpQgnWKfiqaFAn2PmjxQWUoXyFVtivxoSSNvhOW6U0tJTnt8Zb/w291-h400/Other%20streets%201890%20directory.jpg" width="291" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another page from the 1890 directory, showing houses on several street, but no house numbers</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>"Some measure ought to be adopted to compel the numbering of every house in town," opined the <i>Brookline Chronicle </i>in 1888.</div><div><br /></div>Even when numbers <i>were</i> assigned, inconsistency was a source of confusion and complaint in those early years. "The person who has undertaken to number the houses on our street has made a mess of it," wrote one resident in a letter to the<i> Chronicle, </i>also in 1888.<div><br /></div><div>Finally, in 1891, a new bylaw was passed giving the Board of Selectman the authority to order house numbers to be affixed or painted on any building in town.</div><div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMXYRV7mpmJ7bG1Afkz8f9oygxgZD9NUWRRSuu8Evvji-BJn4GM0vkvw47GFGl_OIYF-CIjqdkTsqPOedQ6fWQVRf4eVpd_fTrzM8F9QY7wg3pJbevzqKOz5yrB5lirxyjcd79D6hvf3Qm3JNyjWvGlLt9aJNrBcU3FceITEXvD9I-szOW2If_GPLZeBA/s1060/House%20number%20bylaw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="1060" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMXYRV7mpmJ7bG1Afkz8f9oygxgZD9NUWRRSuu8Evvji-BJn4GM0vkvw47GFGl_OIYF-CIjqdkTsqPOedQ6fWQVRf4eVpd_fTrzM8F9QY7wg3pJbevzqKOz5yrB5lirxyjcd79D6hvf3Qm3JNyjWvGlLt9aJNrBcU3FceITEXvD9I-szOW2If_GPLZeBA/s320/House%20number%20bylaw.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p><br />At least one enterprising businessperson saw an opportunity in the new bylaw. Reuben Chase advertised in the <i>Chronicle</i>, offering signs, apparently of different designs, for sale.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg21LpQTWmMxN_Ddy2dR6IGj1bFrbxIcwKmHjm0Sl-FNxzjlXYHkrOcOgmKt24dqzOm6JXf1VdAVT48hkIfV6NfblD7Fd2BRoWqbftJ2xvhbJ_ldV3iDarGZF_LjO4LXbMIKFgdDaiaUxZX3qbsgBfDnkAoGG1h-n7uTCblZzgMPQnWovGGtbL6za1sQTOu/s1530/Number%20Your%20Houses.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1530" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg21LpQTWmMxN_Ddy2dR6IGj1bFrbxIcwKmHjm0Sl-FNxzjlXYHkrOcOgmKt24dqzOm6JXf1VdAVT48hkIfV6NfblD7Fd2BRoWqbftJ2xvhbJ_ldV3iDarGZF_LjO4LXbMIKFgdDaiaUxZX3qbsgBfDnkAoGG1h-n7uTCblZzgMPQnWovGGtbL6za1sQTOu/w400-h171/Number%20Your%20Houses.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advertisement, <i>Brookline Chronicle</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>A Chaotic Condition<br /></b>Inconsistent enforcement and application continued to plague the town even after the adoption of the building numbering bylaw. "No carrier system can ever become wholly satisfactory so long as the present chaotic condition of house numbers continues" wrote the <i>Chronicle </i>in August 1898.<p></p><blockquote><p><br />"The fact is even more apparent than it was a year ago," continued the paper, "that there is no street in the town in which the buildings are properly numbered, while in the newer sections a 'hit or miss' rule of numbering appears to be generally adopted."</p></blockquote><p><br />Two years later, a competing paper, the <i>Suburban</i>, complained that the numbering system in the town "is confusing in the extreme" and that "something should be done about it at once."</p><p><br />As late as 1918, another Brookline paper, the <i>Townsman</i>, took store owners to task for the lack of numbers on their storefronts. "It has been called to our attention that many of the stores in Old Brookline lack proper identification by street numbers. Would it not be well for the merchants to see their street numbers adorn their store doors? What about it merchants?"</p><p><br />A year later, Town Engineer Henry Varney reported that from 400 to 500 notices were being sent out each year to homeowners who failed to post numbers on their homes.</p><p><br />Later in 1919, the <i>Chronicle </i>came down hard on homeowners who continued to ignore the house numbering by law:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2WkL6uu4ReVtg8smekEsm4TfRyEI7lG5iLcsZIvT8l6ntGvXp7sbFLvjenzTrJtcY1pZ6ir7Q7mjOmSHFcS-ltHA6qnbWQfY18wI-NfDlUPQ-Q856KBfAe8YU8FesR_Dutqg3zmOLIgLHK3ln5K0ClTL5BxsdJVGPZPOuf86EEctPZpTgFj5fCTOJ-YT3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1022" data-original-width="764" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2WkL6uu4ReVtg8smekEsm4TfRyEI7lG5iLcsZIvT8l6ntGvXp7sbFLvjenzTrJtcY1pZ6ir7Q7mjOmSHFcS-ltHA6qnbWQfY18wI-NfDlUPQ-Q856KBfAe8YU8FesR_Dutqg3zmOLIgLHK3ln5K0ClTL5BxsdJVGPZPOuf86EEctPZpTgFj5fCTOJ-YT3=w298-h400" width="298" /></a></div><br />By 1924, the town was able to report that "Practically all occupied buildings are now correctly numbered." Two years later, buildings on Brookline Avenue and Longwood Avenue were renumbered to conform with addresses on those streets across the town line in Boston, but compliance with the bylaw does not seem to be a problem today, even as GPS changes the way we find a particular place, in Brookline or anywhere else.<p></p><p><b><br />Unlucky 13?<br /></b>Triskaidekaphobia -- fear or avoidance of the number 13 -- may be just a bit of whimsy for most people. After all, there's not much you can do about it if you were, say, born on the 13th of any month, let alone on a Friday the 13th. But one arena where the number 13 <i>is</i> mostly avoided is in house and building numbering.</p><p><br />There are even some office and apartment buildings that have no 13th floor. (They do, of course, have a thirteenth floor; it's just numbered 14.)</p><p><br />Even rarer are houses, businesses and other buildings using the number 13 for their address. Developers, builders, and homeowners, superstitious or not, have regularly skipped over that number when assigning addresses in cities and towns, large and small. There are even some reports that having the number 13 as an address lowers the value of a property.</p><p><br />Brookline is no exception when it comes to avoiding this number as an address. Do you know how many locations in Brookline have the number 13? The answer -- cue the <i>Twilight Zone </i>music -- is <i>13</i>. Even that group seems to avoid the number. There are only 12 buildings on those 13 properties; one -- 13 Aston Road -- is marked "undevelopable" in the town assessor's database. Hmm.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2ygvqYui7aaiB6blNGyfBoCEl-sVhM1cXVox4gSVRyIi90YWBezjXEwFMapuRq2HGnR1C_9FEnabTi_wybeC0TEgptpUaDaQa7NhXdXGtf5WW926zD2BMzV9XoXDuWiSzsKS18XN0HGyiGCOHgRsfMGvnwCE3sJj0vIUmRj1EzJ9YtpCNjkldnb_lPmh/s1002/13%20Aston%20Road.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="1002" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2ygvqYui7aaiB6blNGyfBoCEl-sVhM1cXVox4gSVRyIi90YWBezjXEwFMapuRq2HGnR1C_9FEnabTi_wybeC0TEgptpUaDaQa7NhXdXGtf5WW926zD2BMzV9XoXDuWiSzsKS18XN0HGyiGCOHgRsfMGvnwCE3sJj0vIUmRj1EzJ9YtpCNjkldnb_lPmh/w400-h185/13%20Aston%20Road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-85858243662328124992024-02-11T14:06:00.008-05:002024-02-11T14:48:56.700-05:001924: Electric vs. Gas (and Coal and Oil, Too)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtU4kJ3aJV2gf7uqJp2rpL_iE61jRox81DpFlk5OX8UyPt7agyfgqxh99Z1r4KGqHXfaPI0oooMhZtUWPFbbkrzBuE7nUta9oBFoPVBUM_aGTnLpoTFauCT2C3bm5b4yittYke6yzsfi3ZdZGNcM0cOledrymsPz1DFPTcq4HENzX9eAmxYLE90yi3xwX7/s1742/Electric%20vs%20Gas%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ads: "Gas for Industrial Heat" and "Electricity is No Longer A Luxury"" border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="1742" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtU4kJ3aJV2gf7uqJp2rpL_iE61jRox81DpFlk5OX8UyPt7agyfgqxh99Z1r4KGqHXfaPI0oooMhZtUWPFbbkrzBuE7nUta9oBFoPVBUM_aGTnLpoTFauCT2C3bm5b4yittYke6yzsfi3ZdZGNcM0cOledrymsPz1DFPTcq4HENzX9eAmxYLE90yi3xwX7/w400-h260/Electric%20vs%20Gas%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Brookline in 2024 is a leader in moving away from fossil fuels. See, for example, the town's <a href="https://www.brooklinema.gov/1706/Sustainable-Buildings---Fossil-Fuel-Free">Sustainable Buildings page</a>, its <a href="https://www.brooklinema.gov/3656/Electrify-Brookline-How-To-Guides">Electrify Brookline how-to guides</a>, and <a href="https://www.brooklinema.gov/658/Sustainability">other pages</a> on the town website.<br /></p><p><br />It's a transition period, with new local and state regulations and incentive programs paving the way toward a cleaner energy future. (As I write this, we are preparing to have heat pumps installed in our house, built in 1933 as part of the Blake Park development. <a href="https://brooklinehistory.omeka.net/exhibits/show/blake-park-brookline-ma/introduction">See my Blake Park website</a> for more on that development.)</p><p><br />One hundred years ago, Brookline (and other communities) were also in a period of energy transition, as evidenced by ads and news articles appearing in the <i>Brookline Chronicle</i> in 1924.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ug5MYtvqufQ-fZP3AuIsowzhqjYNmqudJ_5n7lW9vSiFXa44nqfEy2hWHBLleVcTHFDEKxJh3zPRcxKY9hHQFv6WfcKaUH6J8D5o-OmFoI2Kao0CUhiY2GyeYtYicuGk9qnFYVRg3KBatXSo0TEiS6i5o7Btjrz7cI5WgpGslpK8IixfaAsKcAuj9TMY/s1362/Brookline%20Chronicle%201924.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Brookline Chronicle banner" border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="1362" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ug5MYtvqufQ-fZP3AuIsowzhqjYNmqudJ_5n7lW9vSiFXa44nqfEy2hWHBLleVcTHFDEKxJh3zPRcxKY9hHQFv6WfcKaUH6J8D5o-OmFoI2Kao0CUhiY2GyeYtYicuGk9qnFYVRg3KBatXSo0TEiS6i5o7Btjrz7cI5WgpGslpK8IixfaAsKcAuj9TMY/w400-h149/Brookline%20Chronicle%201924.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p><br />Electric and gas companies (and local businesses) promoted the benefits of their different means of powering appliances.<br /><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFrAZQQQI8SB8qHWTz2Zc2JP14DOEtbdTwdnrOjBYG3A3I6tstdC_3geNDSIB6Gm1dnZqWWK_A2wJxxwlkh6w6UgHuimJl55fukELHxAolZfQPCWd_vIR6oZnW47q_v8nN5k-xk67sJHpSRUue83_t0wyrczDuzmq7N0nCQ3YXa0sAJjAtfIfku3bD7ooK/s1676/Gas%20is%20Boston's%20Fuel.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ad: "Gas is Boston's Fuel"" border="0" data-original-height="1676" data-original-width="780" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFrAZQQQI8SB8qHWTz2Zc2JP14DOEtbdTwdnrOjBYG3A3I6tstdC_3geNDSIB6Gm1dnZqWWK_A2wJxxwlkh6w6UgHuimJl55fukELHxAolZfQPCWd_vIR6oZnW47q_v8nN5k-xk67sJHpSRUue83_t0wyrczDuzmq7N0nCQ3YXa0sAJjAtfIfku3bD7ooK/w298-h640/Gas%20is%20Boston's%20Fuel.png" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">January 5, 1924</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxoUVL86HqAFT_b5sCiQ-YAcvblIpuVCnM1pXgcNErfg3BSmzBVU4QwV68zL_idhP8oxDpO7BrzGg2OX3pBHF0zPTMaOrnZVADkQUMXiAVW579eVk1-kD4y9sk6baKzgNCxzJ_7WgoybUQy-XDz3c8f1KKePtW1pXwtL6AwSeZ0sgGvILG5FYvEvw6P00e/s3222/The%20Friendly%20Glow.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ad: "The Friendly Glow. Try It in Your Home"" border="0" data-original-height="3222" data-original-width="1398" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxoUVL86HqAFT_b5sCiQ-YAcvblIpuVCnM1pXgcNErfg3BSmzBVU4QwV68zL_idhP8oxDpO7BrzGg2OX3pBHF0zPTMaOrnZVADkQUMXiAVW579eVk1-kD4y9sk6baKzgNCxzJ_7WgoybUQy-XDz3c8f1KKePtW1pXwtL6AwSeZ0sgGvILG5FYvEvw6P00e/w278-h640/The%20Friendly%20Glow.jpg" width="278" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">June 26, 1924<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Gas companies also duked it out with oil and coal suppliers in ads, fighting for consumers' home heating dollars. (Thomas Edison had invented an electric heating system as early as the 1880s, but it was not really a viable option in the 1920s.)<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNq3BLWu-_Zpuu-NVc3R2JXNhy5IHau9o4FgyGo98jk8BwsMkENGiswHM4lVpSZxKXB8hF57cjmbyHX75-2cXJDH_Njy7h5pvPq6sU4eX1JL8XAb1DB9ADq-xgFgZG8YmPLmIfLk3vRd8a_bRSv9dMad8T7-WBVlP5a8vubKnAZb_dPk9a2SX0RXkoB6t/s1428/Gas%20heat%201924.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ad. Clean, Efficient Heat Direct to Your Boiler"" border="0" data-original-height="1428" data-original-width="646" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNq3BLWu-_Zpuu-NVc3R2JXNhy5IHau9o4FgyGo98jk8BwsMkENGiswHM4lVpSZxKXB8hF57cjmbyHX75-2cXJDH_Njy7h5pvPq6sU4eX1JL8XAb1DB9ADq-xgFgZG8YmPLmIfLk3vRd8a_bRSv9dMad8T7-WBVlP5a8vubKnAZb_dPk9a2SX0RXkoB6t/w290-h640/Gas%20heat%201924.png" width="290" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">April 10, 1924</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHf44Jm8x9gQKP5o67SLoZgX24AlIa6v6ugz-ybvDqF2hsDGZ-iaGbPpT_mf7_jJW5lHV6RlHASYy0680QKhfqjM3jqyLOi6iNYTSEG-DSwy_LsNCChJ8H2vt_PCiBnUmCvDm4R8YKJsU0PoXN6WvqNQvnx_OmlorMtq9_ZzGmL0rS56BAT8OXrdTQSEKV/s1572/Oil-O-Matic%201924.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ad: "Radiant Heating Service"" border="0" data-original-height="1572" data-original-width="1402" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHf44Jm8x9gQKP5o67SLoZgX24AlIa6v6ugz-ybvDqF2hsDGZ-iaGbPpT_mf7_jJW5lHV6RlHASYy0680QKhfqjM3jqyLOi6iNYTSEG-DSwy_LsNCChJ8H2vt_PCiBnUmCvDm4R8YKJsU0PoXN6WvqNQvnx_OmlorMtq9_ZzGmL0rS56BAT8OXrdTQSEKV/w356-h400/Oil-O-Matic%201924.png" width="356" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">January 5, 1924</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZxPFOB_iZ57qQa4Chjp_DlJ9v1MANlEHepGpXtukTWlZrGRslNVkfa8djRL924sLw0wlv44MGD0Q1xxL7a_Bxl4Mzw5gMTLw0fkZvxVaT3c0gRlViBbBmCIc-wEg2g3mWy5R1EndSxtX9KnVgCfWSAr2eL8OEzN9mEt5AST7uVQxwwYGLhN-QR-skpfK_/s1536/Metropolitan%20Coal%201924.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ad: "Coal is Foolproof and the Safest Fuel Known"" border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1536" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZxPFOB_iZ57qQa4Chjp_DlJ9v1MANlEHepGpXtukTWlZrGRslNVkfa8djRL924sLw0wlv44MGD0Q1xxL7a_Bxl4Mzw5gMTLw0fkZvxVaT3c0gRlViBbBmCIc-wEg2g3mWy5R1EndSxtX9KnVgCfWSAr2eL8OEzN9mEt5AST7uVQxwwYGLhN-QR-skpfK_/w400-h338/Metropolitan%20Coal%201924.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">October 2, 1924</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>The local paper even had competing ads for gas and electric irons!<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcVfuiWz80SpkqQXh3lO6a2dl5SRr3-2TSIEGEiEH073mzRMcZa6OjskV7HMCFZXcI8u9h7gyK_5jaFEH1AXU44SmQKSewaGJJmAl8RD-OisHBUu5R0S9Lg0MmJ7fLPS2e_83_hyphenhyphen2nBhxzQJyHh7T7kkOKVRnS2MpmuLXsDpf1tSskTAI-NhgVIuy1UOE/s1660/Gas%20iron.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ad: "Double Point IWANTU Comfort Gas Iron"" border="0" data-original-height="1660" data-original-width="832" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcVfuiWz80SpkqQXh3lO6a2dl5SRr3-2TSIEGEiEH073mzRMcZa6OjskV7HMCFZXcI8u9h7gyK_5jaFEH1AXU44SmQKSewaGJJmAl8RD-OisHBUu5R0S9Lg0MmJ7fLPS2e_83_hyphenhyphen2nBhxzQJyHh7T7kkOKVRnS2MpmuLXsDpf1tSskTAI-NhgVIuy1UOE/w320-h640/Gas%20iron.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">March 1, 1924</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIAkSGHIXb7Ah_bLZs-VG3tpbS60QFoFpwMSgYiC8mfTXMXl5Kqt_wvhPN56EKgR8AmpyejI4k3gtuTzzrOEJJ42uy-DkVILKJcVhEy3izCnYpheV2A8k4m4drfBA7qpztvVn3kzegFgWhM1CWbWTOI35iFWshheRiTNY7DoRSnp-A9oFisF1GNa6-vqTf/s1478/Electric%20iron.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ad: 'Now she can iron to her heart's content, with unburned fingers and back not bent."" border="0" data-original-height="1478" data-original-width="624" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIAkSGHIXb7Ah_bLZs-VG3tpbS60QFoFpwMSgYiC8mfTXMXl5Kqt_wvhPN56EKgR8AmpyejI4k3gtuTzzrOEJJ42uy-DkVILKJcVhEy3izCnYpheV2A8k4m4drfBA7qpztvVn3kzegFgWhM1CWbWTOI35iFWshheRiTNY7DoRSnp-A9oFisF1GNa6-vqTf/w270-h640/Electric%20iron.png" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">February 23, 1924</td></tr></tbody></table> <br /><div>There were still some Brookline homes with gas lighting in 1924, but that market was rapidly disappearing with increasing use of electric lights. Electric companies and suppliers also had their eyes on the kitchens of American homes.</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>In February 1924, the Edison Electric Light Company held a weeklong exhibition in Beacon Hall, on the second floor of the Beacon Universalist Church in Coolidge Corner. (Nine years later, the church building would be converted into the Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline's first move theater.)</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlIMZ9wG_SIqGwQt6XmGnPG3uT-Cav3uW9uk3lAYHyr0Y70Fhb5qLOeU3NNTzIQK_LU65i_Fnh_zkFrpNk4iZ1uzsTWqvtJOtmpFAeK5L1paJsffBV-vncN5ie8qppw78FctXDI9U58AwaBKKNycpFY0Xea-wVxPnnhle9XJaQIPUxOHz6tGnZ3QENiDc/s1986/Brookline%20Electrical%20Exposition.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ad: The Brookline Electrical Exposition" border="0" data-original-height="1986" data-original-width="1274" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlIMZ9wG_SIqGwQt6XmGnPG3uT-Cav3uW9uk3lAYHyr0Y70Fhb5qLOeU3NNTzIQK_LU65i_Fnh_zkFrpNk4iZ1uzsTWqvtJOtmpFAeK5L1paJsffBV-vncN5ie8qppw78FctXDI9U58AwaBKKNycpFY0Xea-wVxPnnhle9XJaQIPUxOHz6tGnZ3QENiDc/w256-h400/Brookline%20Electrical%20Exposition.png" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">February 2, 1924 (Click image for larger view)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>A highlight of the exhibition was a demonstration of an all-electric kitchen put on by the Modern Methods Kitchen, an organization headquartered on Boylston Street in Boston.</div><div><br /></div><blockquote><div>"The four women in charge [reported the <i>Chronicle</i>] duplicated as nearly as possible the work that is done in the Boylston Street Kitchen -- that is the education of women in the use of electrical appliances. They washed clothes in an electric washing machine and dried them in a drier that drove air through them so fast that in ten minutes they were dry and as sweet and white as if they had been hanging out of doors in a high wind. Then they put them in an ironing machine that smoothed out every wrinkle.</div></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote><p>"They baked biscuits and cakes on the electric range and served them with varied and delicious fillings with a cup of S.S. Pierce coffee made in an electric percolator or in a Silex percolator made entirely of glass." <br /></p></blockquote><div><br />The demonstration, reported the paper, also included waffles cooked on an electric waffle iron.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4LwToHosLfKFYKV6C3uGKnRWn_TtfGYzNesHRUQKBYEEWkOCY-8RbQuAiffsa-AFsk10BU0z5PtrARTVtd-AgHQjSuXCr1MhtT0NtoRDLZ-9zFhqn39NwFiz5ZMobG4ZQy6pms89SdC90t_x9oiF_7ZgiXtJUa3cFzYuarbl3hvrcj8_aqeKvTYuX-NC/s1784/Boylston%20Street%20Electric%20Kitchen.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1784" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4LwToHosLfKFYKV6C3uGKnRWn_TtfGYzNesHRUQKBYEEWkOCY-8RbQuAiffsa-AFsk10BU0z5PtrARTVtd-AgHQjSuXCr1MhtT0NtoRDLZ-9zFhqn39NwFiz5ZMobG4ZQy6pms89SdC90t_x9oiF_7ZgiXtJUa3cFzYuarbl3hvrcj8_aqeKvTYuX-NC/w400-h154/Boylston%20Street%20Electric%20Kitchen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These photos of the Modern Methods Kitchen in Boston appeared in the magazine <i>Electrical Merchandising</i> in July 1923. "Not until a Boston housewife has brought her favorite recipe and had it actually cooked at the 'Modern Methods Kitchen' is she really convinced that the electric range will do all that is claimed for it!" read the caption on one. (A similar photo appeared in the <i>Brookline Chronicle</i>.)<br />(Click image for larger view)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br />Despite that optimism, the electric kitchen did not really take off. Annual reports from Brookline's Supervisor of Wires and Lights reported no more than two dozen installations of electric ranges per year throughout the 1920s, while thousands of electric lights and outlets were being installed annually. </div><div><div><br /></div><div>(There were also a handful of installations of electric waffle irons, as well as a few electric doorbells, time clocks, and even a couple of permanent wave machines.)</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDufwNzrlt8Mi14Lo7Udpa8xVQB4AbYdnxNf7oYuIL5NEfOW0nazvk4Mh8pL6OGKD7IkJP_x9j9xWvDWFKuFogPXO6u9zhJXSEaGTDAzZWGJdP7N9Ng4LUoiHRz9TE9CVQo8jKBQOZF_wKfsydba6Hg-cCGCe4hpLOC0Rz1oPQGWCQxAnTyG7T0DuillHp/s1130/1924%20Wires%20and%20Lights.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1130" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDufwNzrlt8Mi14Lo7Udpa8xVQB4AbYdnxNf7oYuIL5NEfOW0nazvk4Mh8pL6OGKD7IkJP_x9j9xWvDWFKuFogPXO6u9zhJXSEaGTDAzZWGJdP7N9Ng4LUoiHRz9TE9CVQo8jKBQOZF_wKfsydba6Hg-cCGCe4hpLOC0Rz1oPQGWCQxAnTyG7T0DuillHp/w400-h236/1924%20Wires%20and%20Lights.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">from 1924 Town Report</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>1924 did prove to be a big year for electric applications in general in Massachusetts, in part due to the opening of a huge new electricity generating station serving the metropolitan region. That plant, on the Fore River in Weymouth, had a Brookline connection. </div><div><br /></div><div>The man behind its development was Brookline resident Charles L. Edgar of 259 Kent Street. An apprentice to Thomas Edison in the 1880s, he served as president of the Edison Electric Illuminating Co. in Boston from 1900 to his death in 1932.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-83215422495354376602024-01-31T13:26:00.011-05:002024-02-01T19:25:36.388-05:00Pages of the Past: Diaries of Two 19th Century Brookline Readers
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0Auvpcnfbm4-ItEAnrEk790Ee62iXAQzehg_AzgSVAKee4Yj1uEOFvQrsSi4x_U2_vEF0b873bOGiFHpE3wp6j0amJgM_7bWD27-gneW1_RtnsuSV7VEOBZq15qnp56uYqB66iW2sHxahMhGgIUYy1ZztTc1s2Vo3oKlWrQBRqdtVUeBl40-oDnkQaA3/s1022/Pages%20of%20the%20Past%20-%202-10-2024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="1022" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0Auvpcnfbm4-ItEAnrEk790Ee62iXAQzehg_AzgSVAKee4Yj1uEOFvQrsSi4x_U2_vEF0b873bOGiFHpE3wp6j0amJgM_7bWD27-gneW1_RtnsuSV7VEOBZq15qnp56uYqB66iW2sHxahMhGgIUYy1ZztTc1s2Vo3oKlWrQBRqdtVUeBl40-oDnkQaA3/w400-h225/Pages%20of%20the%20Past%20-%202-10-2024.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Step into the past and explore the lives of two 19th century Brookline women and the books they read. This presentation will take place at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum on Saturday, February 10th, from 12:30 to 2:00 pm.<br /><br /></p><p>Proceeds ($15 per person) help support the non-profit museum, which is hosting the event. <b><a href="https://laam.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/laam/eventRegistration.jsp?event=4897&">Register here</a></b>.</p><p><br />Mary Wild raised six children in her home on what is now Weybridge Road, where she lived from the 1820s to the 1850s. Adelaide Faxon lived nearby, on Linden Street, as a teenager in the 1850s. Both houses are still standing. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmTS0mc_Y3DsraoTawX-fYBp4XfFcQ4_JFwihwDc0ngCuPnU2S_h7VBQWokV9ZkMjShG438G2p08aggGnoN9dK1frVVtUlhobrb1Z_x_cKOkf03tppvjIJKisFMKFQLcOOcEoreD48JReFtCOvrAZDsxPRW_2P5tLbBT48jIfX-cB2MvnjRqXzZi6ivV3R/s2058/Wild%20and%20Faxon%20Homes.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="2058" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmTS0mc_Y3DsraoTawX-fYBp4XfFcQ4_JFwihwDc0ngCuPnU2S_h7VBQWokV9ZkMjShG438G2p08aggGnoN9dK1frVVtUlhobrb1Z_x_cKOkf03tppvjIJKisFMKFQLcOOcEoreD48JReFtCOvrAZDsxPRW_2P5tLbBT48jIfX-cB2MvnjRqXzZi6ivV3R/w400-h145/Wild%20and%20Faxon%20Homes.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 19th century homes of Mary Wild, left, and Adelaide Faxon, both still standing today.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>One thing they had in common is that both were avid readers who documented what they were reading. The Brookline Historical Society has painstakingly transcribed and annotated the diaries of these women, providing insights into the tapestry of life and society in Brookline during the 1850s.</p><p><br />This program offers a look at the books they read and what they tell us about mid-19th century literature and two people who made it a part of their lives.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmZ3QNZd9m0nDZWaAaF6gZztBKatLsSCcpJypshqi24chKMhL2XfmdZLJF8axhi8ZmBHRyw111XWJZPVS-Va_5wQ9TpS0z96NVruekvbMM9fDdu8hkOMRwvbHePZBZArz8V6bikf2EsBUo5M66B0L-RQ8m3tAk63PYdG4hVF5-vzt2Nx4IItT-rZiG-sg/s2556/Bulwer.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1870" data-original-width="2556" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmZ3QNZd9m0nDZWaAaF6gZztBKatLsSCcpJypshqi24chKMhL2XfmdZLJF8axhi8ZmBHRyw111XWJZPVS-Va_5wQ9TpS0z96NVruekvbMM9fDdu8hkOMRwvbHePZBZArz8V6bikf2EsBUo5M66B0L-RQ8m3tAk63PYdG4hVF5-vzt2Nx4IItT-rZiG-sg/w400-h293/Bulwer.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JMi9yS-SDlZCsNRAAUgAh-Gff2hecyaTycSZRxnfcw5qEw-vS2n-bGojRpw3belnGtB8I7XpaDih1LgN7hqS60LhTIrkNkq6Ex_ZVZHdGwYrK3yQd_ztKF6FVcS2KkLC3hzpW6v18BO8YjmdnX7I6VaOLbA6jMf-jpZ5EeEd42gmZ-4zhWUhQEPI7n9c/s1610/Little%20Savage.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1610" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JMi9yS-SDlZCsNRAAUgAh-Gff2hecyaTycSZRxnfcw5qEw-vS2n-bGojRpw3belnGtB8I7XpaDih1LgN7hqS60LhTIrkNkq6Ex_ZVZHdGwYrK3yQd_ztKF6FVcS2KkLC3hzpW6v18BO8YjmdnX7I6VaOLbA6jMf-jpZ5EeEd42gmZ-4zhWUhQEPI7n9c/w269-h400/Little%20Savage.jpg" width="269" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diary entries from Mary Wild, top, and Adelaide Faxon, about books they read.</td></tr></tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-27019889161622756382024-01-27T13:15:00.001-05:002024-01-27T13:36:06.606-05:00Brookline Take-Out a Century Ago<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NBPS_U50wceBtEQgoIiBYQZHngh7ickjENxE1GNKDJfAe90cUKWxuD7BNPMl3Av7ngg01EgNns3-e2IJ3-Z_SnFO-JchIbYGo25JhnHh1kNhsJrZ8jrtYmJrcHbiRsoeQz9nRj7hNOzjwAgqHEuGU07_BxHqi2mlZzdFQ11f4X_kPKMDTxoQG1TIAbFN/s1954/Community%20Service%20Kitchen%20ad%201920.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt=""Dine at Home or Dine With Us"" border="0" data-original-height="1954" data-original-width="1494" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0NBPS_U50wceBtEQgoIiBYQZHngh7ickjENxE1GNKDJfAe90cUKWxuD7BNPMl3Av7ngg01EgNns3-e2IJ3-Z_SnFO-JchIbYGo25JhnHh1kNhsJrZ8jrtYmJrcHbiRsoeQz9nRj7hNOzjwAgqHEuGU07_BxHqi2mlZzdFQ11f4X_kPKMDTxoQG1TIAbFN/w306-h400/Community%20Service%20Kitchen%20ad%201920.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Brookline Chronicle</i>, October 16, 1920<br />(Click image for larger view)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Most restaurants today offer take-out as well as dine-in options. That's been true for a long time. At the height of the pandemic, that was the <i>only</i> way restaurants could survive -- many did not -- and delivery services like GrubHub, DoorDash, and Uber Eats expanded their operations.</p><p><br />A century ago, take-out from restaurants was rare and delivery practically unheard of. But an unusual, though short-lived, Brookline business was ahead of its time.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOujPcAvrHjj_aEYo8ekp-HrKlimFTQPJNdA4zW2NANsFcwVtuBlBAT84DeU-wQLHTW6PhRyqbl60Qm_Piws8OT6_pmggBHyY6ENMVgWOvodKJIDKcHE-N3FYciWfJfh7UUm38kqfZ7D1A53eOvKJEbQz6h-ZlbvqN_Zj8sshRUO-oeB3DllS6KErF_EW/s896/Hot-Cooked%20Meals%20Delivered%20sign.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt=""Community Service Kitchen. Hot-Cooked Meals Delivered"" border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="896" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOujPcAvrHjj_aEYo8ekp-HrKlimFTQPJNdA4zW2NANsFcwVtuBlBAT84DeU-wQLHTW6PhRyqbl60Qm_Piws8OT6_pmggBHyY6ENMVgWOvodKJIDKcHE-N3FYciWfJfh7UUm38kqfZ7D1A53eOvKJEbQz6h-ZlbvqN_Zj8sshRUO-oeB3DllS6KErF_EW/w400-h198/Hot-Cooked%20Meals%20Delivered%20sign.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image credit: Massachusetts Historical Society</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>The Community Service Kitchen opened in the western half of a recently constructed commercial building at 1473-1475 Beacon Street in June 1919. Two months later, the business doubled in size, taking over the other half of the two-storefront building as well.</p><p></p><p><br />(I told last week how <a href="https://brooklinehistory.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-beacon-street-oddity.html">this unusual building</a> -- the only single-story structure and only commercial building on Beacon Street between Coolidge Corner and Washington Square -- came to be.)</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvUB3MVNnnlHqaLMcX1YyEpr_8hya2CFP0HhGrctIWU1EItVFM8MVpJSBsm0JRmtMdYKow-PGtxlrZTYpkWnFVvcdLQ_LDJlKJHRqQgr4tqXblnOCaHV9ChkW8fdGN09Nl8vCIdzwRfKG_uyxuYOwrAWrB0r3ECF0j-msSGp81r-9jZiP0VxSJIKtKYFf9/s1162/Roger%20Wheeler.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="744" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvUB3MVNnnlHqaLMcX1YyEpr_8hya2CFP0HhGrctIWU1EItVFM8MVpJSBsm0JRmtMdYKow-PGtxlrZTYpkWnFVvcdLQ_LDJlKJHRqQgr4tqXblnOCaHV9ChkW8fdGN09Nl8vCIdzwRfKG_uyxuYOwrAWrB0r3ECF0j-msSGp81r-9jZiP0VxSJIKtKYFf9/w128-h200/Roger%20Wheeler.jpg" width="128" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roger Wheeler in 1919</td></tr></tbody></table>The business was the brainchild of two young Newton brothers-in-law: Guy E. Wyatt and Roger A. Wheeler, both 23. Wyatt had been in the leather business. (He joked that he "knows the cow thoroughly, inside and out.") Wheeler had left Columbia University to serve in the ambulance corps in World War I. (He was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his role in rescuing wounded French soldiers while under fire.)<p></p><p><br />The name "Community Service Kitchen" may sound like the kind of "soup kitchen" that served those in need, especially during the Great Depression that began a few years later. But it was not like that. </p><p><br />Wyatt and Wheeler targeted middle- and upper-class women in Brookline, Newton, and the Back Bay.<br /><br /></p><blockquote><p>"Let us save you the trouble and expense of cooking a hot meal every afternoon, and make it possible for you to sit down in the evening with your own family in the privacy of your own dining room to a delicious, hot, home-cooked dinner," they said in an article in the <i>Brookline Chronicle</i>.</p></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote><p>"We can relieve you of the tiresome planning of meals, the trouble and labor of cooking them yourself, and make every afternoon the 'cook's day off' -- and we can do this at a lower cost to you than if you hire a cook at a present-day salary and give her board as well."</p></blockquote><p> <br />The meals were placed in aluminum containers "so constructed as to keep hot for several hours." (The article included a picture of the containers, shown below). </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOCWPiS9usEscT2o9ezGGO4kyd11joCVRjEsGbDp7X-Vy54akjiCZgUHB8GjtRrsUrNSDi7K1yF23eYnjbDy7fMJ79nUJUeQhOb9_VwLroYpUWdKVtPuzUH3kdwLX9D6DlNI9p0hcioH5b6fXIbyQyk0GscEyoebTCf_iDPTOEOYEeQ7vUpTQSacW7ESz/s1472/Special%20food%20containers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1164" data-original-width="1472" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOCWPiS9usEscT2o9ezGGO4kyd11joCVRjEsGbDp7X-Vy54akjiCZgUHB8GjtRrsUrNSDi7K1yF23eYnjbDy7fMJ79nUJUeQhOb9_VwLroYpUWdKVtPuzUH3kdwLX9D6DlNI9p0hcioH5b6fXIbyQyk0GscEyoebTCf_iDPTOEOYEeQ7vUpTQSacW7ESz/w400-h316/Special%20food%20containers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br />The food was delivered by automobile, and the empty containers were picked up the next morning.<p></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pJQspAlN4QDBUFyBaDlmZ_rVizy_OEfdduHQ4W3r1NCNUVD25jgievxjhSIrttkwGFM8YGYOfyzQyVgUNuo_feYMEjzRebgyu4M8bLRuPw0MIf5ZDbFircRYml8wFLCvKUE9__AkmYKV4JWvrIVr7QobGLtJVLdtVsAvQ64d9RFOE_Tnv-R81kBVUH9k/s2282/Community%20Service%20Kitchen%20trucks.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="2282" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pJQspAlN4QDBUFyBaDlmZ_rVizy_OEfdduHQ4W3r1NCNUVD25jgievxjhSIrttkwGFM8YGYOfyzQyVgUNuo_feYMEjzRebgyu4M8bLRuPw0MIf5ZDbFircRYml8wFLCvKUE9__AkmYKV4JWvrIVr7QobGLtJVLdtVsAvQ64d9RFOE_Tnv-R81kBVUH9k/w400-h208/Community%20Service%20Kitchen%20trucks.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two delivery vehicles of the Community Service Kitchen, their backs against the curb, are seen in front of the store in this photo. (Click image for a larger view). <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image credit: Massachusetts Historical Society</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><blockquote><p>"Every housewife can readily see the value of this service," wrote Wyatt and Wheeler. "No standing over a hot range all the afternoon; no worry about keeping the dinner hot and tasty, if Husband happens to come home a little later than usual; and, best of all, no greasy pots and pans to wash after dinner."<br /></p></blockquote><p><br />Pricing varied depending on how many meals were ordered in a week. Customers ordering meals less than four days a week paid the "casual rate": $1.25 per plate for weekday dinner; $1 per plate for weekday supper; $1.50 per plate for Sunday dinner. Customers placing orders for four or more days a week paid a discounted "regular rate."</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj01SjN-XFYkEYX4WFR0FvYWPEuvnAi0eJzs0HfhJdZk380giofVH0NSg0Uth5MOGF5uh-XghhPwGTSBzmf7yE2nZTzQdiHUJds_raEm90ngFyPrr3Z2b5IW27mpTLdSzHuZ3Bph59m0UYskdTsbBjU2Ucb_WrET_S26DGCm5FK3RCZsLBMvDYNsVerbdZ/s794/Community%20Service%20Kitchen%20menu.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt=""Delivered hot at your dinner hour"" border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="782" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj01SjN-XFYkEYX4WFR0FvYWPEuvnAi0eJzs0HfhJdZk380giofVH0NSg0Uth5MOGF5uh-XghhPwGTSBzmf7yE2nZTzQdiHUJds_raEm90ngFyPrr3Z2b5IW27mpTLdSzHuZ3Bph59m0UYskdTsbBjU2Ucb_WrET_S26DGCm5FK3RCZsLBMvDYNsVerbdZ/w394-h400/Community%20Service%20Kitchen%20menu.jpg" width="394" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This example of a daily dinner menu from the Community Service Kitchen appeared in the <i>Boston Herald</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br />The Community Service Kitchen was taken over in the fall of1923 by the Maddalena family who continued to operate it until 1926.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtZrK3-SqoHMIZLnr06ffhJ9NQaMKi53Y89hK1_Fibe7KdpiG1hw1KTKCTrv5QNn8wGUPYZo4ltlWimAOxbt_KjL_ryD24XMb2rXJjxxSlzrTPt2GS1OPAQhELtwZCCA2kjNzk9PWiBWIFIws8AE6aYuA08ow2u8EqIfhpQYnsgjU_j8YwATEJyLSdSZP/s1708/Community%20Service%20Kitchen%20-%20Maddalena.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt=""Your Thanksgiving dinner. Prepared -- Delivered piping hot"" border="0" data-original-height="1708" data-original-width="1346" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtZrK3-SqoHMIZLnr06ffhJ9NQaMKi53Y89hK1_Fibe7KdpiG1hw1KTKCTrv5QNn8wGUPYZo4ltlWimAOxbt_KjL_ryD24XMb2rXJjxxSlzrTPt2GS1OPAQhELtwZCCA2kjNzk9PWiBWIFIws8AE6aYuA08ow2u8EqIfhpQYnsgjU_j8YwATEJyLSdSZP/w315-h400/Community%20Service%20Kitchen%20-%20Maddalena.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Brookline Chronicle</i>, November 10, 1923</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg054QRJj41uy6ffD6Y2yZ7ON_m2sRF2feaewo6sgSdMIIdwcl2la8VAxA6s_5oxVFInt5GR2cA7NblNV8we-cPAgal9BY3hOc_RTi1fp7KDimQYJ0Lhs1dF3CHfnz7pMyON9R6a_SG42DcTqhURwp4wtjYYnmivylstFty-e44eiBAppeLOI_ljSilm7K/s1558/Maddalena%20Bros.%20ad%201924.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Maddalena Bros. Caterers. Wedding Receptions. Afternoon Teas. Two Deliveries Daily" border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="1558" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg054QRJj41uy6ffD6Y2yZ7ON_m2sRF2feaewo6sgSdMIIdwcl2la8VAxA6s_5oxVFInt5GR2cA7NblNV8we-cPAgal9BY3hOc_RTi1fp7KDimQYJ0Lhs1dF3CHfnz7pMyON9R6a_SG42DcTqhURwp4wtjYYnmivylstFty-e44eiBAppeLOI_ljSilm7K/w400-h258/Maddalena%20Bros.%20ad%201924.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Brookline Chronicle</i>, May 22, 1924</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Other businesses followed, as outlined in last week's article, with carpet and rug stores occupying part or all of the space for more than 80 years. It has been home to a childcare center since the 2010s.<br /> </p><p>Wyatt and Wheeler, the founders of the Community Service Kitchen, pursued other careers after that early business venture. Wyatt got into public relations and government service. He was director of field service for the U.S. Department of Commerce in the 1950s. He died in 1964 at the age of 68. Wheeler became a writer and teacher who wrote plays for radio and local theater and hosted a radio program on WEEI. He was 61 when he died in 1956.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-63719385472753052002024-01-21T08:41:00.008-05:002024-01-21T11:45:01.843-05:00A Beacon Street OddityThere is an unusual building on the south side of Beacon Street, just across from the inbound Brandon Hall stop on the MBTA Green Line. It's not particularly noteworthy architecturally. In fact, part of what makes the building stick out is its <i style="text-align: left;">lack</i><span style="text-align: left;"> of notable architecture.<br /><br /></span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMuVZ5Zi2fIlK-a6gGr6znnfE7c6ljZ7Ux6zGtQsBwZVUlk4DHwfL2-nfCSwyQ6C0DgWfjwD1aDi0jVEwe3HURKVmSC4ofR5BYzjFr-z_t8HVaRIFJgXSlF3bXKhyphenhypheneXWBqBSUK50369sP20X2WW712_SINlWWdfmEs-9qfQ5-sY-zcRUVms7ToaYcsfkZ/s1331/1473%20Beacon%20intro.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="1473-1475 Beacon Street today" border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1331" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMuVZ5Zi2fIlK-a6gGr6znnfE7c6ljZ7Ux6zGtQsBwZVUlk4DHwfL2-nfCSwyQ6C0DgWfjwD1aDi0jVEwe3HURKVmSC4ofR5BYzjFr-z_t8HVaRIFJgXSlF3bXKhyphenhypheneXWBqBSUK50369sP20X2WW712_SINlWWdfmEs-9qfQ5-sY-zcRUVms7ToaYcsfkZ/w400-h228/1473%20Beacon%20intro.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><p><br />The small, plain, single-story storefront (1473-1475 Beacon Street) is the only one-story building and only strictly commercial building on Beacon Street between the Coolidge Corner and Washington Square commercial districts. It does stick out <i>literally</i>, extending several feet further toward the street than its taller neighbors.<br /><br /></p><p>This nondescript building, currently occupied by the School is Cool Academy, a childcare center, may be easy to overlook today. But it certainly wasn't when it was built, in 1915. In fact, it caused quite the furor in Brookline at the time.<br /><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdiatuuA7z18yYaMhtpgqGFTClITYjeqU1lDpbpjrbNNIRgunoPQclyV-i1Eee8gCPQNGfdIzakgJUbhno21BavxKn_nsqHq03MBG5TtfSODJLDrG8Obuc06QWgvS0MbnHV5U8x4PbzmpMP4SJIU9wzeo1ASjBNhNuCeEC8m0EUUA8PzQybQLNSnDE3Lw/s1484/First%20Blemish%20on%20Beacon%20Street%201915.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt=""First Blemish on Beacon Street" headline" border="0" data-original-height="1192" data-original-width="1484" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqdiatuuA7z18yYaMhtpgqGFTClITYjeqU1lDpbpjrbNNIRgunoPQclyV-i1Eee8gCPQNGfdIzakgJUbhno21BavxKn_nsqHq03MBG5TtfSODJLDrG8Obuc06QWgvS0MbnHV5U8x4PbzmpMP4SJIU9wzeo1ASjBNhNuCeEC8m0EUUA8PzQybQLNSnDE3Lw/w400-h321/First%20Blemish%20on%20Beacon%20Street%201915.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headline and image from an article in the <i>Boston Transcript</i> on May 26, 1915</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><blockquote><p>"The building, jutting out from the others, like a sore thumb, not only completely destroys the symmetry of the street," reported the <i>Boston Transcript</i>, "but is regarded by competent real estate men as of serious effect on property values on either side."</p></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote><p>"Nearly everybody who passed this spot by foot or by car," continued the paper, "has wondered how it was possible for the builder to work with such utter disregard for long-standing conditions and with such lack of respect for the dignity and beauty of one of the most excellent home sections of Brookline."<br /> </p></blockquote><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5T-pld4T-pn6TXRpnugeX549yf4R-UjXkb0eDQsSzQenBODU16WdV4YYPwNw2tCpDqKtdkFihbRIFCJKe6WQOGztwaj4owhf9chNRUatRxBzDaqnQxASKWexhSXe3dFDt9IvtRwDQK3UPFpfGrW0hKpuR5kR3ZQzRc10K4XmgCA1tbmbTiFpY5OOTmbyG/s1932/1473-1475%20Beacon,%20%20c1920.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Streei view from the early 1920s" border="0" data-original-height="1520" data-original-width="1932" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5T-pld4T-pn6TXRpnugeX549yf4R-UjXkb0eDQsSzQenBODU16WdV4YYPwNw2tCpDqKtdkFihbRIFCJKe6WQOGztwaj4owhf9chNRUatRxBzDaqnQxASKWexhSXe3dFDt9IvtRwDQK3UPFpfGrW0hKpuR5kR3ZQzRc10K4XmgCA1tbmbTiFpY5OOTmbyG/w400-h315/1473-1475%20Beacon,%20%20c1920.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The building at 1473-1475 Beacon Street a few years afters its construction</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The developer, H. Bertram Finer, had built several residential and commercial buildings in Brookline. When he bought this undeveloped property, a narrow alleyway between two of the apartment buildings, his intent was to construct a three-story apartment building. That would fit in well with the apartment buildings on either side of it, five to the east and two to the west, all built between 1897 and 1903. </p><p><br />Restrictions imposed on the site by the town and the difficulty of building at the back, where the plot sloped toward todays' Griggs Park, led to a change of plans. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3v8beolsVcMCJe8W-x-dG86lOxbqVnKiQz5FdHr61-3AycNMVjHmDLX2IMLuQY4o2PmaicieWRd3U-jdvOCeQr9DgueOCtT90att81efK39NgT0Zbg12EOUL-tr7IWMyXx6aSDF-tKY0GhM-Fx34pC7aSA9eaXwHSuC3P95cZlO89XwJGieIQGmF6dPgz/s2034/1473-1475%20Beacon%20maps.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="1913 and 1919 maps" border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="2034" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3v8beolsVcMCJe8W-x-dG86lOxbqVnKiQz5FdHr61-3AycNMVjHmDLX2IMLuQY4o2PmaicieWRd3U-jdvOCeQr9DgueOCtT90att81efK39NgT0Zbg12EOUL-tr7IWMyXx6aSDF-tKY0GhM-Fx34pC7aSA9eaXwHSuC3P95cZlO89XwJGieIQGmF6dPgz/w400-h158/1473-1475%20Beacon%20maps.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These maps, from 1913 and 1919, show the empty alley and then the new building at 1473-1475 sticking further out on the sidewalk than the other buildings in the block. (The two sides of Beacon Street are at the top of the map, with the black and white lines representing the streetcar tracks.)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Finer, as well as the Board of Selectman that had approved his new plan, came under attack from other Beacon Street property owners. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbGF5YCCe0pwc0sRemAg0n2wlOVOEEmd7ThDSatQqJwlfqR-0UiQrg4MRVpweShtP0ZQ7PAEiDfuPpHr9hjzr5EMBUT64Xd0RdrM5IG2_ElOWl_WVGgUUX3GP-A_eFCgKTdBD6ztaBz7YHEj5o4tRoiAF3dWf74J9VdmwLlyURh3JEY9-YFYW7oGbibt-X/s2182/1473-1475%20headline.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Headlines: "Angry at the Selectmen" and "Finer Anxious to Sell"" border="0" data-original-height="1074" data-original-width="2182" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbGF5YCCe0pwc0sRemAg0n2wlOVOEEmd7ThDSatQqJwlfqR-0UiQrg4MRVpweShtP0ZQ7PAEiDfuPpHr9hjzr5EMBUT64Xd0RdrM5IG2_ElOWl_WVGgUUX3GP-A_eFCgKTdBD6ztaBz7YHEj5o4tRoiAF3dWf74J9VdmwLlyURh3JEY9-YFYW7oGbibt-X/w400-h198/1473-1475%20headline.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headlines in the <i>Boston Transcript on</i> May 31 (left) and June 4, 1915</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Finer was surprised. </p><blockquote><p>"I have never been accused of erecting cheap buildings until the present time," he told the <i>Boston Transcript</i>. "I don't like the accusation. In erecting the one-story building I had no idea of outraging the feelings of the abutters or anybody else who thinks of the city beautiful. If there is any way I can wash my hands of the whole thing. I am anxious to do it."</p></blockquote><br />But the building remained -- and remains today -- an anomaly in this otherwise residential stretch of Beacon Street. Early tenants -- there were two storefronts, later combined into one -- included a plumbing and heating contractor and an upholsterer/interior decorator. </div><div><br /></div><div>There were a number of food-related businesses in the 1920s and 1930s, including an unusual (for its time) restaurant called the Community Service Kitchen that offered home-delivery of hot meals in special containers. (That's an interesting story that I'll cover in a separate post next week.)</div><div><br />But for most of its history, the building has been home to rug stores. Brookline Oriental Rugs and, later, Fine Art Rugs occupied all or part of the space from the late 1920s to the early 2010s when it was taken over by the School is Cool childcare center. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOF-Nwry7CodPTTeh_m_gGrxFNTfsSgG5QgTucovNXnmmwPiO2LpRtlTeiMWMqH5nYp4HYSm8d-Lwq5aTLCXVJVDOYIRbpj16vv4PU3hlXsEo42SPk1CnmLaeu5g2uS1xuIr4zr4cv4_IEBV9xEdvTKjDNNkqdI78lRse0BCr4mO-1n5Dxx0OFZTfz3Z-P/s1284/1473-1475%20Beacon,%20%20c1920%20closeup.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="c1920 view" border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1284" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOF-Nwry7CodPTTeh_m_gGrxFNTfsSgG5QgTucovNXnmmwPiO2LpRtlTeiMWMqH5nYp4HYSm8d-Lwq5aTLCXVJVDOYIRbpj16vv4PU3hlXsEo42SPk1CnmLaeu5g2uS1xuIr4zr4cv4_IEBV9xEdvTKjDNNkqdI78lRse0BCr4mO-1n5Dxx0OFZTfz3Z-P/w400-h279/1473-1475%20Beacon,%20%20c1920%20closeup.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Community Service Kitchen, an eat-in and delivery restaurant, c1920.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYBEgQzfRSWyRpSweE1d7QZZzi9lSLamp_rdx0iVILrJgo1LMUnqxsBE8am4GX_Bga7Ukna3CFRull4hr1HIPwYgT_LuLsowQ7NVHoXM_vp8OoGZahxOCsRnZ-StATOzteaA5E0hYC64Zx_jYhlAAPETtpgEL7e3mytABL2OZ86qTt_eBMFZWfgCQDBJn/s1634/Brandon%20Spa%201.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="1930s view" border="0" data-original-height="1014" data-original-width="1634" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguYBEgQzfRSWyRpSweE1d7QZZzi9lSLamp_rdx0iVILrJgo1LMUnqxsBE8am4GX_Bga7Ukna3CFRull4hr1HIPwYgT_LuLsowQ7NVHoXM_vp8OoGZahxOCsRnZ-StATOzteaA5E0hYC64Zx_jYhlAAPETtpgEL7e3mytABL2OZ86qTt_eBMFZWfgCQDBJn/w400-h249/Brandon%20Spa%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Brand Spa, an ice cream shop, delicatessen, and convenience store in the 1930s. 1473 and 1475 Beacon Street had been combined into one store by this time, but the original separate entrances are clearly visible at left and right.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp4LL1vKzcV1CnzOGvjILWgwriyZjQXyjgq12UXsetBYtWjdAKRXBH-7L0woF-sOXpzkfMN2TYChoXJoVwfC_pBZL-S4M_fyiYYdwiZJpb1SdI4E7b5saZyvD-eUOOtA1JD9nONKHcRo0O8u8vUqSvy-9Q6XSF5SZZ9kBlKkiwvGgSF7h7kpK8DC797uTE/s1904/Brookline%20Oriental%20Rugs.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="1951 view" border="0" data-original-height="1638" data-original-width="1904" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp4LL1vKzcV1CnzOGvjILWgwriyZjQXyjgq12UXsetBYtWjdAKRXBH-7L0woF-sOXpzkfMN2TYChoXJoVwfC_pBZL-S4M_fyiYYdwiZJpb1SdI4E7b5saZyvD-eUOOtA1JD9nONKHcRo0O8u8vUqSvy-9Q6XSF5SZZ9kBlKkiwvGgSF7h7kpK8DC797uTE/w400-h344/Brookline%20Oriental%20Rugs.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This image from a 1951 ad for the Brookline Oriental Rug Co. shows the then newly installed angled entrance that is still in place today.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4liYtUOZmuT-VqglIy-mKz8vXlem8j8kooWNi6R85W-zcpa9bZWmzUFluUrVcyn3KPuKo4acFQ9kelykWGsycA0hz29gNfoi4Hj3Iec5uiO_l65DzoX18X6p4tpBlseIhvaBIQ0XNqQkJWcDeKBWc8EYgUAshw2FeJoaH_7y2nXSfuW3s8yUUUuENODjM/s1790/Fine%20Arts%20Rug.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="2010 view" border="0" data-original-height="1372" data-original-width="1790" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4liYtUOZmuT-VqglIy-mKz8vXlem8j8kooWNi6R85W-zcpa9bZWmzUFluUrVcyn3KPuKo4acFQ9kelykWGsycA0hz29gNfoi4Hj3Iec5uiO_l65DzoX18X6p4tpBlseIhvaBIQ0XNqQkJWcDeKBWc8EYgUAshw2FeJoaH_7y2nXSfuW3s8yUUUuENODjM/w400-h306/Fine%20Arts%20Rug.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fine Arts Rug as seen in Google Street View in 2010, shortly before the space was taken over by the School is Cool Academy</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRn0a3hIivz8UkG9deBwyI_b8MhVFEii9siUJixMyAaIdMA3wyEtR19AMpALLpM8cEPsgSkUcxTUSP-BDA9-G9P5HRewWmfrAYnUCgXARPXU76B4tVcdXXiqT0yr2MfSrvHzrg-PAZ5z_yFanQQKCUUaJRkrshr1UzPKVHiPHpVeS4IuejMk-e0lFO0M5i/s865/School%20is%20Cool%20Academy%20closeup.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="2024 view" border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="865" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRn0a3hIivz8UkG9deBwyI_b8MhVFEii9siUJixMyAaIdMA3wyEtR19AMpALLpM8cEPsgSkUcxTUSP-BDA9-G9P5HRewWmfrAYnUCgXARPXU76B4tVcdXXiqT0yr2MfSrvHzrg-PAZ5z_yFanQQKCUUaJRkrshr1UzPKVHiPHpVeS4IuejMk-e0lFO0M5i/w400-h220/School%20is%20Cool%20Academy%20closeup.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">School is Cool Academy in 2024</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-53076208123249891372024-01-04T07:14:00.005-05:002024-01-04T14:21:21.572-05:00Cats and Dogs (and Horses and Cows, Too)<p style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4rOk2Dmw9WFqC6HTOdTvxochMUDNfj20ELbCxHrXJYC9_6-k0tLDDmMgHMJOKCEQpiO88xMz3-Tssy0cXPFbjdXkJeQg2hP6ISfKYPBDKu8AsVBQVWdLhvhRdHutIPm5Ok9Yn8fwK6MG6pfdlsEOUea-vPE0JfqJ-EaqE3JxBrti8kWRtccmRWEiHOza/s1546/BAH2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1546" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4rOk2Dmw9WFqC6HTOdTvxochMUDNfj20ELbCxHrXJYC9_6-k0tLDDmMgHMJOKCEQpiO88xMz3-Tssy0cXPFbjdXkJeQg2hP6ISfKYPBDKu8AsVBQVWdLhvhRdHutIPm5Ok9Yn8fwK6MG6pfdlsEOUea-vPE0JfqJ-EaqE3JxBrti8kWRtccmRWEiHOza/w400-h268/BAH2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An early advertisement for what is now the VCA Brookline Animal Hospital</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>You might say 2023 went to the dogs in Brookline. And the cats and the gerbils and the guinea pigs and …. you name it.<br /><br /></p><p>Two new (to Brookline) veterinary clinics – Boston Veterinary and Small Door – opened branches in former retail spaces in Coolidge Corner; one at the corner of Beacon and Pleasant Streets and the other on Harvard Street next to Otto Pizza. <br /><br /></p><p>But also on the move in 2023 was a veterinary clinic that's hardly a newcomer to town. It's the Brookline Animal Hospital, which began on Boylston Street in 1909, in the building that's now the restaurant La Morra.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPR97OAffHrB5Zgj5keE3u0NG2srNz5ZUp9DioVsxuAlI-AQ1KDlDT7i2OReBL4plGmUWjTR4FYWAlOqYcJ4-lUiXQv8FcEnl4PAryY1hpsjmcDCMaBhbnvu1dxgg2BprgzhhcMQ3OIQ2o8RMwQloSyxD8rhSB2GQAsHn_TvU0J-3QxEC33SFoqNbNKies/s1196/48%20Boylston,%20Open%20Sesame.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1196" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPR97OAffHrB5Zgj5keE3u0NG2srNz5ZUp9DioVsxuAlI-AQ1KDlDT7i2OReBL4plGmUWjTR4FYWAlOqYcJ4-lUiXQv8FcEnl4PAryY1hpsjmcDCMaBhbnvu1dxgg2BprgzhhcMQ3OIQ2o8RMwQloSyxD8rhSB2GQAsHn_TvU0J-3QxEC33SFoqNbNKies/w400-h296/48%20Boylston,%20Open%20Sesame.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">46-48 Boylston Street in the 1980s. Vacant at the time the picture was taken, it had most recently been a restaurant called Open Sesame. The building has been La Morra since 2003</td></tr></tbody></table><h4>Brookline Animal Hospital's Beginnings</h4><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRdV6_MEVWcxBKlsTDj10VC_kCB_gFeGvfXWnXe6DteCElaJuT1lJtbn54EeFppOQlEXb45lwH3HrG1-vXk3BFYzmcjGZftU5S00kJE3DGfS8ApXrTZxcGqr-qHQyLagkZwpXJsUSE9H5IugXREVuWS4CjVZolLPkoGrYgru2eOBeR-I5MUdUmQ5qZx3P/s1774/BAH%201.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="1774" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRdV6_MEVWcxBKlsTDj10VC_kCB_gFeGvfXWnXe6DteCElaJuT1lJtbn54EeFppOQlEXb45lwH3HrG1-vXk3BFYzmcjGZftU5S00kJE3DGfS8ApXrTZxcGqr-qHQyLagkZwpXJsUSE9H5IugXREVuWS4CjVZolLPkoGrYgru2eOBeR-I5MUdUmQ5qZx3P/w400-h84/BAH%201.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This ad announcing the new animal hospital appeared in the Brookline Chronicle on Christmas Day, 1909. The second address shown, 8 Boylston Street, was in a nearby stable where the vets apparently saw patients.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Articles in the <i>Brookline Press </i>and the <i>Brookline Chronicle </i>from the year the hospital opened provide a detailed description. The hospital, wrote the <i>Press</i>, "is not only a model of neatness, but one of the most commodious and finely equipped in this region."</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>"There are in the hospital private rooms for cats and dogs, and one large and roomy ward where there are five ways of caring for these animals."<br /><br /></p></blockquote>In addition, continued the article,<br /><br /><blockquote><div>"proper provisions have been made for all surgical operations and treatment of horses and cattle where conditions at the owners' premises are unfavorable. . . The runs, indoor and outdoor, for the exercise of animals are most complete." </div></blockquote><p><br />The veterinarians running the hospital were Edward T. Ryan and Jesse F. Humphreville, both graduates of the veterinary school at the University of Pennsylvania. Humphreville left to open his own practice in Waltham in 1916 or 1917, but Ryan -- and later his son Edward Jr. -- ran what was then called the Brookline Hospital for Animals for 65 years, until the younger Ryan's death in 1974.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDq_o6s1ZFfIM4n-lWx7ZfdXUybw_4eVn5GFk89HwamWYZOCHxxpQIfcstNYongSmjSbAWb03aCBjfDijg1Czwt3QNfBaWXk3SXo_0ynMnuFx6CBhAAwGVGSOcClK0okAGMEyiNueEGi_VWlNjZbdl8WmMrIWcATBDYLTaKhqpryTtRd9_6ecy9ZXBgF5/s972/Edward%20T.%20Ryan%20Sr.%20and%20Jr..jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="972" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDq_o6s1ZFfIM4n-lWx7ZfdXUybw_4eVn5GFk89HwamWYZOCHxxpQIfcstNYongSmjSbAWb03aCBjfDijg1Czwt3QNfBaWXk3SXo_0ynMnuFx6CBhAAwGVGSOcClK0okAGMEyiNueEGi_VWlNjZbdl8WmMrIWcATBDYLTaKhqpryTtRd9_6ecy9ZXBgF5/w400-h251/Edward%20T.%20Ryan%20Sr.%20and%20Jr..jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edward T. Ryan, Sr. (1882-1946) and Edward T. Ryan, Jr. (1916-1974) in their yearbook photos from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>In 1913, the elder Ryan moved his hospital to a new commercial building, known as Chase's Block, at the corner of lower Washington Street and Pearl Street. He would remain there for eight years. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFMQz3aTTznwvEwRPDk2Lje8ef2tPERIUrN87yAhB6tBFvSkt_hnYyx4KaCKnusTYgl9NZasJ1V9LFxoVdkKumj_JyEheBHZ9h9h1vR64LAnaBE_ENZWmNet4EeiwEZTlYii2n5cgztwXnaacJKVoqOIfZx1a5Zak53LCwGK_CnZ4YPVFyPugul_cWCiT/s1024/Chase's%20Block%20under%20construction.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1024" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFMQz3aTTznwvEwRPDk2Lje8ef2tPERIUrN87yAhB6tBFvSkt_hnYyx4KaCKnusTYgl9NZasJ1V9LFxoVdkKumj_JyEheBHZ9h9h1vR64LAnaBE_ENZWmNet4EeiwEZTlYii2n5cgztwXnaacJKVoqOIfZx1a5Zak53LCwGK_CnZ4YPVFyPugul_cWCiT/w400-h306/Chase's%20Block%20under%20construction.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chase's Block under construction in 1912. The building was torn down in 2015 and replaced by a new multistory office building. It had been home in more recent years to such restaurants as Bertucci's, Skipjack's, and New England Soup Kitchen.</td></tr></tbody></table><h4>The Move to Winchester and Coolidge Streets </h4><p>In 1919, Ryan and his wife, Julia, bought the house at 143 Winchester Street, at the corner of Coolidge Street, and an adjacent Coolidge Street carriage barn. In 1921 they moved the veterinary practice into the former carriage barn next to their new home.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3nShMnQ0BR4c6PlbAeemI8r-PhzqwDftug2hHMVFfVvD3h2g9qBX4rIUvh_l58yQ3oTlVapZQnLnjVtgQGYTJZcNMlloqFCFSqWA9yrlLOMRJohbiPwnYppvE26HcDZfsOEUcjLLcH4taQR2Hwsd04RAXe-BKnMIbVrsUtEQAuCbJ_mrOMN12HPJbOljJ/s2278/143%20Winchester%20Street.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="2278" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3nShMnQ0BR4c6PlbAeemI8r-PhzqwDftug2hHMVFfVvD3h2g9qBX4rIUvh_l58yQ3oTlVapZQnLnjVtgQGYTJZcNMlloqFCFSqWA9yrlLOMRJohbiPwnYppvE26HcDZfsOEUcjLLcH4taQR2Hwsd04RAXe-BKnMIbVrsUtEQAuCbJ_mrOMN12HPJbOljJ/w400-h184/143%20Winchester%20Street.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">143 Winchester Street today</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2apZ0R7CyINoj9Rtpg3DKhspew_tm6ePinHug_6K7D1nVB7GN4DZ6zjUcXMM96C7PdLlaL27PHpsyWFPvGY8XaRUBNkbD2snarvtrXc_SHpm1CU5ByCejE9znvXIhmxdvUqWbSQQkY1XVCyHe3BbNT3dI4gxfH0I_y97nR6vcJkEOGqxcO6WsgiV95WZM/s1552/BAH%201921.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="1552" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2apZ0R7CyINoj9Rtpg3DKhspew_tm6ePinHug_6K7D1nVB7GN4DZ6zjUcXMM96C7PdLlaL27PHpsyWFPvGY8XaRUBNkbD2snarvtrXc_SHpm1CU5ByCejE9znvXIhmxdvUqWbSQQkY1XVCyHe3BbNT3dI4gxfH0I_y97nR6vcJkEOGqxcO6WsgiV95WZM/w400-h88/BAH%201921.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Brookline Chronicle</i>, October 1, 1921</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>During World War II, the older Ryan served as a supply officer stationed at Fort Devens and elsewhere. He became ill during that time and died in 1946. His son, Edward, earned his own degree in veterinary medicine in 1943 and took over the practice.</p><p><br />Edward Ryan, Jr., who was 27 when he got his veterinary license and succeeded his father, continued to run the hospital until his death in 1974. He no longer lived in Brookline after his marriage in 1948, though his mother, Julia, continued to live in the house next to the hospital. A hospital employee lived there after her death in 1954.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Trouble with Neighbors</h4><p>Ryan had trouble with the neighbors in the 1960s, facing complaints about "barking and vicious disposition of the dogs." (The local newspaper found the whole kerfuffle amusing, with headlines like "Barks bite neighbors" and stories about neighbors' complaints being "muzzled" when not enough of them showed up at a hearing.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKNbUj4cE0PsuUBL3YaPiczP-7kxfi-3F2fMiC44qOHwx1we_IM8Q300T_zv4A03EtVe10yNQndHL16FCZkuECExI1cHoLUsTRehI08JzivaNivbVC5AbzwQdKhUfK7gFwvQ9QL_Yt9qQ_NYyWF1KjjNor9Z73FYiROdjfs7xXqph7Bq5SuFky2AbLv0R/s1116/A%20Little%20Night%20Music.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="1116" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaKNbUj4cE0PsuUBL3YaPiczP-7kxfi-3F2fMiC44qOHwx1we_IM8Q300T_zv4A03EtVe10yNQndHL16FCZkuECExI1cHoLUsTRehI08JzivaNivbVC5AbzwQdKhUfK7gFwvQ9QL_Yt9qQ_NYyWF1KjjNor9Z73FYiROdjfs7xXqph7Bq5SuFky2AbLv0R/w400-h299/A%20Little%20Night%20Music.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This article about a hearing on the Brookline Hospital for Animals appeared in the <i>Boston Globe</i> in 1966.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>In 1976, Dr. Rodney Poling, a veterinarian who had come to Boston for an internship at Angel Memorial Hospital, bought the practice from Edward Ryan, Jr.'s widow. Poling, who grew up on a cattle and hog farm in Ohio, received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Ohio State University in 1973.</p><p><br />I spoke with Poling, now a vet in Texas. The hospital, he told me, had equipment in it from the Ryans' long tenure on the site, even including a horse stall and a cow stanchion in the basement. (A cow farm on Corey Hill had, at one time, been the Ryans' biggest customer, he said.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPsbx6RdGA3uQnooIL73FoAA3IJXwwv4ealSwsTAL_CEZO4x6vVdmDM-exs275GXH5ramcE9lk9kwyicQGe-u0jMWkGQH3ncKupjADYe5kdLhDcZo0xXc61dNaoA_vzRPu4sIey9YTUNu6wuUW56y5kGa4fJ9hejboNUi7WhJ2imARo34-rjVHKY4Qjvn/s948/BAH%201980%20ad.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="948" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPsbx6RdGA3uQnooIL73FoAA3IJXwwv4ealSwsTAL_CEZO4x6vVdmDM-exs275GXH5ramcE9lk9kwyicQGe-u0jMWkGQH3ncKupjADYe5kdLhDcZo0xXc61dNaoA_vzRPu4sIey9YTUNu6wuUW56y5kGa4fJ9hejboNUi7WhJ2imARo34-rjVHKY4Qjvn/w400-h235/BAH%201980%20ad.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1980 advertisement for the Brookline Animal Hospital</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Four years after taking ownership of the hospital, Poling decided to move his growing practice, which he had renamed the Brookline Animal Hospital, to Boylston Street. His plans drew support from some neighbors but vehement opposition from others. Poling modified the plans and, in July 1981, bought the proposed site -- 370-376 Boylston, on the south side of the street -- for $200,000.</p><p><br />Further debate, downsizing of the original plans, and additional modifications continued for two years before Poling gave up and decided to move his practice elsewhere. "It was their contention that it would be a dirty, stinking place," Poling told the <i>Brookline Chronicle Citizen</i>. "I don't think they gave us a fair chance."<br /></p><p><br />Ironically, the location the hospital moved to in 2023 is directly across Boylston Street from the location that Poling was prevented from moving to in the 1980s. (The building on Coolidge Street that had been the hospital was torn down and replaced by a new house. The adjacent house on Winchester Street, now a two-family home, remains.)</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">The Move to Brookline Avenue</h4><p>In 1983, Poling purchased the former Back Bay Welding Co. building on Brookline Avenue, near the intersection with lower Washington Street. In March 1984, the hospital moved to its new quarters, where it would remain for 39 years.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyEkGMj9YZIkrgBFlQnYJMBepglwAdOtv_EZpJVCmYm1qx8p3XyV7GpSln6ff-COGJBPFAtMVdHl9abSTPCI83d6r7XH4qURkiKcQfAzfLPFKYuGo3bQduZMBCSxgQ0bY_ZIxyFkNi77wKEz8i3hJCnVYi1f6NgioASwxwuv0myGGEbw964gtjZ2iu82q0/s1294/BAH%20on%20Brookline%20Avenue,%20Sept%202023-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="1294" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyEkGMj9YZIkrgBFlQnYJMBepglwAdOtv_EZpJVCmYm1qx8p3XyV7GpSln6ff-COGJBPFAtMVdHl9abSTPCI83d6r7XH4qURkiKcQfAzfLPFKYuGo3bQduZMBCSxgQ0bY_ZIxyFkNi77wKEz8i3hJCnVYi1f6NgioASwxwuv0myGGEbw964gtjZ2iu82q0/w400-h204/BAH%20on%20Brookline%20Avenue,%20Sept%202023-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Brookline Animal Hospital in the building that was its home from 1984 to 2023.</td></tr></tbody></table><blockquote>"No more lunches on the x-ray table," reported the <i>Chronicle Citizen, </i>"no clambering through the darkroom to get to the bathroom, and hopefully fewer three-ring circuses in the now larger waiting room."</blockquote><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVRX3T-NekGhuVXGnxv8GJMEwFo6rdIFtnp1tcr9dm6hNAfhzccahA1nmvQUpIRgDF0xuDPzyKSa3RMtqCKDWHpoJEonPSnKqfTa34asY3Mhrr37GSaTzk7pkrd4m55h2_o7HynE8R-0k8XSg7f_DpIuIlCFtODakGoi32pOtcu5nNO3lC8oIwEBewfoK8/s1606/Poling%201986.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1606" data-original-width="1010" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVRX3T-NekGhuVXGnxv8GJMEwFo6rdIFtnp1tcr9dm6hNAfhzccahA1nmvQUpIRgDF0xuDPzyKSa3RMtqCKDWHpoJEonPSnKqfTa34asY3Mhrr37GSaTzk7pkrd4m55h2_o7HynE8R-0k8XSg7f_DpIuIlCFtODakGoi32pOtcu5nNO3lC8oIwEBewfoK8/w251-h400/Poling%201986.jpg" width="251" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Rodney Poling in a 1986 ad for the hospital in the <i>Brookline TAB. </i>"Our goal is to show concern for both the animals and their owners," said Poling in the ad, "to use state of the art technology, without some of the impersonal style which sometimes accompanies it."</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Poling sold the Brookline practice in the early 2000s and went on to open other veterinary practices in Massachusetts before moving, in 2021, to Texas, where he leads the Prairie Creek Animal Hospital in East Austin.<br /><br /><p></p><p>The Brookline Animal Hospital has been part of the VCA Animal Hospital network since 2007. (VCA also operates the Metro Cat Hospital in Washington Square.) <br /><br /></p><p>Dr. Scott Groper, who started working under Poling in 1995 after earning his veterinary degree from the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, is now the Brookline Animal Hospital's medical director. </p><p><br />That's one more bit of continuity to a Brookline institution that has been taking care of local animals for more than a century.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-77826213863236543542023-12-15T16:05:00.003-05:002023-12-15T16:21:39.708-05:00250th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party<p>The event that later came to be known as the Boston Tea Party took place 250 years ago tomorrow. There are <a href="https://www.december16.org/events-calendar">special events marking the anniversary</a> in Boston this weekend, including a reenactment tomorrow night.</p><p><br />I don't know of any Brookline men who took part in the Tea Party. But there's no doubt that Brookline people shared the fervor over policies regarding the importing of tea that culminated in the dumping of the tea in Boston Harbor.</p><p><br />In late November, a meeting of the town had resolved<br /><br /></p><blockquote><p>"That this Town are ready to afford all the Assistance in our Power to the Town of Boston, and will heartily unite with them and the Other Towns in this Province to oppose and frustrate this most detestable and dangerous Tea Scheem and every other that shall Appear to us to be Subversive of the Rights and Liberties of America, and consequently dishonorably to the Crown and Dignity of our Sovereign Lord the King."</p></blockquote><br />If that last phrase of obeisance to the King seemed to take a step back from outright rebellion, the last line made clear how angry the Brookline men were. It said they were resolved<blockquote><div><br />"That hereafter whoever shall presume to import any Teas into this Province while subject to the Odius Duty Shall be considered and treated by this Town as an Enemy to his Country."<br /></div></blockquote><p><br />Seventeen months later, on April 19, 1775, Brookline men played an active role in the fighting that marked the start of the Revolutionary War.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-21535036192141352632023-12-12T08:55:00.001-05:002023-12-12T08:55:19.389-05:001917: A Water Main Break (and a Flood of Details)<p>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p>Since May of this year, I've been contributing a regular feature to <i>Brookline News</i> called <a href="https://brookline.news/topics/features/then-and-now/">Then....and Now.</a> It compares old photos of different parts of Brookline with current photos, noting changes over time and offering a little bit of the history of the particular spot.<br /><br /></p><div><p>The latest of these -- you can check it out <a href="https://brookline.news/brookline-then-and-now-boylston-street-east-of-cypress-street/">here</a> -- features photos from a stretch of Boylston Street in 1917 and 2023. The change from then to now is dramatic. </p></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgsKcHJsTTY5RFt0yXpreezkfokZoGHNnKKwSAGM8ij67XyTw3lNKtZDewB4aaL-wqXyFyEdYaG5T68mqnxnRU2XyN_nkiJjym017ZslzkIjLtG639W4lGVoe8ijdvG09McecIInA3vookH0llZyf1gYuwdIUgo3LZrXd4t-UH1PkQKGlvp7baNk5fcLNM/s1956/Boylston%20%20East%20of%20Cypress%20Street%201917.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1278" data-original-width="1956" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgsKcHJsTTY5RFt0yXpreezkfokZoGHNnKKwSAGM8ij67XyTw3lNKtZDewB4aaL-wqXyFyEdYaG5T68mqnxnRU2XyN_nkiJjym017ZslzkIjLtG639W4lGVoe8ijdvG09McecIInA3vookH0llZyf1gYuwdIUgo3LZrXd4t-UH1PkQKGlvp7baNk5fcLNM/w400-h261/Boylston%20%20East%20of%20Cypress%20Street%201917.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggoCCkgv87YF0atC1PA9QR340yOkJB3LYuS9-UB_LNiojKZmuWZqg9nBzx4iAZY8YpZiEQZUYN3N5TOETATCNBpXTUfs4F8xSKLO-TUWuKMrSkTOSEtH4SarldDVZJrXr0_cQ41lOMXr6quSxvyMZzboXX1lWqMRovOEGMaJEgUAsWbCl8SoZW7sIL-Hqh/s936/Boyston%20East%20of%20Cypress%202023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="936" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggoCCkgv87YF0atC1PA9QR340yOkJB3LYuS9-UB_LNiojKZmuWZqg9nBzx4iAZY8YpZiEQZUYN3N5TOETATCNBpXTUfs4F8xSKLO-TUWuKMrSkTOSEtH4SarldDVZJrXr0_cQ41lOMXr6quSxvyMZzboXX1lWqMRovOEGMaJEgUAsWbCl8SoZW7sIL-Hqh/w400-h281/Boyston%20East%20of%20Cypress%202023.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>But a broader version of the 1917 image, from one of a group of photos documenting a water main break between Cameron Street and Cypress Street, has so many fascinating details that I thought I'd do a deeper dive into the scene.</p><p><br />Here is the broader photo, with different parts of it highlighted. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZcObWNVeXyr95-x7h0gRLZAf_QSOPLmJ7eN5FiXScioVeMKOSHQu_mD1Cw6QWwfyHJpSR3bnBZnrMUgNXRS-xZix7Nk-h-O8MXzxGugVMVzJsqGT_HcIZ-oIG8vVFhc6vVVmUK_Iv_4kVqi2Uohw4IzTgEHh_5L7PmpKoFCJgmVmTZp92fG9r1rTsJ9nQ/s1572/1917%20Water%20Main%20Break%20numbered.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="974" data-original-width="1572" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZcObWNVeXyr95-x7h0gRLZAf_QSOPLmJ7eN5FiXScioVeMKOSHQu_mD1Cw6QWwfyHJpSR3bnBZnrMUgNXRS-xZix7Nk-h-O8MXzxGugVMVzJsqGT_HcIZ-oIG8vVFhc6vVVmUK_Iv_4kVqi2Uohw4IzTgEHh_5L7PmpKoFCJgmVmTZp92fG9r1rTsJ9nQ/w400-h248/1917%20Water%20Main%20Break%20numbered.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>It may be cliche to say that every picture tells a story, but there are so many little stories in this one photo that I couldn't resist.</p><p><br />Perhaps my favorite detail in this photo -- I've marked it #1 among the highlighted parts of the picture -- is an image of a man and woman watching the scene from a second floor window on Boylston Street. I even think I know who they are.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGwl-DLzF7uCZ2ChLsKt-mcGoElB6ymANX78Ehclwd56GKKvF1SqzuvVQQvr_9elA0TvhQWLvCwC9qc3cNCnzLsOHNiLI-njFV2TUP0OkyqnomELTDyEi8hgi39xUItWXkP37eUg4WJP_GyuJIZnKDAqyoDdgdImGTaHuZQWdG4eckgx1YXd5r3t2BViG/s972/305%20Boylston%201917%20-%20In%20the%20Window.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="972" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGwl-DLzF7uCZ2ChLsKt-mcGoElB6ymANX78Ehclwd56GKKvF1SqzuvVQQvr_9elA0TvhQWLvCwC9qc3cNCnzLsOHNiLI-njFV2TUP0OkyqnomELTDyEi8hgi39xUItWXkP37eUg4WJP_GyuJIZnKDAqyoDdgdImGTaHuZQWdG4eckgx1YXd5r3t2BViG/w400-h370/305%20Boylston%201917%20-%20In%20the%20Window.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>This and other details spilling out of this one photo call for a bigger format than my usual blog posts, so I've put them in a separate site. </p><p><br />Check it at <a href="https://bit.ly/1917watermain">https://bit.ly/1917watermain</a> or click on the headlines below for the whole tale.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLRuvvQhGg5tL4sU2xibrkaPSM5tgOcMvLA3e-eu5TRfgT9GsQX4qAjVofSR73Vy5XApnXFD-3OFsAwwWXa7QjgVTGprJogiwmqiGyZq_VWryCY1nHvkh6I1QREr1y6Otnx1HWWzORA6J6uA-UvBj0I4Y11mTl11SfkjtmD4M68l-rcUCic8nzlnsXv-_/s1628/watermainbreak.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="1628" height="99" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLRuvvQhGg5tL4sU2xibrkaPSM5tgOcMvLA3e-eu5TRfgT9GsQX4qAjVofSR73Vy5XApnXFD-3OFsAwwWXa7QjgVTGprJogiwmqiGyZq_VWryCY1nHvkh6I1QREr1y6Otnx1HWWzORA6J6uA-UvBj0I4Y11mTl11SfkjtmD4M68l-rcUCic8nzlnsXv-_/w400-h99/watermainbreak.jpg" title="https://bit.ly/1917watermain" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-16508518634526010632023-10-31T07:07:00.003-04:002023-10-31T07:36:50.503-04:00What's in a Name? Zanthus Street<p>Some of my favorite Brookline research projects originate when someone asks me a question that I don't know the answer to. One recent example was a question about the origin of the name Zanthus Road for a small South Brookline street.</p><p><br />Zanthus Road is one of the shortest streets in town. It runs from Wallis Road to Beverly Road and the back of the ball field at the Baker School Playground.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8oJhzkFRovHl1xnzrpXpzPSh5Nu6etb6XuucfhnL2AccTgRuK51HOQYUzID7jyO_hje43ywLy1P3tJ2yNFzusIjHnefdvo0krhgCbisBrC1GH6PZ-XqCGKl53Brs7vJEHIg414YLKVvJQex1LQaND2MWxApl1ti9cdOpuCahQGAv5x8E6nneN8klJG64C/s1316/Zanthus%20Road%20aerial%202021.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="1226" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8oJhzkFRovHl1xnzrpXpzPSh5Nu6etb6XuucfhnL2AccTgRuK51HOQYUzID7jyO_hje43ywLy1P3tJ2yNFzusIjHnefdvo0krhgCbisBrC1GH6PZ-XqCGKl53Brs7vJEHIg414YLKVvJQex1LQaND2MWxApl1ti9cdOpuCahQGAv5x8E6nneN8klJG64C/w373-h400/Zanthus%20Road%20aerial%202021.jpg" width="373" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aerial view of Zanthus Road (outlined in red) via Google Maps (Click for larger view)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> The person who asked had studied ancient Greek language in college and knew that Zanthus -- usually written in English as Xanthus -- was the gods' name for a river at Troy and also the name of one of Achilles' horses in Homer's <i>Iliad</i>. <div><br />(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthus">Wikipedia</a> says it was also the name of other horses and places, various species of snails and moths, and several actual and mythologic people.)<div><br />So how did this classical name end up applied to a street in Brookline? The surprising answer can be traced to a much more modern Xanthus, one who lived in Brookline in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.</div><div><br /></div><div>The map below is part of a 1927 street atlas of Brookline. The location of Zanthus Road -- which would not be laid out until eight years later -- is marked with a blue circle. Beverly Road comes in from the upper left and stops at the large Whipple property. Wallis Road comes up from the lower right and stops southeast of the Whipple land. (The dashed lines are planned or proposed new roads.)</div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAsz7_3Zjpl-YeRVuqWrhaQeE-m1yDW1RWJ8LjRBwo1yAVVtm08l5kJxaCMI9YHGZGYFhDC_f9RkFaWdPGS5vRjPUjM3EVV-amhjgwi0GblMVgk52DjF7q4r0tAMlXDvTFl2Ab3wfI-5GagNCu2SaslTeQ5Sq8dAQ-bPuFUjX2onxOC1qur8Py7IExN7yY/s2118/Zanthus%201927%20map.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1354" data-original-width="2118" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAsz7_3Zjpl-YeRVuqWrhaQeE-m1yDW1RWJ8LjRBwo1yAVVtm08l5kJxaCMI9YHGZGYFhDC_f9RkFaWdPGS5vRjPUjM3EVV-amhjgwi0GblMVgk52DjF7q4r0tAMlXDvTFl2Ab3wfI-5GagNCu2SaslTeQ5Sq8dAQ-bPuFUjX2onxOC1qur8Py7IExN7yY/w400-h256/Zanthus%201927%20map.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click map for larger view</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>On the right side are largely undeveloped properties owned by three brothers: Benjamin Franklin Goodnough (known as Frank); Randall Goodnough; and X.H. Goodnough.</div><div><br /></div><div>X.H., it turns out, is Xanthus Henry Goodnough Jr, named after the father of the three brothers. </div><div><br /></div><div>The earlier map shown below, from 1874, shows the land of Xanthus Sr. and his brother George. (A third brother was named Xenephon, so the parents clearly liked ancient Greek names.) Xanthus died in 1905 and his land passed to his three sons. George died in 1907; he had no children, and his land was sold to Sherman Whipple.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP7YWrGEHKHP3vH6OQUbT1NQRNMHXUnJxaQSuct5lcCLMOFatRtKxqtbARDOv2EzB0ODwNhXAUlQLphEt77wQubBGuqZbBsCM2UGTwXo7j4qDBLlVzejbH1USK1ZECvV54tMfQklY1KluhPmN4Gv2GDiknlVatCyazhSEjzn2QdlUS2AarpWHM90jWXrVE/s2374/Zanthus%201874%20map.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1390" data-original-width="2374" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP7YWrGEHKHP3vH6OQUbT1NQRNMHXUnJxaQSuct5lcCLMOFatRtKxqtbARDOv2EzB0ODwNhXAUlQLphEt77wQubBGuqZbBsCM2UGTwXo7j4qDBLlVzejbH1USK1ZECvV54tMfQklY1KluhPmN4Gv2GDiknlVatCyazhSEjzn2QdlUS2AarpWHM90jWXrVE/w400-h234/Zanthus%201874%20map.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click map for larger view<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Zanthus Road was laid out in 1935. That is also the year the second Xanthus Goodnough died. (He had moved to Boston well before that.) The first mention of the road was in February 1935, and Xanthus died in August, so it is not clear if the road, with the spelling variant, was named after him or after his father, or both. (It was on the Whipple land, but so close to Frank Goodnough's property.) </div><div><br /></div><div>And that, apparently, is how an ancient Greek name came to be applied to a 20th century Brookline street.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9n6dF9L82Vfxcrm-T58nY1UpYo7RlYcguqX2UV9LijzQ7w61yZ7ZlRVUot6-M1vBxSrDMEnoqmFRe_PH6bxdbsaCwaxO6mt9j0H-0Mp3qoKL5vHqz3TbjtGmMkS8w5Q2wvUNSSyMacoGJqH4K0DVLfsFY2Man0__eJkoqjIRnPU1pw4sRvMy8D3qXUixy/s1828/Zanthus%20Road%20map%202023-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1244" data-original-width="1828" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9n6dF9L82Vfxcrm-T58nY1UpYo7RlYcguqX2UV9LijzQ7w61yZ7ZlRVUot6-M1vBxSrDMEnoqmFRe_PH6bxdbsaCwaxO6mt9j0H-0Mp3qoKL5vHqz3TbjtGmMkS8w5Q2wvUNSSyMacoGJqH4K0DVLfsFY2Man0__eJkoqjIRnPU1pw4sRvMy8D3qXUixy/w400-h272/Zanthus%20Road%20map%202023-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Contemporary street view (Click for larger view)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheLcfJ0G3RsL1zdWmXiCt6ug_s5OrVPnZ7KQt4tjnUC9uMnwjO5ZeiE4KePdUJv2JcC0BV3INoG6cDOdvkZaQb_mUPz-C0pWS05FMdFjWmp5D3OAxk91uOlT95ibuy8IAAkpUuD6dg2Qq0MwN4_bv6V3heu04wOGpUSfnAFicL7yo00dKggZRL0LrQqc-L/s2168/Zanthus%20Road%20aerial%202021%20photo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1394" data-original-width="2168" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheLcfJ0G3RsL1zdWmXiCt6ug_s5OrVPnZ7KQt4tjnUC9uMnwjO5ZeiE4KePdUJv2JcC0BV3INoG6cDOdvkZaQb_mUPz-C0pWS05FMdFjWmp5D3OAxk91uOlT95ibuy8IAAkpUuD6dg2Qq0MwN4_bv6V3heu04wOGpUSfnAFicL7yo00dKggZRL0LrQqc-L/w400-h258/Zanthus%20Road%20aerial%202021%20photo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Contemporary aerial view (Click for larger view)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADvMI_pdU7ajoKnidRTZzZBjWyovh-5lUdRkI4nwLBkNXRnmrTCeLvNzIWJbKjUaExnmB1_oRfMK_Ymv0zmo1uvarG2yQFrD-Xcd_wnnA1TIDT5BjN3RGrgdx1MxKkleUA-SWL_DTg-5wW0tzLxNM7SM0xnX5WXJ85D_npFSeAG4EfjoVahHKDqO7JoAA/s2658/Street%20sign%20Zanthus%20and%20Beverly.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1018" data-original-width="2658" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADvMI_pdU7ajoKnidRTZzZBjWyovh-5lUdRkI4nwLBkNXRnmrTCeLvNzIWJbKjUaExnmB1_oRfMK_Ymv0zmo1uvarG2yQFrD-Xcd_wnnA1TIDT5BjN3RGrgdx1MxKkleUA-SWL_DTg-5wW0tzLxNM7SM0xnX5WXJ85D_npFSeAG4EfjoVahHKDqO7JoAA/w400-h154/Street%20sign%20Zanthus%20and%20Beverly.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street signs for Zanthus Road and Beverly Road with the Baker School Playground on the right</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwjEwfIot7x1LdQFJzp1clcUNP1VEypVVyZ-6Z_PjZZM4Obges8lCJreJUAYZ5pVeFn4ihtsXisrSee-pSz6VT1wGJABAqV2uoSsDV1mfqLIP30LJrPAFICFUmwef4GpRo2XIaBVPs7JyInsI8UXWxRWXhk-1rTdsODeiMGs7bY3BigcWFDAVnxIJxiKg-/s1400/Street%20sign%20Zanthus%20and%20Wallis.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="1400" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwjEwfIot7x1LdQFJzp1clcUNP1VEypVVyZ-6Z_PjZZM4Obges8lCJreJUAYZ5pVeFn4ihtsXisrSee-pSz6VT1wGJABAqV2uoSsDV1mfqLIP30LJrPAFICFUmwef4GpRo2XIaBVPs7JyInsI8UXWxRWXhk-1rTdsODeiMGs7bY3BigcWFDAVnxIJxiKg-/w400-h259/Street%20sign%20Zanthus%20and%20Wallis.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street signs for Zanthus Road and Wallis Road<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-53192102532424165522023-09-04T12:38:00.004-04:002023-09-04T12:40:23.205-04:00Labor Day in Brookline, 1887-1888<p>Labor Day became a Federal holiday in 1894 when President Grover Cleveland signed a bill making it official, but Brookline had been celebrating since 1887 when Massachusetts was one of four states to make it a state holiday. (That was one year after Oregon became the first.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhajhPewZoxolW_nWsMwCRaqeynWrV75_lMF_V_l6sP5oGOh6lOQNnZxrdyrmpTOzQFMLbedJg0GGCvkI2CRcSuGK_TiFZl0BlfZEliEtR9KHy6N0aTCopiUquSsFc8sr5gwNE9-bCvT7fPKte_wvqUyuIx5MsM3L91NCwjgVwkxf3Mz-62D1pNsaSqGnDM/s954/Labor%20Day%201887.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="954" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhajhPewZoxolW_nWsMwCRaqeynWrV75_lMF_V_l6sP5oGOh6lOQNnZxrdyrmpTOzQFMLbedJg0GGCvkI2CRcSuGK_TiFZl0BlfZEliEtR9KHy6N0aTCopiUquSsFc8sr5gwNE9-bCvT7fPKte_wvqUyuIx5MsM3L91NCwjgVwkxf3Mz-62D1pNsaSqGnDM/w400-h306/Labor%20Day%201887.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Boston Transcript</i>, September 6, 1887</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Members of the Brookline local of the Carpenters and Joiners Union took part in the 1887 parade in Boston. The local paper, the <i>Brookline Chronicle</i>, expressed concern, however, about the viability of the new holiday, given that working people would have to give up a day's pay to participate in the activities.<br /><br /></p><blockquote><p>"Too many workmen cannot afford it," wrote the paper. "They already feel the loss of a day's pay, and many of them are inwardly resolving that it will be several years before they turn out again. There is danger, therefore, that the day will be thrown away by actual workingmen, to be picked up by demagogues who earn their bread by the sweat of the jaw...And in that way Labor Day is in great danger of being transformed into Politician's Day."</p></blockquote><p><br />Despite those fears, Labor Day grew in popularity both locally and nationally. One year later, the Carpenters and Joiners Union held Brookline's first Labor Day parade.<br /><br /></p><blockquote><p>"This organization [reported the<i> Chronicle</i>] turned out with forty-five men, under command of James W. Boyd, and with a police escort marched through the principal streets of the town. Music was furnished by Highland pipers. Afterward the union went to Boston and took part in the great labor parade."</p></blockquote><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5_ROLvxsxDNhDV6pFbLltFe9ayorN1i6t0FBldftlDHzXVLKUX1l3_DUB91Gj3WWkIYlPSZrQzP6I7zuqgLLulCh2xx_Q9y_E9G0eaw4IdFanowa8dj-mQQ6z59mH0YDv_PTppNL4s2jk3Wu9o80TZ-1beKbIX7QWvqZDS1bZlULHCFQgbUrR2VCvFBs/s1206/Labor%20Day%201888.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="1206" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5_ROLvxsxDNhDV6pFbLltFe9ayorN1i6t0FBldftlDHzXVLKUX1l3_DUB91Gj3WWkIYlPSZrQzP6I7zuqgLLulCh2xx_Q9y_E9G0eaw4IdFanowa8dj-mQQ6z59mH0YDv_PTppNL4s2jk3Wu9o80TZ-1beKbIX7QWvqZDS1bZlULHCFQgbUrR2VCvFBs/w400-h394/Labor%20Day%201888.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This <i>Boston Globe </i>illustration shows the 1888 Labor Day parade in downtown Boston in which Brookline union members took part.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>Brookline did not continue to have its own parade for long, but local union members continued to participate and take leadership roles in the Boston parades in subsequent years. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-71636584644448718732023-07-04T09:14:00.001-04:002023-07-04T09:28:01.948-04:001919: A "Safe and Sane" Fourth of July<p>Independence Day 1919 came eight months after the end of fighting in the World War and just six days after the official signing of the Treaty of Versailles. That sequence of events, said the <i>Brookline Chronicle</i>, "has made this day doubly significant and will probably be observed most enthusiastically."</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm60s9pLCDMscK45mMB_wqTGey6OpUMW-oNScPsaP3Np7fzFNtKYyD-TmuMgzUR-WZRZiHUJmfJ5pLWOQ1HxWJDfOXJtdhxRkZGiPudh9LeenIm9Nj2IKezgvTNDeLvJKHaX9vaMBet0Qt3nXc9e7warecG-syHvZ2Fz2URT-tvtR0QJUBze9nMzO5Yp7S/s882/Paine's%20Fireworks.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="1919 fireworks advertisement" border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="830" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm60s9pLCDMscK45mMB_wqTGey6OpUMW-oNScPsaP3Np7fzFNtKYyD-TmuMgzUR-WZRZiHUJmfJ5pLWOQ1HxWJDfOXJtdhxRkZGiPudh9LeenIm9Nj2IKezgvTNDeLvJKHaX9vaMBet0Qt3nXc9e7warecG-syHvZ2Fz2URT-tvtR0QJUBze9nMzO5Yp7S/w376-h400/Paine's%20Fireworks.webp" width="376" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This advertisement appeared in the <i>Brookline Chronicle </i>on June 28, 1919<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>At the same time, the paper offered advice on keeping the celebration "safe and sane."<br /><br /></p><blockquote><p>"While it is laudable that this day should be observed fully," continued the paper, "it is particularly important that it should be observed sanely. Noise is not an evidence of patriotism nor fireworks of allegiance; and the communities where the day is observed by parades, games, public speaking, etc. rather than by fireworks and noise, will probably at the end of the day be the happier communities."</p></blockquote><p><br />The <i>Chronicle </i>carried a long list of regulations governing fireworks. These included prohibitions against sales to children under 13 and against setting off certain fireworks on public streets or within 300 feet of a hospital. There were also regulations governing the size of various fireworks and proximity to spectators, as well as the hours they could be set off.<br /><br /></p><blockquote><p>"Those persons who feel that fireworks are necessary on that day should use the utmost care in the handling of them," continued the <i>Chronicle</i>, "to the end that neither life nor property shall be destroyed and that this day which should be one of rejoicing is not marred and homes made desolate because of accidents and fires resulting from the use thereof."</p></blockquote><p><br />In the end, a day full of official events -- as well as fireworks -- went off without incident. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-I3a1ImCQlCN-8FMYturAXosQiZZ2k7fmZ1yqrwbn_0DeRB5UzNHxx398tlvH2Pd9_FWdYwl5_k1F7hCslTd0zPr52LoX4tGa8uQYnnpucm8WCeNPG3Tryal7v6AxzbWkFIr8RLQYqj719vXDlxfwdfpLrl6pPuNdkOeBGP656Gx56-F7Fh8aGgSlrhci/s840/Fourth%20of%20July%20events%201919.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Schedule of events" border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="840" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-I3a1ImCQlCN-8FMYturAXosQiZZ2k7fmZ1yqrwbn_0DeRB5UzNHxx398tlvH2Pd9_FWdYwl5_k1F7hCslTd0zPr52LoX4tGa8uQYnnpucm8WCeNPG3Tryal7v6AxzbWkFIr8RLQYqj719vXDlxfwdfpLrl6pPuNdkOeBGP656Gx56-F7Fh8aGgSlrhci/w400-h291/Fourth%20of%20July%20events%201919.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Brookline Townsman</i>, June 28, 1919<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7hZszAiGyT4ifOcNoW7ASI8T3HwpqZuMWFmzPxT70vzFHuyYQtQFqra8woIOOTzhbjlHT-O5loT1cE3Ecre5tobCPajk9HwaNbUv2eXNzfVvtkDHpY9UhIEPmEOMteDUoHCoG7WuwrBScZz3p57vvyT4W9VC15OsuCZFpsUUpEeO8fgiFgTOgu0ENeNt/s982/Safe%20and%20Sane%20Fourth.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Headline: Brookline Had Safe and Sane But Noisy Fourth" border="0" data-original-height="982" data-original-width="866" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7hZszAiGyT4ifOcNoW7ASI8T3HwpqZuMWFmzPxT70vzFHuyYQtQFqra8woIOOTzhbjlHT-O5loT1cE3Ecre5tobCPajk9HwaNbUv2eXNzfVvtkDHpY9UhIEPmEOMteDUoHCoG7WuwrBScZz3p57vvyT4W9VC15OsuCZFpsUUpEeO8fgiFgTOgu0ENeNt/w353-h400/Safe%20and%20Sane%20Fourth.webp" width="353" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Brookline Townsman</i>, July 12, 1919</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Here's to a safe and sane Fourth of July 2023.</div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-27306446620027663402023-06-06T08:06:00.001-04:002023-06-06T17:16:59.927-04:00Micro-history: Small Tales Tell a Big Story<p>There was a television show in the late 1950s/early 1960s, a police drama called <i>Naked City</i>. It was unusual, in that each episode focused not so much on the show's regular characters, detectives at the 65th Precinct in Manhattan, but on each week's criminals and victims, played by guest stars.</p><p><br />These guest stars included many well-known actors of the time and many relatively unknown players who would go on to become recognized stars of movies and TV. (See <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_City_(TV_series)#Guest_stars">the impressive long list</a> in the show's Wikipedia entry.)</p><p><br />If I watched this show, it was probably in reruns, and I may only have been aware of my father watching it in the Bronx apartment where I grew up. In any case, I don't really remember anything about the show, <i>except</i> for the tagline that ended each episode and that has stuck with me for 60+ years:<br /><br /></p><blockquote><p>"There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them."</p></blockquote><p><br />You may be thinking, "What does this have to do with Brookline history?" Brookline, where I've lived since 1996, is not New York City. Its population reached an all-time high in the 2020 Census, but that number is 65,000, not eight million.</p><p><br />But the history of Brookline -- the history, in fact, of any community, old or new, large or small, urban or suburban or rural -- is made up of many people, many places, many events, many <i>stories</i>, big and little, that together tell the broader history of a place.</p><p><br />I started this blog in 2009, the year I became head of the Brookline Historical Society. The idea was to post little tidbits, interesting Brookline items I came across while researching something else and didn't want to lose. </p><p><br />My first post was sparked by a small 1903 newspaper article about a Brookline man named William Shaw demonstrating his electrical inventions -- an alarm clock, a baby monitor, even a telephone -- that could be used by the deaf or hearing-impaired. (Shaw himself had lost his hearing at age 5 after a bout of meningitis.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiThf0fZz8DUyhwjjyQ71eQ40o9yoKtBdWGDjKHGi6hC3ZWDi71eu5d-tcrslDIlnZa5Oy6qSHf3DVjl4CsMlRFfPJtFttB3oBoZD6wBsbKcC71o8Lvq31uQYYnIIDuopBh7f1DYW9QWb38L-VQytYTOIJaxH_HL7yy2zBOOMi8R8rCKmeLQAHfD_l3A/s688/Shaw%20article.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Newspaper article about William Shaw" border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="688" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiThf0fZz8DUyhwjjyQ71eQ40o9yoKtBdWGDjKHGi6hC3ZWDi71eu5d-tcrslDIlnZa5Oy6qSHf3DVjl4CsMlRFfPJtFttB3oBoZD6wBsbKcC71o8Lvq31uQYYnIIDuopBh7f1DYW9QWb38L-VQytYTOIJaxH_HL7yy2zBOOMi8R8rCKmeLQAHfD_l3A/w400-h318/Shaw%20article.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Boston Transcript</i>, October 20, 1903</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The idea was to post just a few paragraphs so that the story could be shared, not lost. But as I dug into the story of William Shaw, I found there was much more to tell. I found newspaper articles about him and his inventions in papers not just in Boston, but across the U.S. and Canada and even as far away as New Zealand.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RYskWSzxXYpZp6tGwut5R01284ONaEgi4kuuwQc9juZGfcss-Fnmz-tjpRQ0fKSDEfa_Y57ol4gB_Tl08R_uAKS69nV1ifSeV4ygHi0Cy2rUcwcsJlat6PNIIA2RpofnzGaFWwz59zJhRGQjrQhAke3zyuY9xKj72J4sgRhB2xw5lwB7iZfmn7HhIg/s1342/Shaw%20news%20articles.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Newspaper articles about William Shaw" border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="1342" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RYskWSzxXYpZp6tGwut5R01284ONaEgi4kuuwQc9juZGfcss-Fnmz-tjpRQ0fKSDEfa_Y57ol4gB_Tl08R_uAKS69nV1ifSeV4ygHi0Cy2rUcwcsJlat6PNIIA2RpofnzGaFWwz59zJhRGQjrQhAke3zyuY9xKj72J4sgRhB2xw5lwB7iZfmn7HhIg/w400-h310/Shaw%20news%20articles.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click image for larger view</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I obtained a photograph of him from the American School for the Deaf in Connecticut, which he attended as a boy, and pictures and articles from a newspaper called <i>The Silent Worker</i>. My little "tidbit" turned into a long, illustrated 1,000-word article that included his contacts with Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison and his role at the center of a court case about the rights and abilities of deaf parents to raise hearing children. (You can read the whole thing here: <a href="http://brooklinehistory.blogspot.com/2009/05/deaf-inventor-aids-deaf.html">Deaf Inventor Aids the Deaf</a>)</p><p><br />And that has been the pattern ever since: in the 120 or so posts I've written for this blog; in the Brookline history walking tours and presentations and videos I've developed and delivered over the years; in the stories I uncover and share. I've even brought back the original idea of short posts in a new blog called <a href="https://twibh.blogspot.com">This Week in Brookline History</a> (TWIBH), featuring four short, illustrated stories each week.</p><p><br />I've been asked if I might write a book, a history of Brookline. There have been several published, the earliest in 1873 and the most recent in 2018. I've considered it, but I'm having too much fun doing what I do, digging into different aspects, large and small, of the town's history and sharing them with others.</p><p><br />I think of it like a montage or maybe, in one of my favorite ways to describe my research, like a jigsaw puzzle with no border. It tells a story whose ever-changing tale depends on which way you're looking at it. That's something I plan to continue doing, uncovering and telling tales for others to discover, learn from, interpret, and reshape, today and in years to come. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrewCKKir7CPOOuHTCC3zcaqBIl1RpuboHWH8J54CeomcmsmjyXeGeU7qgEMEthJ5io6TSPGmpXSuhEYqDnTjdSYR8OIJ8hPRHvEm4s6_DWkTiS9X2FqrUP9-23nwGQOf5XZ2w94qpE5HIh3dae-z0dmwW_FakSj01KsWG5Dibi8nsoPapTmSpAbxFBg/s640/infinite%20jigsaw.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrewCKKir7CPOOuHTCC3zcaqBIl1RpuboHWH8J54CeomcmsmjyXeGeU7qgEMEthJ5io6TSPGmpXSuhEYqDnTjdSYR8OIJ8hPRHvEm4s6_DWkTiS9X2FqrUP9-23nwGQOf5XZ2w94qpE5HIh3dae-z0dmwW_FakSj01KsWG5Dibi8nsoPapTmSpAbxFBg/w400-h400/infinite%20jigsaw.webp" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>(Infinite Galaxy Puzzle image. Puzzle created by Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg. Available from <a href="https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/infinite-galaxy-puzzle?utm_source=google%20surfaces&utm_medium=organic&flow_country=USA&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7PCjBhDwARIsANo7CgkRKWKQ6D8vuaC-EvCpceh_SZpJyC4UWx_fQV8sJthby51OO5osRx4aAq_CEALw_wcB">Uncommon Goods</a>)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-71343784776252975772023-05-24T16:16:00.002-04:002023-05-24T16:16:20.272-04:00Town Meeting: The Long & the Short of It<p>Town Meeting members who convened in the high school auditorium for four hours last night (with more nights to come) might be surprised -- and perhaps jealous -- to learn about some of the shortest Brookline Town Meetings on record.</p><p><br />In January 1899, 60 men -- only men could vote in those "open town meeting" days -- convened on a very cold Tuesday night to dispose of 22 warrant articles in just 28 minutes. "The business was rushed through without any ceremony," reported the<i> Boston </i><i>Globe</i>, "the voters evidently being affected by the frigid atmosphere." </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3lU9EdXADkw4B6WrHFlgXs_0aAd5yNDlNqaaa8TAIAuMwmPnhvUHbmNYDaE7BbPw0Xm5scrYYAerb6vC9DbEX91m6D4sFuNTv2LPHT5b94Shr1i7J1dRwyz9pjEFEnNuIC65ujTHt9Xx3N8yp1ry3TWVu8IIggNPTu3PfEJRqGCRLSiDfRq4NfhD4g/s1340/Shortest%20Town%20Meeting%201899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Headline: Shortest Town Meeting" border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="1340" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_3lU9EdXADkw4B6WrHFlgXs_0aAd5yNDlNqaaa8TAIAuMwmPnhvUHbmNYDaE7BbPw0Xm5scrYYAerb6vC9DbEX91m6D4sFuNTv2LPHT5b94Shr1i7J1dRwyz9pjEFEnNuIC65ujTHt9Xx3N8yp1ry3TWVu8IIggNPTu3PfEJRqGCRLSiDfRq4NfhD4g/w400-h131/Shortest%20Town%20Meeting%201899.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Boston Globe</i>, January 11, 1899</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Items taken up included money for the library, the schools, and the water system. The warrant article expected to be the most controversial -- placing the fire department under a fire commissioner appointed by the Board of Selectmen -- passed without any dissension.</p><p><br />Four years later, on June 10, 1903, 150 citizens met in balmier weather for 27 minutes, allocating just under $300,000 for a variety of purposes, about half of it put toward the town's acquisition of the recently decommissioned Boylston Street reservoir.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFS6DMnLcT_YW6QgF0vMdHx03jlHAfH7DKxQEYo11QLQnJlgWxajjDl-jjlrntmRFORG0a8-ibGlM-Pb5vvw6JPjIFJUhG4ObCMw6P0aw2Tv2vN-SKNMStluXVCoziKlVW1zWF92UYs39bceY-z3cco7VTTz6JQohyF0WWMcbFp9HrOh5gDzY0i0fqQA/s1166/Shortest%20town%20meeting%201903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Headline: Shortest Town Meeting in Brookline's History" border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="1166" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFS6DMnLcT_YW6QgF0vMdHx03jlHAfH7DKxQEYo11QLQnJlgWxajjDl-jjlrntmRFORG0a8-ibGlM-Pb5vvw6JPjIFJUhG4ObCMw6P0aw2Tv2vN-SKNMStluXVCoziKlVW1zWF92UYs39bceY-z3cco7VTTz6JQohyF0WWMcbFp9HrOh5gDzY0i0fqQA/w400-h130/Shortest%20town%20meeting%201903.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Boston Herald</i>, June 11, 1903</td></tr></tbody></table><br />That record lasted just 24 days. On August 4, 1903, 26 attendees at a special Town Meeting took just seven minutes to approve the ceding of a portion of Hyslop Road on Fisher Hill in conjunction with the erection of the <a href="https://www.longyear.org/learn/research-archive/the-longyear-mansion-1917/">Longyear mansion</a>, which was being moved piece by piece from Marquette, Michigan, to Brookline.<br /><div><br /></div><div>All of these meetings took place before Brookline's adoption of the representative town meeting format in 1915. (See <a href="https://brooklinehistory.blogspot.com/2009/11/november-1915-brookline-votes-for.html">Brookline Votes for Representative Town Meeting</a> for more on the change.) But if you think it's not possible to have a meeting even shorter than seven minutes with the kind of expanded body we have today ...</div><div><br /></div><div>... think again.</div><div><br /></div><div>In August 1963, 100 opponents of a plan to take land for a new firehouse on Babcock Street convinced a local judge to order a special Town Meeting to reconsider the action approved at the regular Town Meeting in March. </div><div><br /></div><div>Town Meeting Members assembled on August 19th and, after an hour and a half of legal wrangling, moderator Benjamin Trustman banged the gavel and announced "With reluctance, I call the Town Meeting to order."</div><div><br /></div><div>But his request, reported the <i>Brookline Chronicle Citizen</i>, "was met only with a bewildering silence; no one moved the question or took the opportunity for which the 100 petitioners had broken tradition and fought in the courts."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Hence," continued the paper, "it was but a matter of seconds for one of the town meeting members to move the meeting be dissolved and have his motion seconded and adopted."</div><div><br /></div><div>Thus, after just two minutes, ended the shortest Brookline Town Meeting on record. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotjeAT7XcV4sWi6MnEVOjpIxs_r2Tshf1qtEHNn9V1IDp3ej7T0uzO4eRD8_AO2__7mx67s3cJdMWJF465Ps7jgXNNiUe7QZjwUa726_t1ciOB4Nj10F5_dNYR3mWq4U9PxE-f9IZi008fBB3Upm_QRgzI2NsdQTxKbsoy5qpOI_hwqvqbX1AaffUVQ/s1404/Shortest%20town%20meeting%201963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Headlines in the Globe, the Herald, and the Chronicle Citizen" border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="1404" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotjeAT7XcV4sWi6MnEVOjpIxs_r2Tshf1qtEHNn9V1IDp3ej7T0uzO4eRD8_AO2__7mx67s3cJdMWJF465Ps7jgXNNiUe7QZjwUa726_t1ciOB4Nj10F5_dNYR3mWq4U9PxE-f9IZi008fBB3Upm_QRgzI2NsdQTxKbsoy5qpOI_hwqvqbX1AaffUVQ/w400-h181/Shortest%20town%20meeting%201963.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headlines in the <i>Boston Herald </i>(top left) and <i>Boston Globe </i>(top right), both on August 20, 1962, and the <i>Brookline Chronicle Citizen</i> (bottom) on August 22, 1963.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><span style="text-align: center;">Let's see 21st century Brookline Town Meeting beat that!<br /><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40XFllfvYcVgrAWySGI-ReNvW3Qa-rQqw9vsPMWaPfURiHG8Cp3oTNwtyiBc-3-HAEPdc_Hd6mlG9AMZJg35fHoMmcSl_p1hc4z2PP1cXYutyQVfhXgpcYk3peOwMx-ttuBYHweHFdM3TnoYwAI1de2Cm4P6PuqXotzWETXY9c-cWgqATBacmkOzV9Q/s615/gavel.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Gavel" border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="615" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40XFllfvYcVgrAWySGI-ReNvW3Qa-rQqw9vsPMWaPfURiHG8Cp3oTNwtyiBc-3-HAEPdc_Hd6mlG9AMZJg35fHoMmcSl_p1hc4z2PP1cXYutyQVfhXgpcYk3peOwMx-ttuBYHweHFdM3TnoYwAI1de2Cm4P6PuqXotzWETXY9c-cWgqATBacmkOzV9Q/w400-h266/gavel.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /><p><br /></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-84968240947339353942023-04-17T08:23:00.000-04:002023-04-17T08:23:18.905-04:00Patriots' Day & the Dawes Family<p>William Dawes rode through Brookline on the night of April 18, 1775, on his way to Lexington to warn that British soldiers were on their way. The ride is recreated each Patriots' Day. But he was not the last member of the extended Dawes family to leave his mark on the town in the month of April.</p><p><br />Seventy-six years after Dawes' ride, on April 23, 1861, his grandson, William Dwight Goddard, became the first Brookline man to enlist in the Union Army at the start of the Civil War. Goddard was the son of William Dawes' youngest child, Mehitabel May Dawes. Born in 1796, she married Samuel Goddard of Brookline in 1818.</p><p><br /></p><p>William D. Goddard served only a short time in the army. He died in 1866 at the age of 32. Mehitabel Goddard died in 1882. Both are buried, along with Samuel and other family members, in the Old Burying Ground on Walnut Street.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVhkTRBYPFu_n-K2op39eFpMT2KdivknbBOcpJmwyW1JG9fzTBKALlxvRn-tPP26WRZ9ilFigmMd531UGN-UGj5jJzdOON72wGI_nnLmUR9M5RdgsILjyAkIgu3IvXnHe8C3ksKGUM2HM3QkDZ7ItfPJ5-Fc-7gi5JJfXU7AgjX-pk4mzufP2opxBfkA/s694/Goddard%20gravestones.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Headstones in the Old Burying Ground" border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="694" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVhkTRBYPFu_n-K2op39eFpMT2KdivknbBOcpJmwyW1JG9fzTBKALlxvRn-tPP26WRZ9ilFigmMd531UGN-UGj5jJzdOON72wGI_nnLmUR9M5RdgsILjyAkIgu3IvXnHe8C3ksKGUM2HM3QkDZ7ItfPJ5-Fc-7gi5JJfXU7AgjX-pk4mzufP2opxBfkA/w400-h235/Goddard%20gravestones.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headstones in the Old Burying Ground marking the graves of Mehitabel May Dawes Goddard and her son William Dwight Goddard</td></tr></tbody></table><p>On April 20, 1925, William Dawes' great-great grandson, U.S. Vice President Charles Dawes, came to Massachusetts to mark the 150th anniversary of his ancestor's ride and the start of the American Revolution. Among his stops as he followed the route of Dawes' 1775 ride was the Edward Devotion School (now the Florida Ruffin Ridley School) in Coolidge Corner.</p><p><br />Schoolchildren presented a pageant in honor Dawes' visit. Thirteen-year-old Margaret Stein, a student at the school portraying William Dawes' daughter Hannah, presented the vice president with a pair of gloves that had belonged to Hannah. She also read a poem in the voice of Hannah Dawes. (The poem inaccurately described Hannah as Charles Dawes' great-great grandmother.; a half-sister of Mehitabel, she was actually Dawes' great-great aunt.)</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxNK0l8BWzDGhyUI6Cg84rW3nGSy1lyjxNWitcyDxDoT6RA6zq6lfuLJPhbP2iiSuHrT6oQTgKuCEE_LG8gNHFewmKCCIgiY5stM8DgYElEurY4RKwwGXwC_OVG98-Q9NO9Qy5HvqbdT70pVsh-B4zfxbIZDECz5ZRz-ArAnClvi6egaopt3OhpYRTQ/s1110/Charles%20Dawes%20at%20Devotion%201925.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="1110" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxNK0l8BWzDGhyUI6Cg84rW3nGSy1lyjxNWitcyDxDoT6RA6zq6lfuLJPhbP2iiSuHrT6oQTgKuCEE_LG8gNHFewmKCCIgiY5stM8DgYElEurY4RKwwGXwC_OVG98-Q9NO9Qy5HvqbdT70pVsh-B4zfxbIZDECz5ZRz-ArAnClvi6egaopt3OhpYRTQ/w400-h186/Charles%20Dawes%20at%20Devotion%201925.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vice President Charles Dawes and a poem read in his honor at the then Edward Devotion School (Click image for a larger view)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-68525770365375370302023-02-20T15:26:00.007-05:002023-02-21T09:54:01.987-05:00Dr. Cornelius Garland in Brookline<p>Dr. Cornelius N. Garland, a pioneering Black physician and the founder of the first and only Black hospital in Boston, spent the last 24 years of his life in Brookline, where he lived on Corey Hill from 1928 to 1952. </p><p><br />Garland's story was featured earlier this month in a piece on <i>Cognoscenti</i>,<i> </i>WBUR's ideas and commentary site, and an interview aired on <i>Radio Boston</i>. The author of the <i>Cognoscenti </i>article, Lisa Gordon, was joined on <i>Radio Boston</i> by Garland's great grandson Dan Reppert.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAinmAHBnvXkb2FdF1CcD8Yehbdg6ZPdd1zu1-X6zrviPheSv9ur4GBJBg67AQre3fQBG7yiRoIUxDRttuAkaYsh68nM82mDcscLKydWGkL0TzvpZjgtEYR0s-yJXNM-i6IvtcoHFzQCvWREzBqqA2SFjpuMfn3XIOUvLs4duqhEn5uL0MwVxv9NX5A/s1468/Garland%20plus%20hospital%20and%20Brookline%20house.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="1468" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAinmAHBnvXkb2FdF1CcD8Yehbdg6ZPdd1zu1-X6zrviPheSv9ur4GBJBg67AQre3fQBG7yiRoIUxDRttuAkaYsh68nM82mDcscLKydWGkL0TzvpZjgtEYR0s-yJXNM-i6IvtcoHFzQCvWREzBqqA2SFjpuMfn3XIOUvLs4duqhEn5uL0MwVxv9NX5A/w400-h189/Garland%20plus%20hospital%20and%20Brookline%20house.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Cornelius N. Garland, as shown in the 1912 book <i>The Negro in Medicine</i>, published by the Tuskegee University Press (left); 12 East Springfield Street in the South End, former site of Garland's Plymouth Hospital (center); and Garland's one-time residence on Mason Terrace in Brookline (right)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Gordon began digging into the story while living in an apartment in the South End building that had been Garland's hospital. She and Reppert told how the Alabama native founded Plymouth Hospital in 1908. The hospital employed Black doctors and included a training program for nurses at a time when city hospitals would neither employ Black physicians nor admit Black women to their nursing programs.<br /><br /></p><p>The Plymouth Hospital and Nurses Training School continued to operate until 1928. Garland hoped to expand his efforts with a second hospital and had support from the community. His plan was opposed, however, by influential <i>Boston Guardian</i> publisher William Monroe Trotter. Trotter, reported Gordon, "believed a second Black-only hospital would perpetuate existing racial problems" and, instead, "vehemently advocated to integrate city hospitals, starting with Boston City Hospital."</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrG5mpZ6uEN6zBuFmpsAO_eKa7iEevLieMEslqoa7fPmKPg3IVSG8PaMRrWdmPGjjUomNy7bbxCxDfoKOlm_8so_qXj2y9hyHtUYyFfa6MFNN7O4FqCQTnfNeQTzmT19AQmIWwsXJbcqD7znB_maiyHOmJL9cfONEwUbrrA6AarfWt7546fAh3IxWjCQ/s1444/Garland%20and%20segretation.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="1444" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrG5mpZ6uEN6zBuFmpsAO_eKa7iEevLieMEslqoa7fPmKPg3IVSG8PaMRrWdmPGjjUomNy7bbxCxDfoKOlm_8so_qXj2y9hyHtUYyFfa6MFNN7O4FqCQTnfNeQTzmT19AQmIWwsXJbcqD7znB_maiyHOmJL9cfONEwUbrrA6AarfWt7546fAh3IxWjCQ/w400-h254/Garland%20and%20segretation.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The debate over separate Black hospitals and their effect on the effort to integrate Boston city hospitals drew coverage in Black newspapers around the country, including these in the <i>Pittsburgh Courier</i>, left, and the <i>New York Age</i>, right.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Garland, added Gordon, "recognized that he and Trotter had a similar goal: equity for the Black community." He joined Trotter in lobbying for the integration of Boston City Hospital, "perhaps believing both plans could work in tandem." In 1928, he closed Plymouth Hospital. One year later, City Hospital admitted its first Black students, although it would be 20 years before the first Black physician was added to the staff.</p><p><b><br />Dr. Garland in Brookline</b></p><p>Cornelius and Margaret Garland lived on West Canton Street in the South End, on the edge of the Back Bay and a 15 minute walk from Plymouth Hospital. In December 1928, after the closing of the hospital, they purchased a newly-built home at 173 Mason Terrace in Brookline. (The deed was in Margaret's name.)</p><p><br />Their daughter, Thelma, then 26, was a French teacher in Baltimore at the time and did not live with her parents in Brookline. (Thelma married James Kelly Smith in August 1929.)</p><p><br />Garland continued to practice medicine in Boston out of an office at the West Canton Street brownstone, while renting the rest of their former home to tenants. He was also involved in many health, social, business, and political organizations and activities, both before and after moving to Brookline.</p><p><br />He was heavily involved in the work of the Boston Tuberculosis Association, promoting good home hygiene practices as a way of combating the disease. (The <i>Boston Globe</i>, in 1937, reported that one section of Roxbury "at one time had the highest mortality rate in the country for Negroes suffering from tuberculosis," but had seen a big improvement in recent years.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIl_kxC011CWfP7aaX-H8668K_ByhY9LmaIqnNZ5iZF8eE_eZZ8epzCVRxCCBlTt76OAIegwDftKZ2ZhZLRcyH1LIUJSvwyu_3QPKX9Nq5XQwLRpk012dGzXxgVHAaI_O9tIwBqYpX2Qpj9Nn_REV2xNWC2GXyTFxw8VPsJAdN7zE9rqVk1ddzJeo4Q/s1072/Tuberculosis%20awards.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="1072" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIl_kxC011CWfP7aaX-H8668K_ByhY9LmaIqnNZ5iZF8eE_eZZ8epzCVRxCCBlTt76OAIegwDftKZ2ZhZLRcyH1LIUJSvwyu_3QPKX9Nq5XQwLRpk012dGzXxgVHAaI_O9tIwBqYpX2Qpj9Nn_REV2xNWC2GXyTFxw8VPsJAdN7zE9rqVk1ddzJeo4Q/w400-h376/Tuberculosis%20awards.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An annual contest sponsored by the Boston Tuberculosis Association gave prizes as a way of encouraging clean yards, attractive gardens, and general sanitary conditions. The first place winner in the 1936 contest, on which Dr. Garland was a judge, just happened to live across the street from his office on West Canton Street. (<i>Boston Globe</i>, October 3, 1936) </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Garland served on boards of many Boston civic associations during his time in Brookline, including the Urban League of Greater Boston and the Boston Chapter of the NAACP. Locally, he was involved in the medical division of Brookline's civil defense organization during World War II. He continued in medical practice after the war. (A 1948 photograph of him with his granddaughter in <i>Ebony </i>magazine referred to him as "Boston's richest physician.")</div><div><br /></div><div>His wife, Margaret, was vice president of the League of Women for Community Service in Boston, an organization that grew out of an earlier group that advocated on behalf of Black soldiers returning from service in World War I. (Florida Ruffin Ridley, who moved from Brookline not long before the Garlands arrived, had been on the board of the League with Margaret several years earlier.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Margaret Garland died in 1945, at the age of 69. Cornelius Garland died in 1952. He was 75.</div><p><br />You can learn much more about Cornelius Garland, his family, and Plymouth Hospital from the following sources:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"<a href="https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2023/02/09/historic-boston-plymouth-hospital-cornelius-garland-lisa-gordon">Boston's Only Black Hospital Was Founded in 1908</a>." Lisa Gordon, <i>Cognoscenti</i>, February 9, 2023<i> </i></li><li>"<a href="https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2023/02/13/cornelius-garland-black-hospital-south-end">The Hidden History of Boston's First and Only Black Hospital.</a>" (Interview with Lisa Gordon and Dan Reppert). <i>Radio Boston</i>, February 13, 2023</li><li>"<a href="https://blogs.bu.edu/busmhs/files/2014/05/Aceso-Spring-2014.pdf">Dr. Garland and Plymouth Hospital</a>." Alison Barnet, <i>Aceso: The Journal of the Boston University School of Medicine Historical Society</i>. (The article begins on page 50 of the issue.)</li></ul><p></p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><p><br /><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-46030694354350578552023-02-02T09:30:00.001-05:002023-02-02T09:30:26.309-05:00Douglass Day: Frederick Douglass in Brookline<p>February 14th is <a href="https://douglassday.org/">Douglass Day</a>, an annual celebration of the life of Frederick Douglass. This year the Public Library of Brookline is participating by hosting a public transcribe-a-thon, where community members can help bring different aspects of Black history to light.</p><p><br />This year's project is working on the papers of Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823-1893), an activist, journalist, publisher, teacher, and lawyer, and one of the earliest Black women to edit a newspaper. Volunteers can join the project anytime between 12 and 3 pm on February 14th, in person at the library or online. For details, see the <a href="https://www.brooklinelibrary.org/events/event/virtual-douglass-day-transcribe-a-thon/ ">library website</a>.<br /><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVxT-YUaC4aKtQyyXWZIGFhT1kzyT7D09Cs8vxYaQA2gWiN3iRBTjeWIXFkdh7cXppfPmtZF4w8xqsxUZgVrV5wMzuM6RGcxHjD77LNEGWKD0jNlRw2DiqGfy4yQUrpaxWy2rqLW_bXopb_ZbuU0IOpT2pjdXUS83DgIHi0MusQuANyZYl_KxriciuA/s1471/Frederick%20Douglass.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of Frederick Douglass" border="0" data-original-height="1471" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVxT-YUaC4aKtQyyXWZIGFhT1kzyT7D09Cs8vxYaQA2gWiN3iRBTjeWIXFkdh7cXppfPmtZF4w8xqsxUZgVrV5wMzuM6RGcxHjD77LNEGWKD0jNlRw2DiqGfy4yQUrpaxWy2rqLW_bXopb_ZbuU0IOpT2pjdXUS83DgIHi0MusQuANyZYl_KxriciuA/w279-h400/Frederick%20Douglass.jpeg" width="279" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frederick Douglass in 1879. (National Archives)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Frederick Douglass spoke in Brookline in December 1874, as part of a lecture series at the then new Town Hall, which had been dedicated one year earlier. The series was organized by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Redpath">James Redpath</a>, a journalist and, before the Civil War, an anti-slavery activist. Redpath formed a well-known, Boston-based speaker's bureau that was active across the U.S. for many years after the war.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ0Y-T-ECAVS8Z20PAsPRlJfOEZ15qjmPTs6cpbyZabmbx3Ooe8flXwFv783CqG6ZebekbLCrYEw77I7dykS2bGM-ZbnHlRLbp1EGxVD7KcXaTnw082Ryic33gJEsrbFJHCHFTbOp9Nie2FrXCuPWBfBvXpq5gHUKDnCFopyv9TNtx447LORWHtgEJJg/s594/Redpath's%20Lyceum%20Lectures%20in%20Brookline.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="594" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ0Y-T-ECAVS8Z20PAsPRlJfOEZ15qjmPTs6cpbyZabmbx3Ooe8flXwFv783CqG6ZebekbLCrYEw77I7dykS2bGM-ZbnHlRLbp1EGxVD7KcXaTnw082Ryic33gJEsrbFJHCHFTbOp9Nie2FrXCuPWBfBvXpq5gHUKDnCFopyv9TNtx447LORWHtgEJJg/w400-h219/Redpath's%20Lyceum%20Lectures%20in%20Brookline.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This advertisement for James Redpath's lecture series at Brookline Town Hall appeared in the <i>Boston Journal</i> on August 22, 1874. </td></tr></tbody></table><br />Local cotton merchant Zenas Brett, whose 1874 diary was transcribed by students at the then Edward Devotion School (now the Florida Ruffin Ridley School) in 2005, attended Douglass' lecture and made this note in the diary:<div><br /></div><blockquote><div>"Wife + I went to hear Frederick Douglass lecture this eve in our Town Hall subject. 'John Brown' "</div></blockquote><p><br />Though Brett's description is brief (and typical of his diary entries), there is a lengthy description of the same speech as given by Douglass three months earlier in Rochester, NY, where he lived for many years. Douglass, according to the <i>Rochester Democrat and Chronicle</i>, said he came to vindicate Brown<br /><br /></p><blockquote><p>"....a great historic character of our own time and country--one with whom it had been his fortune to be well acquainted and whose friendship it had been his pleasure to share. And in so doing he would endeavor to throw a more favorable light on the great event of the Harpers Ferry raid ... [and its role in] the thirty years struggle between slavery and liberty...."</p></blockquote><p><br />Douglass had taken to the lecture circuit to help with what historian John R. McKivigan has described as an existential and vocational post-war crisis brought on by "a pressing need for revenue, not just to support himself, but to assist his four adult children and their growing families financially." <sup>1</sup></p><p><br />At the same time, Douglass was concerned that audiences came to see him as almost what we would describe today as a novelty act. "I shall never get beyond Fred Douglass the self educated fugitive slave," he wrote to Redpath in 1871, adding that<br /><br /></p><blockquote><p>"I shall endeavor not to forget that people do not attend lectures to hear statesmanlike addresses, which are usually rather heavy for the stomachs of young and old who listen. People want to be amused as well as instructed. They come as often for the former as the latter, and perhaps as often to see the man as for either."</p></blockquote><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilbcB2k5s2XFOeKjaB6OeGjDxJBRk-ozKCzhOyeCo18E0_oBcCLsYJU8fwQxsS1ny8PUQWHpFvf90llXZEmDTR-w475ktHdqr3aljwbHEepHhyqWUDB-Ja9cbVg4HB8SjQJn8b5aRWOoZFlkdIB81uwQ21t8nOb9IkQf9VomgijcCXaXOm5OIQSp9I0Q/s1446/1873%20Town%20Hall%20sketch.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1446" data-original-width="1303" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilbcB2k5s2XFOeKjaB6OeGjDxJBRk-ozKCzhOyeCo18E0_oBcCLsYJU8fwQxsS1ny8PUQWHpFvf90llXZEmDTR-w475ktHdqr3aljwbHEepHhyqWUDB-Ja9cbVg4HB8SjQJn8b5aRWOoZFlkdIB81uwQ21t8nOb9IkQf9VomgijcCXaXOm5OIQSp9I0Q/w360-h400/1873%20Town%20Hall%20sketch.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sketch of Brookline's 1873 Town Hall, where Frederick Douglass spoke as part of James Redpath's Brookline Lyceum lecture series.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">1 - </span><span style="text-align: center;">John K. McKivigan, "“A New Vocation before Me”: Frederick Douglass’s Post-Civil War Lyceum Career." <i>Howard Journal of Communication, </i>29 (3), 2018<i> </i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-88721225244136558052023-01-19T16:33:00.001-05:002023-01-19T16:40:20.309-05:00BHS to Change the Name of the Sagamore<p>Kudos to the editors of the<i> Sagamore</i>, the Brookline High School newspaper whose hard work has led to an important decision about the paper's name. After extensive research, discussion, and thought, the editors announced yesterday that they will change the name of the nearly 130-year-old publication.<br /><br /></p><blockquote><p>"We have decided [they wrote] to change the name of the newspaper out of respect for Indigenous peoples. Continuing to use the name actively disregards the meaning of the word and the history that surrounds it, thereby harming Indigenous communities."</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzoIxulb-5vtO_jQcCeRfMM03HONtRxwz4Omlg2puq5l7oI4bOJn8bychIuD_OomGjhNxEiGrwuzztpTDkOqG_QblbIAHs-CTfEuStzAK4ZXlDWpnfk-iI0qTBw3i-vBJvhZn7OKW9tuKYq4TM3iNngRlhj02me2xTpu38kqypaxnQHEWNQAhde3uNg/s900/Sagamore%20banner.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sagamore banner" border="0" data-original-height="146" data-original-width="900" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzoIxulb-5vtO_jQcCeRfMM03HONtRxwz4Omlg2puq5l7oI4bOJn8bychIuD_OomGjhNxEiGrwuzztpTDkOqG_QblbIAHs-CTfEuStzAK4ZXlDWpnfk-iI0qTBw3i-vBJvhZn7OKW9tuKYq4TM3iNngRlhj02me2xTpu38kqypaxnQHEWNQAhde3uNg/w400-h65/Sagamore%20banner.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1930s version of the <i>Sagamore </i>banner</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The <a href="https://thesagonline.com/47975/news/brookline-high-school-newspaper-to-change-name/">article announcing the decision</a> notes the editors' conversations with Faries Gray, the current leader, or Sagamore, of the Massachusetts tribe, from which the name is derived. It also cites information I shared with a former editor of the paper in 2021. I was pleased to see that the information I provided was, according to the editors, a "turning point" in their deliberations.</p><p><br />The paper's article, though rich in detail, didn't go into all of the background I shared with the editors, so I thought I would provide a little more of what I found. I've also been able to find some additional information, thanks to the recent <a href="https://brookline.advantage-preservation.com/">digitization of Brookline newspapers </a>by the Public Library of Brookline.)</p><p><br />The word “Sagamore,” used by Indigenous peoples of New England to describe a leader of a group or tribe, became popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in New England and elsewhere, as a name for many kinds of things.. </p><p><br />I found references to several ships, at least two hotels, an office building, a mill, and other things named Sagamore. Teddy Roosevelt, in 1886, named his estate on Long island, New York, Sagamore Hill. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOc6vTHKKDckVMvD6RVqjsQBnwf2IjCOHWRzHCm97eBaXYCO7ZnEWFCX5ai3kWVKUXZK7LsfoEt06lmlFIPZY34L0KZJjHKkmNisM0pliHwuRpGp1ZAoU0zgbq9cB_d8umomsseetAqO4DJllAHYIZ_Sig56xhGeiinfxlqylcKxZgBi1fs86GKdpMwg/s1614/sagamore.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1614" data-original-width="1288" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOc6vTHKKDckVMvD6RVqjsQBnwf2IjCOHWRzHCm97eBaXYCO7ZnEWFCX5ai3kWVKUXZK7LsfoEt06lmlFIPZY34L0KZJjHKkmNisM0pliHwuRpGp1ZAoU0zgbq9cB_d8umomsseetAqO4DJllAHYIZ_Sig56xhGeiinfxlqylcKxZgBi1fs86GKdpMwg/w319-h400/sagamore.jpg" width="319" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Examples of things named "Sagamore" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Top to bottom and left to right: The Sagamore Hotel in the Adirondacks; the <i>S.S. Sagamore</i> cargo ship; young workers known as "mill boys" at the Sagamore Mills textile factory in Fall River; advertisement for a business in the Sagamore Building in Lynn; and Teddy Roosevelt and his family at their Sagamore Hill estate. (Click image for a larger view)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>It's possible that the students, in choosing that name, were just following a trend. An article in the <i>Boston Journal</i> newspaper announcing the new Brookline High School publication said "The name given the new magazine is 'The Sagamore,' which has an historical romance attached to it."</p><p><br /></p><p>But there may also have been a more direct connection which, if not the actual reason the name was chosen, may have contributed to it being on the minds of the students who produced the new publication.</p><p><br /></p><p>At that time, the title "Sagamore" was also used as the name of certain officers of a fraternal organization called the Improved Order of Red Men. (The top officer went by another native title: Sachem.) This was an organization, like the Freemasons, the Elks, the Foresters, the Hibernians, and others that engaged in charitable works and other activities and generally adopted different symbols, costumes, customs, terms, and regalia. </p><p><br /></p><p>In the case of the "Red Men," these were all drawn from Native American history, or at least what the white men who were the members thought were from Native American history. (The organization was supposedly inspired by the men who dressed as Native Americans when dumping British tea in Boston Harbor during the Boston Tea Party.)</p><p><br />A Brookline "tribe" of the Improved Order of Redmen was formed in 1889. The local newspaper article announcing this listed the officers, including the Sachem, the Senior Sagamore, and the Junior Sagamore. Also listed, as the Assistant Chief of Records, was C.A. Spencer. </p><p><br />This is Charles A.W. Spencer, publisher of the <i>Brookline Chronicle</i>. His son, Arthur Spencer, was the first editor-in-chief of the <i>Sagamore</i>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-msj6SgmRDd5ij1h5LmPyHTzQoFkZiLPZrB_0CyVhoyAynaxRxqI3K1wsJd_E-TI4jPShsUNyaWVjHgMaN9iE9SpEfJYa2_jRrd7YC0WZUdV9rkcMb3JJYHLq3GRQtPsrioiyaHhOqjTsoe1eFRZCVwN95UqND2zkKTGdYbEgOy_YrC5AFDVTsZQKQ/s1094/Order%20of%20Red%20Men%201889.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="May 1889 article in the Brookline Chronicle" border="0" data-original-height="1094" data-original-width="512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-msj6SgmRDd5ij1h5LmPyHTzQoFkZiLPZrB_0CyVhoyAynaxRxqI3K1wsJd_E-TI4jPShsUNyaWVjHgMaN9iE9SpEfJYa2_jRrd7YC0WZUdV9rkcMb3JJYHLq3GRQtPsrioiyaHhOqjTsoe1eFRZCVwN95UqND2zkKTGdYbEgOy_YrC5AFDVTsZQKQ/w188-h400/Order%20of%20Red%20Men%201889.jpg" width="188" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May 1889 article in the <i>Brookline Chronicle</i> announcing the formation of a Brookline "tribe" of the Improved Order of Red Men.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>It's not certain that the name was chosen specifically because of the association with the "Red Men"; the Brookline "tribe" didn't last long, disbanding in 1891, 3+ years before the founding of the <i>Sagamore</i>. (The Brookline branch of another, longer-lasting, fraternal organization named the Royal Arcanum called its local branch the Sagamore Council.) </p><p><br />But it seems reasonable to believe that Arthur was perhaps more aware of the word than other people because of his father's involvement with the order. </p><p><br />The <i>Chronicle</i>, upon formation of the Brookline branch in 1889 quipped that "There is no occasion for public alarm because a band of Red Men has captured the town. Many people will be content to call the new institution an Improved Order of White Men." This was not a criticism; remember that the paper's publisher was a member. (Membership in the organization nationally was open to white men only until 1974.) </p><p><br />The Improved Order of Red Men still exists today, though it is much smaller in number of members and number of states represented. The organization still uses "Sagamore" and other Indigenous terms. There are seven branches, or "tribes" in Massachusetts listed on the <a href="There are seven branches, or "tribes" in Massachusetts">website</a>.</p><p><br />According to a <a href="https://jgpr.net/2023/01/18/brookline-high-school-newspaper-to-change-its-name/">press release from the Public Schools of Brookline</a>, the newspaper will select a new name through a town-wide contest, where community members can submit name suggestions. Both the editors of the paper and Sagamore Gray of the Massachusetts Tribe of Ponkapoag said the name change was both the right thing to do an an opportunity to educate people about the history and the continued presence of Indigenous people,</p><p><br />“You’re not just changing a name," said Gray, "you’re changing minds."</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-28850364399634719842022-12-19T16:44:00.000-05:002022-12-19T16:44:37.496-05:00Introducing "This Week in Brookline History"This Week in Brookline History (TWIBH) is a new blog and email feed being introduced for 2023.<br /><span><br />Once a week, TWIBH will present brief summaries of four events that occurred in the past on that week's dates. <br /><br />The summaries will be accompanied by photos, maps, sketches, news headlines, or other illustrations. Links to further information, where available will also be included.<br /><br />An example, covering the week of January 1st to January 7th, is previewed below, but new weeks' entries will be on a separate site beginning January 1st. </span><span><br /><br />To receive these weekly TWIBH posts by email, go to </span><a href="https://bit.ly/brooklinehistory">https://bit.ly/brooklinehistory</a><span> and submit your name and email address via the form. (You can use the same form to subscribe to the more sporadic posts from this </span>Muddy River Musings<span> blog, if you are not already subscribed.)</span><br /><br /><p></p><a name='more'></a><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">This Week in Brookline History:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">January 1st -- January 7t</span>h</b></div></b><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-5527ecb2-7fff-0d23-be80-ef62ececc883"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGfryebyhn3u7QYAncn4aFYSOAehiVDJEXKGSD820Aw46yJ1AgR7JzFb7y29EbcDoIibGsmtyT26Bl9IfkJnBCwOaCxFW8twC7SEASjEV0kiIIZmJgt61ToO5jnZxLHzYxlo0De89skT2L3aLnO2lxbykeAVQJlbqaVRyop8h5TKyoK2nGZxR9w83b/s1058/Brookline%20Tank.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1058" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGfryebyhn3u7QYAncn4aFYSOAehiVDJEXKGSD820Aw46yJ1AgR7JzFb7y29EbcDoIibGsmtyT26Bl9IfkJnBCwOaCxFW8twC7SEASjEV0kiIIZmJgt61ToO5jnZxLHzYxlo0De89skT2L3aLnO2lxbykeAVQJlbqaVRyop8h5TKyoK2nGZxR9w83b/w400-h303/Brookline%20Tank.png" width="400" /></a></div></span>January 1, 1897 - Opening of Brookline Public Bath House <br />January 4, 1925 - Dedication of Temple Kehillath Israel<br />January 6, 1976 - Fire at St. Paul’s Church<br />January 5, 2002 - Helicopter accident at Parsons Field <br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b>January 1, 1897
<br />Opening of the Brookline Public Bath House</b>
<br />The Brookline Public Bath House on Tappan Street (seen above) was described as “the first municipal, all-the-year-round bathing establishment in the United States.” (American Journal of Sociology, January 1900).
<br /><br />Designed by architect F. Joseph Untersee, it featured a 24’ by 80’ pool with heated water and heated floors around the edges. Other spaces were soon added, including a hair-drying room for women. (Separate times were set for use of the pool by men and by women.)
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIva3pDBtB8ankVh3tesEWN5QvX67MJwEHM3k98utZ3Id0L3Cngsf84yZH5aNVgCrNtyCPJ3ZJXLXmvdq4SwAQWMwrevT3ojoEg6Y-uhkJgZIZkxEYBFJMW_x83n7IF-_c66-N-zAQdJB_8jMozL1NuLm9r4nSLbGezgPwdXO4YX700DJpQS-Ore_a/s1128/Bath%20House.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="1128" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIva3pDBtB8ankVh3tesEWN5QvX67MJwEHM3k98utZ3Id0L3Cngsf84yZH5aNVgCrNtyCPJ3ZJXLXmvdq4SwAQWMwrevT3ojoEg6Y-uhkJgZIZkxEYBFJMW_x83n7IF-_c66-N-zAQdJB_8jMozL1NuLm9r4nSLbGezgPwdXO4YX700DJpQS-Ore_a/w400-h261/Bath%20House.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />The Public Bath building was torn down in the 1950s and replaced by a new pool building, now known as the Evelyn Kirrane Aquatics Center. A remnant of the original building, with the motto, “The Health of the People - The Beginning of Happiness” is embedded in the brick wall of the building.<br /><p><br />Read more at <a href="https://us21.mailchimp.com/mctx/clicks?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fbooks%2Fedition%2FBrookline_public_bath%2F63FiMxPd0lUC%3Fgbpv%3D1&xid=bd892cd2ae&uid=183777898&iid=4ac9a1ed1c&pool=cts&v=2&c=1670697069&h=c7236bac4c2e6069c5913af14badacea16938429875894b8061094c81fedd886">Brookline Public Bath: Reports of the Building Committee and of the Committee on Care and Management</a> (1897)</p><p></p><b><br />January 4, 1925 <br />Dedication of Temple Kehillath Israel</b><br />Kehillath Israel, Brookline’s oldest Jewish congregation, first met informally in 1910 and incorporated in 1917. The congregation met in various homes of members for several years.<br /><br />Plans for a the KI synagogue were announced in 1922. The cornerstone of the new building, on Harvard Street just north of Coolidge Corner, was laid in 1923.<div><span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVoQPR4hQ7OaZelyZwGxkIfsPcRhtFLnfNQ_4TAKEci7JLCmuAnjC-disHZkF3sksHirAzsZoqa3UNv2hJyGiE9i9zCciBYCeFQH8T3Wd4GO7CBRL3VVUxMTd9ISFWwPoDM4a7tqteznmGP63TSYUyM_wwjuzPMh5FohzhhrFUHkxA9LDmzFyJZPR1/s1128/Kehillath%20Israel%20sketch.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="907" data-original-width="1128" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVoQPR4hQ7OaZelyZwGxkIfsPcRhtFLnfNQ_4TAKEci7JLCmuAnjC-disHZkF3sksHirAzsZoqa3UNv2hJyGiE9i9zCciBYCeFQH8T3Wd4GO7CBRL3VVUxMTd9ISFWwPoDM4a7tqteznmGP63TSYUyM_wwjuzPMh5FohzhhrFUHkxA9LDmzFyJZPR1/w400-h321/Kehillath%20Israel%20sketch.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Boston Globe</em> sketch, June 4, 1922<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><!--more--><p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"></p></span></span><b>January 6, 1976 <br />Fire at St. Paul’s Church</b><span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <span id="docs-internal-guid-95199afb-7fff-9b0f-3fa5-66310e5f4e80" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">
</span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOl-_z2oVl7mFk-LFX_GlqHoMNkM86QWfdARl55Z5XXxv9ZxXl3i8zclq3nImFKxjYNbv53zr2UhCMhVm4bGTdwdofm9pXV_UJfwIGMc92KRtV-GxAc63AlfEcozfT2axnJ0IoMvGpVf947tZkGFKURB6FqCrfTyVE12CNHr6HODauEiKSOUHohfID/s882/St.%20Paul's%20Fire.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="882" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOl-_z2oVl7mFk-LFX_GlqHoMNkM86QWfdARl55Z5XXxv9ZxXl3i8zclq3nImFKxjYNbv53zr2UhCMhVm4bGTdwdofm9pXV_UJfwIGMc92KRtV-GxAc63AlfEcozfT2axnJ0IoMvGpVf947tZkGFKURB6FqCrfTyVE12CNHr6HODauEiKSOUHohfID/w400-h319/St.%20Paul's%20Fire.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Boston Herald</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">photo by Ray Lusier, January 7, 1976</span></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Gothic Revival St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, built in 1852, is the oldest still-standing church building in Brookline. The interior of the sanctuary was devastated by a fire in 1976, leaving only the exterior walls. <br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIP1OR0Uz7WFp1aGtVmVg0rpMNNFKO2aCwKCWtJvbxyCRdy2VaPOtQpFLcjbLhz0SkYVv8UjZ5sw7vsuvD9i4BVDMGoXiuWuDRCOw8ei37ECp2o8t_b-mmcgvsxTpwL4wUE6MOhENo5PPtl_o-kfy-L56YxBxOXkLadr9uFPC83YLrh4JpxHxLeIEr/s341/St.%20Paul's%20sketch.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="341" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIP1OR0Uz7WFp1aGtVmVg0rpMNNFKO2aCwKCWtJvbxyCRdy2VaPOtQpFLcjbLhz0SkYVv8UjZ5sw7vsuvD9i4BVDMGoXiuWuDRCOw8ei37ECp2o8t_b-mmcgvsxTpwL4wUE6MOhENo5PPtl_o-kfy-L56YxBxOXkLadr9uFPC83YLrh4JpxHxLeIEr/w400-h390/St.%20Paul's%20sketch.png" width="400" /></a></div></div>The congregation, as described on the church’s website, could have given up what had been lost and move on to other churches, but decided to rebuild the interior.<br /><br /></div><!--more--><p></p><b>January 5, 2002 <br />Helicopter accident at Parsons Field <br /></b>Two U.S. military helicopters were practicing landing at Parsons Field on Kent Street, used by Northeastern University, in preparation for the planned arrival of President George W. Bush three days later. Wind generated by the propellors of one of the Chinook helicopters knocked over a baseball dugout on the field seriously injuring four Brookline firefighters.<div><span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span></span></div><div><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KxDlUjMwUZq_nnH0clnXx5vvWI45ZJ8SJtJmf69SWhyJay9tpd0tgy71N177vfYSIIeWG258fENL_5ti9bQgQEcaDY4O9L4UQNKLzqxAzuM2E6aOfFAZQpQ4YLShaHGYBNS9hEcjsWwWjMtJCur-YMB95US24iTp26MtEmRKmxSq8HJoyxNjPuk0/s784/Helicopter%20accident.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="784" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5KxDlUjMwUZq_nnH0clnXx5vvWI45ZJ8SJtJmf69SWhyJay9tpd0tgy71N177vfYSIIeWG258fENL_5ti9bQgQEcaDY4O9L4UQNKLzqxAzuM2E6aOfFAZQpQ4YLShaHGYBNS9hEcjsWwWjMtJCur-YMB95US24iTp26MtEmRKmxSq8HJoyxNjPuk0/w400-h250/Helicopter%20accident.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headlines about helicopter accident</td></tr></tbody></table><div><span><br /></span></div></span>Two of the firefighters retired due to fractures and other injuries suffered in the accident. Two others missed several months of work. The planned landing by the president — coming to Boston for a speech — was moved elsewhere. <br /><br />Five years later, the four firefighters were awarded a total of $3 million in a settlement reached with the Federal government. The town received an additional $800,000 to cover payroll, medical fees, and other costs that resulted from the accident.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-90445987380314713612022-12-14T09:08:00.000-05:002022-12-14T09:08:07.063-05:00Harvard Street, Coolidge Corner: 1912 & 1937<p>Two of the busiest periods of commercial development in Coolidge Corner took place in the 1910s and 1920s. Perhaps no two photographs demonstrates this change better than these two images of the same stretch of Harvard Street, one from c1912 and the other from 1937.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6U7VLby5y9rB5BLrFB1AiKAVv4Ps2gp_CrzZOad7fc-OlwuhSW_p__aidoyZfndz20mZOjr7_MrC7KmzHKE3xEsMV8yAhnXlxVvOy3Q-2bDUhr_LMP1IyQRzL7lYboagKGQZ3ueKrU6_udvYEybTzph2D6p9qTKrTUPLRMd0MQRbEF4pZaghMW4q7Q/s431/Harvard%20Street%201912.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="c1912 photo" border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="431" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6U7VLby5y9rB5BLrFB1AiKAVv4Ps2gp_CrzZOad7fc-OlwuhSW_p__aidoyZfndz20mZOjr7_MrC7KmzHKE3xEsMV8yAhnXlxVvOy3Q-2bDUhr_LMP1IyQRzL7lYboagKGQZ3ueKrU6_udvYEybTzph2D6p9qTKrTUPLRMd0MQRbEF4pZaghMW4q7Q/w400-h285/Harvard%20Street%201912.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West side of Harvard Street <br />between Beacon Street and Babcock Street (offscreen to the left), c 1912<br />Postcard view (Click on this and all images for larger views)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwpG3m4HvX-VGWWQQN5oeJeDPuckupnVI9q2uPMaiqYuVK7nMyy64_JlzJVn4og3AoSPPCsTBvEQSZB6SeVd_6UCuUa3XXC449lAgd3EG98YM9ClWsS7lrtpAgokc5332b-HU4PaJHXmXM61iBu_io2R72s4GeTjCi4LGDJrCfgPdyDTTa8GVdw90zw/s2237/Harvard%20Street%201937.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="1937 photo" border="0" data-original-height="1374" data-original-width="2237" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwpG3m4HvX-VGWWQQN5oeJeDPuckupnVI9q2uPMaiqYuVK7nMyy64_JlzJVn4og3AoSPPCsTBvEQSZB6SeVd_6UCuUa3XXC449lAgd3EG98YM9ClWsS7lrtpAgokc5332b-HU4PaJHXmXM61iBu_io2R72s4GeTjCi4LGDJrCfgPdyDTTa8GVdw90zw/w400-h246/Harvard%20Street%201937.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same view, 1937<br />Photo courtesy of Brookline Preservation Department<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The tower of the S.S. Pierce Building at the northwest corner of Harvard and Beacon Streets, constructed in 1898, anchors both images at the far left. (The open-deck tower was damaged in a storm in 1944 and replaced with the current closed tower.) But everything else in the picture has changed by the time of the later photo.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The building immediately to the north of S.S. Pierce is the same in both photos, but has undergone a change of design and of use by 1937. Built as the Beacon Universalist Church in 1906, it was converted to the Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline's first movie house, just four years before the later photo was taken.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimA4DsIsaK_28F3uC35fntz08VyEMu8dsnDFHFPQtmmCVXeRECOJQ9DGYne8YRVueg1ImLws-kTMcoEdeWvxZayP5b1UJkD2uCG9d5U2bqALvy9ZJv_AGUObh1RPzLYPoEM7jTfAJqq17RHup2zlduxuB_B6Pst93IUSeyR9hVzNIJwwrxpi4eoWliLg/s500/Beacon%20Universalist%20Church.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Beacon Universalist Church" border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="500" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimA4DsIsaK_28F3uC35fntz08VyEMu8dsnDFHFPQtmmCVXeRECOJQ9DGYne8YRVueg1ImLws-kTMcoEdeWvxZayP5b1UJkD2uCG9d5U2bqALvy9ZJv_AGUObh1RPzLYPoEM7jTfAJqq17RHup2zlduxuB_B6Pst93IUSeyR9hVzNIJwwrxpi4eoWliLg/w400-h246/Beacon%20Universalist%20Church.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">S.S. Pierce Building and Beacon Universalist Church, c1906</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm61wNzz8hIAC8-NNkM45oIS5WxB-I6D4bPrXqRP7ZolQ0ZX6t_kAAt4G_LLIwXRdZMaQ3FHBW5YPbg0zkkQetrS3JRtEyNA1qBqC_E9xvOIdMJnKMT0Fb0UxuAOoeccIf0Oj3FLGiCX28eARh3Nr_2y9HDLLJ3jEKQ9JMvIyHLSCYHKDndCkid7siJA/s1456/CC%20Theater%201937.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Coolidge Corner Theatre 1937" border="0" data-original-height="1456" data-original-width="1002" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm61wNzz8hIAC8-NNkM45oIS5WxB-I6D4bPrXqRP7ZolQ0ZX6t_kAAt4G_LLIwXRdZMaQ3FHBW5YPbg0zkkQetrS3JRtEyNA1qBqC_E9xvOIdMJnKMT0Fb0UxuAOoeccIf0Oj3FLGiCX28eARh3Nr_2y9HDLLJ3jEKQ9JMvIyHLSCYHKDndCkid7siJA/w138-h200/CC%20Theater%201937.png" width="138" /> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMrhHRAVfWCCNsy_74rGau3akVs5NRUuTiRCTHI6fD9XEM6kHaV2n_Z7gBz2SK1J0LXofP25WaUBuBsii7JxdsT0WB626-kqjtz8jMh6CTqyBdbBW80aBWyacNYEg5bcJtZP_oyRwW8QlGB04xAs7UGvlVGZs5gUCwaspSDxBSD0MUdq-LhJW8IdoTHg/s507/CC%20Theatre%201970s.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Coolidge Corner Theatre 1970s" border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="497" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMrhHRAVfWCCNsy_74rGau3akVs5NRUuTiRCTHI6fD9XEM6kHaV2n_Z7gBz2SK1J0LXofP25WaUBuBsii7JxdsT0WB626-kqjtz8jMh6CTqyBdbBW80aBWyacNYEg5bcJtZP_oyRwW8QlGB04xAs7UGvlVGZs5gUCwaspSDxBSD0MUdq-LhJW8IdoTHg/w196-h200/CC%20Theatre%201970s.png" width="196" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">S.S. Pierce Building and Coolidge Corner Theatre, 1937 and 1970s<br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;">But the biggest change is north of the church/theater building, where four wood-frame houses have been replaced with commercial buildings.The difference can be seen in the segments of the two photos below and in the maps from the 1913 and 1927 town atlases. (The purple rectangles indicate the location of the buildings in the photos.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0W9X0fCA1tLWZ5hr29AhwF5X1gJAnE05U8jgmm6LQ67ljwzCMi-W8c96LvLt4CQ1IYTforxSYWdGUwBEDCLy_fawCJug0CiCq-OBF1edvvYv9BaH_-lq-R-IqbqeAPFmf8uIALOopZJXSZd-HQB3OZXlPkpK3LGOmvok-UVRtf0p8LQGEYcQ4HdImfQ/s1171/Harvard%20St.%20houses%201912%20&%201937.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Four houses and the stores that replaced them" border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="1171" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0W9X0fCA1tLWZ5hr29AhwF5X1gJAnE05U8jgmm6LQ67ljwzCMi-W8c96LvLt4CQ1IYTforxSYWdGUwBEDCLy_fawCJug0CiCq-OBF1edvvYv9BaH_-lq-R-IqbqeAPFmf8uIALOopZJXSZd-HQB3OZXlPkpK3LGOmvok-UVRtf0p8LQGEYcQ4HdImfQ/w400-h235/Harvard%20St.%20houses%201912%20&%201937.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closer view of this stretch of Harvard Street</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9piZf-Utbe0hoFO8hIDpno36XSsOmXwqK1gSkFDFviDOvdlYwEpL_XQOAn02sWXKC6vs_q2woEQZoQB66eGPcVpZOTL-wbDsxWX_yuOYlhkYVKQxfZ3ezFtMLOpoEJIqr4WvgnaofiJ5yhCQWh9ZyyFsfTyWU6JuvmO6Nej24wBDntlrf21nDisgyqA/s2384/CC%201913.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="1913 map" border="0" data-original-height="1138" data-original-width="2384" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9piZf-Utbe0hoFO8hIDpno36XSsOmXwqK1gSkFDFviDOvdlYwEpL_XQOAn02sWXKC6vs_q2woEQZoQB66eGPcVpZOTL-wbDsxWX_yuOYlhkYVKQxfZ3ezFtMLOpoEJIqr4WvgnaofiJ5yhCQWh9ZyyFsfTyWU6JuvmO6Nej24wBDntlrf21nDisgyqA/w400-h191/CC%201913.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1913 atlas view<br />(Yellow buildings are wood-frame structures; pink buildings are brick.)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7b0PUkUwZtgAIpJ4jz_lFFn6xF6f6asa_12ovHJwALREnWutLG-JDRcCaL_hJ_zE_2E0GSY1EikAyKEGduX30bQNI4bA7A7dskmr1XtO0S-Z8XHfsrCyXe1MwoGiJ_5hH-dX-QV-oYfkMaq21A7X-0VvMkcWadjMwVl8C7jo7EpdcTr98xlVoTbfGA/s2372/CC1927.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="1927 map" border="0" data-original-height="1142" data-original-width="2372" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE7b0PUkUwZtgAIpJ4jz_lFFn6xF6f6asa_12ovHJwALREnWutLG-JDRcCaL_hJ_zE_2E0GSY1EikAyKEGduX30bQNI4bA7A7dskmr1XtO0S-Z8XHfsrCyXe1MwoGiJ_5hH-dX-QV-oYfkMaq21A7X-0VvMkcWadjMwVl8C7jo7EpdcTr98xlVoTbfGA/w400-h193/CC1927.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1927 atlas view</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Coolidge Corner retail district was expanding in <i>all</i> directions in this period; on both sides of Harvard Street north and south of Beacon Street and on Beacon east and west of Harvard.<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">All four houses in the c1912 photo had been replaced by commercial buildings by the mid-1920s. Houses north of these were also replaced by commercial buildings, including the Coolidge Corner Arcade, just visible at the far right of the 1937 photo. (The house it replaced is just outside the frame of the earlier photo.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />Even before being replaced, some of these and other houses on Harvard Street were put to new uses. The house at 302 Harvard, for example, became a boarding house, lunchroom, and cooking school run by a German immigrant named Martha Albinsky. Her daughter, Gertrude (Albinsky) Millett, wrote about it in the <i>Brookline Chronicle</i> half a century later and included a photo of her mother in her kitchen. (<a href="https://brookline.advantage-preservation.com/viewer/?k=cooking%20martha&i=f&d=01011870-12311980&e=302%20harvard&m=between&ord=e1,k1&fn=brookline_chronicle_citizen_usa_massachusetts_brookline_19760527_english_6&df=1&dt=10&cid=2914" target="_blank">1976 article</a>, at bottom of linked page.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgi_FgFIjWBqVkZz9lFIS962HP3EJ-Jechoc8aXAZRkjVNlNp-IJugOYZq7fq2a6godnYQNZaRlivZkH7FG_XHN9U8XryMHt7Cmw8D4AaghWJX2pnfg2C4m3e1KfSdB_gq5XVxgHXadhVA5sLkqbWhqTRIGVtynP-f8ReDxQYTGXpUWkkhnFgEaDq3f3g" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Brookline Chronicle ad and photo of Martha Albinsky" data-original-height="1502" data-original-width="890" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgi_FgFIjWBqVkZz9lFIS962HP3EJ-Jechoc8aXAZRkjVNlNp-IJugOYZq7fq2a6godnYQNZaRlivZkH7FG_XHN9U8XryMHt7Cmw8D4AaghWJX2pnfg2C4m3e1KfSdB_gq5XVxgHXadhVA5sLkqbWhqTRIGVtynP-f8ReDxQYTGXpUWkkhnFgEaDq3f3g=w237-h400" width="237" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ad from 1918 and 1920 photo from 1976 article both from the digitized newspaper collection of the Public LIbrary of Brookline</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />"The house my mother rented [wrote Millett in 1976] was very suitable to our purpose. It had been used as a party house by Rose Gordon and the large front room was ideal for a public dining room while the rest of the house could be used for boarders...But my mother's desire was to have a real dining room with homecooked meals for it was easy enough for her to cook for five or 20..."<br /><br />"The homecooked dinner consisting of soup, main course, dessert, tea or coffee was 50 cents, and everyone enjoyed it, particularly the fresh-baked Parker House rolls which were my mother's specialty."<br /><br />"The dining room was a success from the start, serving anywhere from 10-15 customers every night."<br /><br />Houses across the street were also put to new uses before being replaced by retail buildings. The house at 299 Harvard became the Coolidge Corner Branch of the Brookline Library, while the house next to it at 303 became a funeral home. Both of these can be seen in the full version of the c1912 photo below. (Streetcar tracks are also gone, while cars are parked at the curb in front of the 1937 stores.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvvvqWmakngXFZUs4zQBcT6PRXZUPNkGg32rvf6q81qS0oxBESkar36Oy7YZ4-Wb4JrUGsACKid-SPZ43N88D9WiAXJD2wHuSRF2xqER76OD5AWuQlTHbMf2o4BWtc336sT-lvxJUh6rKLLMTo2IojY1qywN3B8h9VTW94ZiZBWf5kZESWPQuiVupWuw/s1501/CC%20c1912.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Harvard Street c1912" border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1501" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvvvqWmakngXFZUs4zQBcT6PRXZUPNkGg32rvf6q81qS0oxBESkar36Oy7YZ4-Wb4JrUGsACKid-SPZ43N88D9WiAXJD2wHuSRF2xqER76OD5AWuQlTHbMf2o4BWtc336sT-lvxJUh6rKLLMTo2IojY1qywN3B8h9VTW94ZiZBWf5kZESWPQuiVupWuw/w400-h205/CC%20c1912.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full postcard view of Harvard Street looking south from near Babcock Street, c1912<br />(Click for larger view)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today, only two former houses (not counting the colonial Edward Devotion House) remain on Harvard Street north of Beacon; one, at the corner of Williams Street, is used for dental and other offices, and the other, at the corner of Kenwood Street, is now the Chabad Center. The buildings that replaced other houses on Harvard Street north of Beacon continue to thrive as part of the Coolidge Corner and JFK Crossing retail districts.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-67412587188205252642022-10-10T15:32:00.016-04:002022-11-05T16:38:51.699-04:00Booksmith Makes History in Coolidge Corner<p>On Friday, Brookline Booksmith will mark a new stage in its 61-year tenure in Brookline with a ribbon-cutting and other festivities to celebrate the latest expansion of the venerable bookstore.<br /><a href="https://www.brooklinebooksmith.com/event/brookline-booksmith-ribbon-cutting-celebration" target="_blank">https://www.brooklinebooksmith.com/event/brookline-booksmith-ribbon-cutting-celebration </a><br /><br /></p><p>Like the Coolidge Corner Theatre (also expanding), its neighbor across Harvard Street, Booksmith is an icon and an anchor -- socially, culturally, and economically -- of its neighborhood, serving the local community and drawing visitors and customers from throughout the region. <br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p>The new addition to the store, incorporating the space formerly occupied by Dependable Cleaners, gives Booksmith an unbroken streetscape between Starbucks and the recently opened Mecha Noodle Bar at the corner of Green Street. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLBSAhQPsPMM-8aMj_1GOX-gymezF6PTauKNIGHk2zjhKnIvi5KdPqgjiw3C84ImdTWuIsTaofK6fmQcWHee1pph7mS0MBhH7vPFu3glD9bHOalPzfoitr20Qjpd_v3-_kLvXneVoIHLUkA-dtDw9h9fEDIv7PXydqUe2kMg1avw04xNGSOgBYjMfi6A/s803/Booksmith%201960s%20&%202022.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="803" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLBSAhQPsPMM-8aMj_1GOX-gymezF6PTauKNIGHk2zjhKnIvi5KdPqgjiw3C84ImdTWuIsTaofK6fmQcWHee1pph7mS0MBhH7vPFu3glD9bHOalPzfoitr20Qjpd_v3-_kLvXneVoIHLUkA-dtDw9h9fEDIv7PXydqUe2kMg1avw04xNGSOgBYjMfi6A/w400-h230/Booksmith%201960s%20&%202022.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top: A 1960s photo-montage from the Brookline Preservation Department showing the original Paperback Booksmith store on the far right and a series of storefronts that have since been incorporated into the expanded bookstore. Bottom: A view of the same streetscape in October 2022 (Click on the image for a much larger view)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p></p><p>In honor of the occasion, I've taken a look at the long history of the row of storefronts now occupied by Booksmith, going back more than 110 years to a brick commercial building erected at 279 Harvard Street in 1910. That building was the first occupied by Paperback Booksmith in 1963 after two years at 271 Harvard (now game Stop).. </p><p><br />Among the previous occupants of that space and the other storefronts now part of Booksmith have been:</p><ul><li>The Racheotes Brothers' Faneuil Hall Fruit Store at 279 Harvard Street in 1911 and later at 281 and 283 Harvard</li><li>A.J. Landy & Co., the first kosher delicatessen in Brookline, which opened at 279 Harvard in 1914.</li><li>A pair of grocery stores that competed, side by side in the 1940s:
Finast, or First National Stores, at 279; and Stop & Shop, extending
south from Green Street at 285. </li></ul><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bNy3guPtuSNuF9oOVQ03wSFZFkOPaDuh5ZgEV_T3thF7lk97q6MS6SpHncqMnxTEYaLDpv8ob-nnWuI4OpShxu0saxuzO-5DzcIOyq6_nK60jx9UlZXw8ZYHNiQE-c8czrGh4ykxnbpTYCuKvr6LicBGB5W4ph-0HvlN-5IFdDq9b5HKN-Fwb2GO2w/s716/Faneuil%20Hall%20Fruit%20.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="716" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bNy3guPtuSNuF9oOVQ03wSFZFkOPaDuh5ZgEV_T3thF7lk97q6MS6SpHncqMnxTEYaLDpv8ob-nnWuI4OpShxu0saxuzO-5DzcIOyq6_nK60jx9UlZXw8ZYHNiQE-c8czrGh4ykxnbpTYCuKvr6LicBGB5W4ph-0HvlN-5IFdDq9b5HKN-Fwb2GO2w/w400-h246/Faneuil%20Hall%20Fruit%20.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Racheotes Brothers' Faneuil Hall Fruit Store, opened at 279 Harvard Street in 1911 and moved next door to 281 and 283 shortly after. The fruit store moved across Beacon Street to 253 Harvard Street (now Breugger's Bagel's) in 1940. (Their sign can still be seen on the back of the Breugger's building, as shown below.)</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6u-zfZgnQTYOtR89OOj8KwlFL4Df4U63bT_aDm_ZNtCxRgETGbev_qa2vEjB1CXLkC7OqTwhC6L6U8HLzCwMY9BzlfpkBaw8ZO4UozJb-6YuUrVR4L3ab9Q8o6ziacPAzHGSDUk6OKyvkY_P6D6H9mJe_9TxyPDLQB-qq5eFd5qG0_sbpAajUeXNG3g/s1008/Faneuil%20Hall%20Fruit%20Store%20sign%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="1008" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6u-zfZgnQTYOtR89OOj8KwlFL4Df4U63bT_aDm_ZNtCxRgETGbev_qa2vEjB1CXLkC7OqTwhC6L6U8HLzCwMY9BzlfpkBaw8ZO4UozJb-6YuUrVR4L3ab9Q8o6ziacPAzHGSDUk6OKyvkY_P6D6H9mJe_9TxyPDLQB-qq5eFd5qG0_sbpAajUeXNG3g/w400-h125/Faneuil%20Hall%20Fruit%20Store%20sign%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJSP5duLzTZHyaIhkdM4PafKQfuTZIaAKZY_bLqUw8Vo7MJ4BqTsoHdAjn09atsfTlINBXrbq_bOCbgXlYOmlDeXuwL1ZwZGZyluYR7tKlqEcHEC3qUe7I9dLrW8SxIgp9hcQ311qikpVS6OHWBqCJHL7GTyycNs0eud7EfSmsS8IPlKaoShpYBp5nQ/s1600/Finast%201947.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJSP5duLzTZHyaIhkdM4PafKQfuTZIaAKZY_bLqUw8Vo7MJ4BqTsoHdAjn09atsfTlINBXrbq_bOCbgXlYOmlDeXuwL1ZwZGZyluYR7tKlqEcHEC3qUe7I9dLrW8SxIgp9hcQ311qikpVS6OHWBqCJHL7GTyycNs0eud7EfSmsS8IPlKaoShpYBp5nQ/w400-h180/Finast%201947.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This First National Stores, or Finast, supermarket, seen here in an ad for a 1947 remodeling, was in business at Booksmith's original location from the 1920s through the 1950s.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgic7hJDrIjV0nsQuLQww0IcLAWFzgxHiFEpg2xRZQY0cyLj7Hy5zSlZa_AfiIX7f-KWSNOjtDEARoRBKTkyGaQrXmY5chfUtYphskFOEoez9VpqT-b2FU2qczgE-AikJLgbujTg-GkvJds2EbRchucQE_WhqTJzINnv4eLyPlo6Cm1XBDlxAIIDwT6Xg/s800/Stop%20&%20Shop%201942.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="800" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgic7hJDrIjV0nsQuLQww0IcLAWFzgxHiFEpg2xRZQY0cyLj7Hy5zSlZa_AfiIX7f-KWSNOjtDEARoRBKTkyGaQrXmY5chfUtYphskFOEoez9VpqT-b2FU2qczgE-AikJLgbujTg-GkvJds2EbRchucQE_WhqTJzINnv4eLyPlo6Cm1XBDlxAIIDwT6Xg/w400-h398/Stop%20&%20Shop%201942.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stop & Shop, which had been at 289 Harvard Street, moved across Green Street to a new space extending south from the corner, as seen in this 1942 ad. It remained there until 1950. (Part of that space is now Mecha Noodle Bar and part Booksmith.)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>There have been many others, too, including a florist, a hairdresser, an upholsterer, a rug dealer, a bakery, a drug store, a milliner, a women's clothing store, and several more over the years, all in spaces now occupied by Booksmith.</p><p><br />A few more ads and images from the pre-Booksmith days are below. I'll have more, including more recent occupants, in a later post.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK2FIDxz1RINUHoHXgphANFOGxsZ4Akt0e6udPrKvcQhPbZr8tVIoyaAkIdJqx-15Vq8jjlbs0MRPN2GFafpnfZpd853NcP10dUXlpFvLmHe-ZKFpkM6-h5dE0Hl5Ds1K4GUiUlGc7RQJitAq_OMHZxrcaEVq7CMJUMw5jA5139qZ1be2X18WqoaXpvw/s395/Fine%20the%20Florist%201922%20ad.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="395" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK2FIDxz1RINUHoHXgphANFOGxsZ4Akt0e6udPrKvcQhPbZr8tVIoyaAkIdJqx-15Vq8jjlbs0MRPN2GFafpnfZpd853NcP10dUXlpFvLmHe-ZKFpkM6-h5dE0Hl5Ds1K4GUiUlGc7RQJitAq_OMHZxrcaEVq7CMJUMw5jA5139qZ1be2X18WqoaXpvw/w400-h251/Fine%20the%20Florist%201922%20ad.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fine the Florist, 279 Harvard Street, 1922 ad</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJLkOF9LzKJ_yYRjU5nyFEa94Atgdg1Ao3XwUe4tIGUO6mxl-eV3sh4Vf23jzbx0whqKCW9okNwrCM_rMqwG5k8fjyZUbToGx8r5Qs516MxIYvmR7Dp056kgeGeqtXog572AQgF9TdKZmPKd8E88_SyIXt3cKuZgBomcV36utgOgqMn1GPVZcDcp3vUg/s433/Baker%20Apothecary,%201948.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="238" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJLkOF9LzKJ_yYRjU5nyFEa94Atgdg1Ao3XwUe4tIGUO6mxl-eV3sh4Vf23jzbx0whqKCW9okNwrCM_rMqwG5k8fjyZUbToGx8r5Qs516MxIYvmR7Dp056kgeGeqtXog572AQgF9TdKZmPKd8E88_SyIXt3cKuZgBomcV36utgOgqMn1GPVZcDcp3vUg/w220-h400/Baker%20Apothecary,%201948.jpg" width="220" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baker Apothercary, 281 Harvard Street, 1948 ad<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKXpZu_TuHRnThJA2exmIpCQlNUCPdEYyxTIOOL0-quqR_mISNo6NseClNF9ShRDPyvgkUXIjbBrXNhs6zeDKn_s9wLbH4fxTmPt1zed618-SdNMCTOAvQrPpVNgd98c8U_WCzfmDI6RXFFAPqr502oP6m60urc6SyWAPYil-4zjdE0taXSYHKvzMeCQ/s524/Schrafft's%201940.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="369" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKXpZu_TuHRnThJA2exmIpCQlNUCPdEYyxTIOOL0-quqR_mISNo6NseClNF9ShRDPyvgkUXIjbBrXNhs6zeDKn_s9wLbH4fxTmPt1zed618-SdNMCTOAvQrPpVNgd98c8U_WCzfmDI6RXFFAPqr502oP6m60urc6SyWAPYil-4zjdE0taXSYHKvzMeCQ/w281-h400/Schrafft's%201940.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schrafft's, 283 Harvard Street, 1940 ad<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRk7-Aj9fY6LOnxs_BwKIUSMcSnkZRT0wxVvUpIFvvn66yyPZrdjgPMuMIofLyBE0WaSU6PeqUGNz5-aWNYvePl5nJMjbgtztSk9kcarwYPrgPqtUg1lB1TbR_Pmm6Cly-V6ujTgM8a77X2kzJ9uzdYYZXK-7_UiJxaMvRKx-6CpqdwlriprY9T6KWsA/s628/Adeles%201936.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="428" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRk7-Aj9fY6LOnxs_BwKIUSMcSnkZRT0wxVvUpIFvvn66yyPZrdjgPMuMIofLyBE0WaSU6PeqUGNz5-aWNYvePl5nJMjbgtztSk9kcarwYPrgPqtUg1lB1TbR_Pmm6Cly-V6ujTgM8a77X2kzJ9uzdYYZXK-7_UiJxaMvRKx-6CpqdwlriprY9T6KWsA/w273-h400/Adeles%201936.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adeles Hats of Distinction, 283 Harvard Street, 1936 ad</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RkkfrzOphrhEgqOmt37NW6IDOpquIFsnqZfmEql7F_t4ZjrAPqQArcglJg9A_zv3cEo3hxcHqPrM2sUJSWUYLbGo5FA0v18UUR8ZAkObSY77sZ3YmWmo603lEUHOxU2AYbB7imanJpk2zZiMmkuCZ5ps4saET3b46rsn0uAnvAq6tCCLVcc0sPjwng/s529/Schulte-United%201929.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="402" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RkkfrzOphrhEgqOmt37NW6IDOpquIFsnqZfmEql7F_t4ZjrAPqQArcglJg9A_zv3cEo3hxcHqPrM2sUJSWUYLbGo5FA0v18UUR8ZAkObSY77sZ3YmWmo603lEUHOxU2AYbB7imanJpk2zZiMmkuCZ5ps4saET3b46rsn0uAnvAq6tCCLVcc0sPjwng/w304-h400/Schulte-United%201929.jpg" width="304" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Schulte-United Junior Department Store, 285 Harvard Street, 1929 ad. (The company, which made a big splash with full page ads like this, went bankrupt two years later.)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>NOTE: Advertisements are from town directories and <a href="https://brookline.advantage-preservation.com">Brookline newspapers digitized</a> by the Public Library of Brookline and other sources.<br /> <br /></p><p></p><p><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-90328699397817594272022-09-14T08:37:00.006-04:002023-03-10T16:35:36.100-05:003 Doctors & Their 19th Century Brookline Houses<p>If you stand on the northeast side of Washington Street about halfway
between its intersections with Greenough Street and Weybridge Road
you'll be in one angle of a triangle formed by three Brookline houses
from three different eras of the 19th century. <br /><br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHEdGTfKdNa4PpsoHIP3PrR7hZMo6EATerC696a0cV1FXukQrK27NZEWOFYi555x8FBAPeaG6dru97mcHblTO__yUgxlZjU-NJf-OIawhVw2gOWHlkT15xfqyPGEhsRzOVisgjYg0vdMASprukZ-ULm2C4jmCgaskgb9iLwr3kqqhCYz6pKOewV4UWQ/s711/Washington%20Street%20Doctors'%20Houses.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="711" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHEdGTfKdNa4PpsoHIP3PrR7hZMo6EATerC696a0cV1FXukQrK27NZEWOFYi555x8FBAPeaG6dru97mcHblTO__yUgxlZjU-NJf-OIawhVw2gOWHlkT15xfqyPGEhsRzOVisgjYg0vdMASprukZ-ULm2C4jmCgaskgb9iLwr3kqqhCYz6pKOewV4UWQ/w400-h293/Washington%20Street%20Doctors'%20Houses.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOD-Mhd4f5DVxJVGBFuwYxqfI3k5TO4Uc9lAqM9KORUSTuiQV792F4U2XjFwpqBorndztw7T_C1x3705MBGBPoVNsDowpICd04x-v7wW8Ju2yTrnlTCv415JWtTuq6vCV9oxnHMHxkGCwv9e-9bTB1dfMVMkXHVoe2nfDVImtStGf-PkjwdEXn1blyjg/s886/Doctor's%20Houses%20on%20Washington%20Street%202.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="880" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOD-Mhd4f5DVxJVGBFuwYxqfI3k5TO4Uc9lAqM9KORUSTuiQV792F4U2XjFwpqBorndztw7T_C1x3705MBGBPoVNsDowpICd04x-v7wW8Ju2yTrnlTCv415JWtTuq6vCV9oxnHMHxkGCwv9e-9bTB1dfMVMkXHVoe2nfDVImtStGf-PkjwdEXn1blyjg/w398-h400/Doctor's%20Houses%20on%20Washington%20Street%202.jpg" width="398" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aerial
view via Google Maps showing: 1) 26 Weybridge Road (formerly 446
Washington Street); 2) 447 Washington Street; and 3) 432 Washington
Street. All three are visible from the spot marked with a star.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Dating these houses based on their architectural styles can be confusing:<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>
#1 -- 26 Weybridge Road -- is in the style of the Colonial Revival of
the late 19th-early 20th century and appears to be the newest of the
three but is actually the oldest, built in 1822. It was redesigned in
1868 and again, as a Colonial Revival home, in 1922. A more recent
(2016) renovation restored elements of that 1920s design that had
deteriorated or been removed in later years.</li><li>#2 -- 447 Washington Street -- was built smack dab in the middle of the century, c1850. <br /></li><li>#3
-- 432 Washington Street has the look of a pre-Revolution house, but
only because it was designed as a replica of John Hancock's Beacon Hill
mansion, built by his uncle in the 1730s and torn down in 1863. It is
actually the newest of the three, built in 1895. </li></ul><p>When the
most recent of these -- the Hancock replica -- was built, there was very
little around them on the now densely built-up section of this busy
thoroughfare between Brookline Village and Washington Square.</p><div><p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wXcCAo5htZg30-VTLQ63elaS2UA2slE-edfcGoOXuJxBxpdJ82sVUHms4y476fTpy1xTADXMJ23mkQnMSdmNFcHvQkJQAErZStQPIssZ46PG16d0sp2PyynOYxrVjGHONafK4UsiVpb2rK1PtODK5ybdlGXTZ0hPif7oysBo4_xF4xeaHQ7aPgOy2Q/s870/Doctor's%20Houses%20on%20Washington%20Street%201900%20map.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="870" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wXcCAo5htZg30-VTLQ63elaS2UA2slE-edfcGoOXuJxBxpdJ82sVUHms4y476fTpy1xTADXMJ23mkQnMSdmNFcHvQkJQAErZStQPIssZ46PG16d0sp2PyynOYxrVjGHONafK4UsiVpb2rK1PtODK5ybdlGXTZ0hPif7oysBo4_xF4xeaHQ7aPgOy2Q/w400-h370/Doctor's%20Houses%20on%20Washington%20Street%201900%20map.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The three houses shown on the 1900 Brookline atlas<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><b><br /></b><p>All three houses were originally the homes of doctors and their
families. But the three doctors -- Charles Wild, Charles Wheelwright,
and Benjamin Blanchard -- were as different from one another as are
their still-standing houses. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-jn15dY3WDwjOlfhazsmaD0W4HqJgvFrnyNn9YYl8n0aWTP3nnhCF0zGY8hgAezhPxHIbDylvCbW1QivYue3Dy_Y4PVXB04ACforiBUQOYBCs6BA6LholC5oKaXGCFOyUBMOzAgMBQPDyGG7pX1PVCOjM7mRpUIO34pml-_N8Ya1P6LALieCX9QRFA/s1762/Three%20Brookline%20Doctors.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="1762" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-jn15dY3WDwjOlfhazsmaD0W4HqJgvFrnyNn9YYl8n0aWTP3nnhCF0zGY8hgAezhPxHIbDylvCbW1QivYue3Dy_Y4PVXB04ACforiBUQOYBCs6BA6LholC5oKaXGCFOyUBMOzAgMBQPDyGG7pX1PVCOjM7mRpUIO34pml-_N8Ya1P6LALieCX9QRFA/w400-h208/Three%20Brookline%20Doctors.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left to right: Drs. Charles Wild (1795-1864), Charles Wheelwright (1813-1862), and Benjamin Blanchard (1856-1921)</td></tr></tbody></table><b><br /></b><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>The Wild-Sargent House (1822)</b></h4><p>The
oldest of the three houses, now known as the Wild-Sargent House, was
built in 1822 for Dr. Charles Wild and his wife Mary Johanna (Rhodes)
Wild. There are no known photographs of the house showing how it
originally looked. The oldest known photo shows the house in 1868, after a
post-Civil War renovation by it's fourth owner.<br /><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vbxI8rVIXqcE-cdwJnPX38qHkPbjvow5F0ckalbpBWy6Z9KlXgvY_hU9RiHhUwvqhJ4rBIDn-299wCDHHX_GYwS92N9r6g9RCZ-jLIYTk5u27GHhkqgg6dw9w5cL4c6NPegkuzQhGJ6Xtfpwji0wU0bnvawz3Nab7u142ZhU8wTg2NaqyDtRV4IjLg/s474/26%20Weybridge%201868.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="474" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vbxI8rVIXqcE-cdwJnPX38qHkPbjvow5F0ckalbpBWy6Z9KlXgvY_hU9RiHhUwvqhJ4rBIDn-299wCDHHX_GYwS92N9r6g9RCZ-jLIYTk5u27GHhkqgg6dw9w5cL4c6NPegkuzQhGJ6Xtfpwji0wU0bnvawz3Nab7u142ZhU8wTg2NaqyDtRV4IjLg/w400-h289/26%20Weybridge%201868.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Today's
26 Weybridge Road as it appeared from Washington Street in 1868 after a
major redesign. It retained this design for more than 50 years.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div></div><div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><p>The house was remodeled again as part of the <a href="https://brooklinehistory.omeka.net/exhibits/show/blake-park-brookline-ma/introduction">Blake Park development</a> of the 1920s.<br /></p><p><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwKII2-mmL9q9UBBi6gufpzwGE9t_6BjUHO3RCM7prKF0rPGhKbFOPoSD-wNZgnk1do5dOar39rJcmBjickgLUTizG5FsGMDqB1qqiE7XF55zPDQ2hfImStUzokTb9L2ByTsFxf5OXiQeHI9Ew30DDbZvfWcH2QLa_f5azBZ0V98BTmUtRaTa1_uonvw/s1879/Charles%20Wild%20from%20BPL.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1879" data-original-width="1416" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwKII2-mmL9q9UBBi6gufpzwGE9t_6BjUHO3RCM7prKF0rPGhKbFOPoSD-wNZgnk1do5dOar39rJcmBjickgLUTizG5FsGMDqB1qqiE7XF55zPDQ2hfImStUzokTb9L2ByTsFxf5OXiQeHI9Ew30DDbZvfWcH2QLa_f5azBZ0V98BTmUtRaTa1_uonvw/w151-h200/Charles%20Wild%20from%20BPL.png" width="151" /></a></p></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p>Image credit: </p><p>Public Library of Brookline</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Charles
Wild (1795-1864) was born in Boston, graduated from Harvard in 1814,
and was granted a medical degree in March 1818. (His dissertation was on
delerium tremens.) Harriet Woods in her <i>Historical Sketches of Brookline</i>, published in 1874, presented a lengthy profile of Dr. Wild. </p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>Those
who can remember the doctor in his prime [wrote Woods], can well recall
his tall, well-formed figure, his firm tread, his deep voice which
seemed to come from cavernous depths, and eyes which seemed to look from
behind his spectacles into and through one. <br /></p></blockquote><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Woods described the doctor's typical way of announcing his arrival to see a patient: <br /><br /></p><blockquote><p>He had a breezy way of entering a house, stamping off the snow or dust
with enough noise for three men, throwing off his overcoat, untying a
huge muffler that he wore around his neck, and letting down his black
leather pouch with emphasis. There was an indescribable noise he made
sometimes with that deep gruff voice of his which cannot be represented
in type. </p></blockquote><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Dr.
Wild, widely respected in town for his knowledge, abilities, and
advice, was skilled in the mixing and administering of potions, in
bloodletting, and in other techniques practiced by the physicians of his
day. In 1839, he became interested in the emerging ideas of homeopathy.
<br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">The
second meeting of New England physicians interested in this new kind of
practice took place at the house on Washington Street in 1841. It led
to the formation of the Massachusetts Homeopathic Fraternity.<br /><br /></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p>The
Wilds' second son, Edward Augustus Wild, was also a doctor, until he
lost an arm serving in the Civil War. He later returned to service as a general commanding troops of formerly enslaved
African American soldiers.<br /><br />For much more on the life of the Wild family in their Brookline home, see <a href="https://brooklinehistoricalsociety.org/archives/WildDiary/Intro.asp">the 1851-1865 diary of Mary Johanna Wild</a>, digitized by Boston College and annotated by the Brookline Historical Society. </p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>The Candler Cottage (1850)</b><br /></h4></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p>In 1847, Mary Johanna Wild wrote to her oldest son, Charles, then in Shanghai where he was engaged in the China trade, that <br /><br /></p><blockquote><p>As I sit at the old desk in the study now, I can look out and count more than 30 new houses put up in the last year.<br /></p></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><p>Three
years later, another new house, directly across Washington Street from
the Wild house, appeared. A sketch of the house, designed by architect
Richard Bond, was included in a book, <i>American Cottage and Villa Architecture</i>. published in 1850. It shows open land around around the house, with Aspinwall Hill rising in the distance on the left.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> <br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZR6N7qUd18OAJfhtnOYppycHIi2PjjmHJJWKezU9fW1p9ev2t8rqgT8EZJ5mErVJq3qJRzFX5zetjZnVfFDSMI8KIILILsCKO1GGVXOniZRuwySGwFzrSJjbrwCWxkrrXMBmlYcKWp8T-tfxUYiO5OMkERK2PeStlmQHBKZw95tXLsgXXqN8aCIdc6w/s595/Candler%20Cottage.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="595" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZR6N7qUd18OAJfhtnOYppycHIi2PjjmHJJWKezU9fW1p9ev2t8rqgT8EZJ5mErVJq3qJRzFX5zetjZnVfFDSMI8KIILILsCKO1GGVXOniZRuwySGwFzrSJjbrwCWxkrrXMBmlYcKWp8T-tfxUYiO5OMkERK2PeStlmQHBKZw95tXLsgXXqN8aCIdc6w/w400-h213/Candler%20Cottage.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image credit: Historic New England<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The
first owners of the house were Susan Candler and her brother Dr.
Charles Wheelwright. They were joined by Susan's five children, ranging
in age from 24 to 11, and two Irish-born servants. Susan's husband had
died in 1842.</p><p></p><p><br />Writing to a nephew in February 1850,
Wheelwright said the family, then living in Boston, was looking to find a
country house to purchase:<br /><br /></p><blockquote><p>We have concluded to seek <i>placdium quietam </i>in <i>rure felice</i>.
There we must be near railroad and omnibuses, we must have open fields
and sunny hills....We have found a beautiful place exactly eighteen
minutes distant from Worcester Railroad Depot in Boston. It is nearly
opposite the Aspinwal place on the road from Brookline to Brighton. It
is very expensive but land is increasing in value so rapidly that if we
can get it at a fair market price we think we shall buy, Susan and
myself conjointly.<br /></p></blockquote><p> <br />Family members, wrote Wheelwright, had visited the house and were much pleased with it:</p><blockquote><p><br />It
is really a beautiful place, well back from the road. A cottage with
two arched towers and quite high and really airy chambers, fifteen rooms
in all, barn, etc., and 300 fruit trees. I shall offer 9500 dollars and
fear it will not bring it. I will be sorry to lose it as it offers so
many facilities and conveniences not to be found in other places.<br /><br /></p></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-yJ2ewOyEJEEkyBVZNKBEeGgsn8xh9_SZD5d9BfWJhwc71wCiisSE-05QDmEXyQFBQLl8vk3G2ISE1gebANAzj1iHbXlW-sKcuxJ6d5COU-ETmgmdTaNExGsOeRvpEZ4KUeXtVm9kGtdTYaEPLYOcaEGbg6ZCn9rJEMzYBVAe-j-Jh3QZa5JdWMb7_g/s858/Charles%20Wheelwright.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="3" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-yJ2ewOyEJEEkyBVZNKBEeGgsn8xh9_SZD5d9BfWJhwc71wCiisSE-05QDmEXyQFBQLl8vk3G2ISE1gebANAzj1iHbXlW-sKcuxJ6d5COU-ETmgmdTaNExGsOeRvpEZ4KUeXtVm9kGtdTYaEPLYOcaEGbg6ZCn9rJEMzYBVAe-j-Jh3QZa5JdWMb7_g/w211-h320/Charles%20Wheelwright.png" width="211" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Charles Wheelwright<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><p>In the end, they were able to purchase the house and land for $8,500.<br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Charles
Wheelwright was born in Boston in 1813. He graduated from Harvard in
1834 and earned a medical degree there in 1837. In 1839, he joined the
U.S. Navy as a surgeon and would remain in naval service for the rest of
his life, serving in the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Gulf of Mexico.
In 1859, he was part of Commodore Matthew Perry's expedition to Japan. </p><br /><p>At
the outbreak of war, Wheelwright was serving in the Brooklyn Navy Yard
on a board examining men for their fitness to serve in the Navy. Despite
his own poor health, he applied for active duty. He served in Virginia
and, later, as fleet surgeon for the Gulf Fleet. He was then assigned to
a hospital near the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana,
treating troops of the River Squadron. </p><br /><br /><p>Suffering from poor
working conditions, exhaustion, diarrhea, and general poor health, he
died of disease in Pilot Town, Louisiana, on July 30, 1862. He was 49
years old. He is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. The house
remained in the Candler family through the end of the war. </p><p> </p></div><div><div><div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h4>The Blanchard House (John Hancock House Replica) (1895)</h4></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p>In
1863 the Beacon Hill land containing the former home of John Hancock
was sold. Plans to move the house to the Back Bay fell through. Protests
against its demolition went unheeded. In August the house was
demolished, replaced by two townhouses. (In 1917, the townhouses were
replaced by an extension to the State House.)</p><p> <br /> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOXKs3bOCa95cKgNqJAY0CacQ9DoDYfE1zgJuyLR7wwOZmodTWSPsGKQ79xcvIpYQfW5KfyAtDLfk5ABWD329IOeU8c5Opzy765s_16PUzJrvaGPSs_VavVrueu45_i8iETWSOK6RGtkBIBF97dZWBa7zEctdeVx-diV-Tmy_IOVXuuSckP64O1u1Ew/s689/Save%20the%20Hancock%20Mansion.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="689" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOXKs3bOCa95cKgNqJAY0CacQ9DoDYfE1zgJuyLR7wwOZmodTWSPsGKQ79xcvIpYQfW5KfyAtDLfk5ABWD329IOeU8c5Opzy765s_16PUzJrvaGPSs_VavVrueu45_i8iETWSOK6RGtkBIBF97dZWBa7zEctdeVx-diV-Tmy_IOVXuuSckP64O1u1Ew/w400-h251/Save%20the%20Hancock%20Mansion.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The
former Hancock mansion on Beacon Hill and a June 1863 broadside that
was printed and distributed in Boston in a
failed attempt to save the building from demolition. (Credits: house
photo, Boston Public Library; broadside, Historic New England)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br />The
loss of the former home of one of Boston's and the nation's Founding
Fathers was a factor in the growth of the historic preservation
movement. In the decade after its demolition, another landmark of the
Revolution, the Old South Meeting House, which had barely survived the
Great Boston Fire of 1872, was saved from demolition after the church
moved to a new building in the Back Bay. <br /></p><p><br />At the World's
Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, the Massachusetts State
Building, designed by the noted Boston firm Peabody & Stearns, was
modeled after the demolished Hancock mansion. At the dedication of the
building in October 1892, Massachusetts governor William Russell spoke
of the symbolic importance of the design:<br /><br /></p><blockquote><p>I
think there is something grand and most instructive in these historic
buildings. They link the past with the present, with lessons of
patriotism, suffering and sacrifice; they speak of men who were
patriotic, events which were epoch making and the beginning of a great
nation....<br /><br />This building comes close to the heart of
Massachusetts, not merely because it is beautiful in design and correct
in proportion, but because it speaks of Hancock, his life and his
services, and recalls a great agitation, a struggle for liberty and
independence, in which Massachusetts and her ideas were leading to form
and develop a great and majestic republic<br /></p></blockquote><p> <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_AS1Ww-nP7Q3Bh_yxl3apRhguMRceRqAjmo1NOogbldNAzEbgOiadRnVszj5H6cxvH1CCrh8kHeu0d9Xp991A9zbOdwV9tNXGLtJafvKHNXdgJfwj13mpmSrgOHOLAmjgz0_KVH89mEtqUmul2Ss1mvTVYypb0eyxO9-jYSNHDYQ8Qr2vShBfpuRrRA/s1520/MA%20Building%20,%20World's%20Columbian%20Exposition.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1206" data-original-width="1520" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_AS1Ww-nP7Q3Bh_yxl3apRhguMRceRqAjmo1NOogbldNAzEbgOiadRnVszj5H6cxvH1CCrh8kHeu0d9Xp991A9zbOdwV9tNXGLtJafvKHNXdgJfwj13mpmSrgOHOLAmjgz0_KVH89mEtqUmul2Ss1mvTVYypb0eyxO9-jYSNHDYQ8Qr2vShBfpuRrRA/w400-h318/MA%20Building%20,%20World's%20Columbian%20Exposition.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Massachusetts building at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, as shown in <i>Campbell's Illustrated history of the World's Columbian Exposition</i> (1894)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p>The
Massachusetts building was itself demolished after the Exposition.
(Another building from the Exposition, built for the Van Houten Cocoa
Company as a replica of a 16th century Dutch town hall, was purchased by
a Brookline resident, Charles Appleton. It was taken apart, brick by
brick, and reconstructed on a new street in Brookline. Now known as the
Dutch House, it stands on Netherlands Road, near the Muddy River.)</p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Two
years after the end of the Exposition, architect Joseph Everett
Chandler designed a new home, also modeled on the Hancock mansion, at
the corner of Washington and Greenough Streets in Brookline for Benjamin
and Clara Blanchard. <br /></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><p>Chandler
was an important figure in the Colonial Revival style of architecture
that flourished in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Blanchard House was the first of four houses he designed that were
modeled on the Hancock house and the one that most closely followed the
design of the original. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_GYPZQWEtJ5ZBMWrSQC-x5YDNY5DTreb-yb-EIgVuKZs505x83fCHA8eFWUi7qw7dS0YzY3IsQbsMNkE_w9OYwonuLtRwU3iJyxkcTmQUJBjn1CQkqNEK_bsmlmc_UCJrVVssYuEysh80oUxIaRx4Mt61Wyz1S42YG0TENp9zYkWZXn5q8auqxhP7A/s1218/The%20Colonial%20House.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1218" data-original-width="1034" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_GYPZQWEtJ5ZBMWrSQC-x5YDNY5DTreb-yb-EIgVuKZs505x83fCHA8eFWUi7qw7dS0YzY3IsQbsMNkE_w9OYwonuLtRwU3iJyxkcTmQUJBjn1CQkqNEK_bsmlmc_UCJrVVssYuEysh80oUxIaRx4Mt61Wyz1S42YG0TENp9zYkWZXn5q8auqxhP7A/w340-h400/The%20Colonial%20House.jpg" width="340" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo and floor plan were included in Joseph Chandler's 1916 book <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015068200099&view=1up&seq=329&skin=2021"><i>The Colonial House</i></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;">The
original stone facade, which Chandler described as "the best of
Colonial stonework," was replicated in wood as closely as possible.</p><p></p><p> </p><p>The
other Chandler houses modeled on the Hancock house include 58 Allerton
Road in Brookline and homes in Weston and in Chandler's native Plymouth.
He also designed several other buildings in Brookline, including an art
gallery for the Blanchards' neighbor Desmond Fitzgerald, now the Church
of Christ at 416 Washington Street.<br /></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Chandler
is probably best known for his restoration of historic buildings,
including the Paul Revere House in the North End of Boston and the House
of Seven Gables in Salem. (For much more on Chandler and his work, see his 1922 book <i><a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Colonial_House/JptLAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22joseph+everett+chandler%22&printsec=frontcover">The Colonial House</a></i>.<br /><br /></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p>Another still-standing building modeled on the Hancock mansion -- though not designed by Chandler -- is the stone <a href="https://www.tihistory.org/copy-of-our-building-the-hancock-house">headquarters of the Ticonderoga Historical Society</a> in Ticonderoga, NY, built for the New York State Historical Society in 1926.</p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXWxIsZmj8fay4zT3L1z2k8KPfDURF3lUVduxXDCc7_etY23qMNF0JK5WLxXLYS4NOF7cOZSRqbNoKLebbN9650DEJiDD6yLcu1Iyz3aUtETvJkNvqysUafMpxodnC_5U_jDCnZ9P_BWUAKaGN9p0UE2Kl14ff-fMN5xkp1p3vw1W2qxGoF2fgL0vvg/s3888/Benjamin%20Blanchard.tiff" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxXWxIsZmj8fay4zT3L1z2k8KPfDURF3lUVduxXDCc7_etY23qMNF0JK5WLxXLYS4NOF7cOZSRqbNoKLebbN9650DEJiDD6yLcu1Iyz3aUtETvJkNvqysUafMpxodnC_5U_jDCnZ9P_BWUAKaGN9p0UE2Kl14ff-fMN5xkp1p3vw1W2qxGoF2fgL0vvg/w131-h200/Benjamin%20Blanchard.tiff" width="131" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit: <br />HUP Blanchard, Benjamin S. (1). <br />Harvard University Archives.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Benjamin
Seaver Blanchard graduated from Harvard in 1877 and from Harvard
Medical School in 1882. He practiced for a year in Roxbury where, as he
later wrote, <br /><br /></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"> [I]
had a fair amount of work, little pecuniary recompense, but plenty of
blessings, some curses, and good opportunities to study human nature.<br /></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Blanchard
came to Brookline in 1883. He lived and had an office at 18 Davis
Avenue in Brookline Village. In 1887, he married Clara Fessenden Barnes,
and eight years later they bought land from the Blake estate to build
their new house.</p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><br />Blanchard
maintained his medical practice out of the Washington Street house.
He was also active in town affairs, serving as a Town Meeting Member and
a member of the school committee, and as a medical inspector for the
schools and the Gymnasium and Baths Committee. <br /><br />He was a leading
figure in the town's efforts to combat various epidemics and threats to
community health through inspections and vaccinations. Blanchard died at
home of rheumatic fever in 1921. He was 64 years old. </p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><br /><br /></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-54353047803854961632022-07-23T12:35:00.001-04:002022-07-24T13:12:29.784-04:00Brookline's Oldest Restaurant<p>The Busy Bee Restaurant on the north side of Beacon Street near its intersection with Carlton Street is Brookline's oldest existing restaurant.* It opened in 1955 and was taken over by the current owners a dozen years later.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61z4LiLmytJuTG0z0fFRxda3RVsGZvsrz1l9rTfvoXqzKj7YFvjaruNpYScm7WooEqGD2fmnISKGSlCz1YhC9_6rzoTGVo1vrNn7qpAD1Y_WvgecEvhV7r5A3DW-DkwIi6j3j3bkgDjVwyDQ_HAhzUEZr8rL71rOeoLovX2gZRX_8x-ZcfQOgC1JTIw/s1148/Busy%20Bee%201955%20Opening.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1148" data-original-width="984" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61z4LiLmytJuTG0z0fFRxda3RVsGZvsrz1l9rTfvoXqzKj7YFvjaruNpYScm7WooEqGD2fmnISKGSlCz1YhC9_6rzoTGVo1vrNn7qpAD1Y_WvgecEvhV7r5A3DW-DkwIi6j3j3bkgDjVwyDQ_HAhzUEZr8rL71rOeoLovX2gZRX_8x-ZcfQOgC1JTIw/w343-h400/Busy%20Bee%201955%20Opening.jpg" width="343" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advertisement announcing the grand opening of Busy Bee. <i>Brookline Citizen</i>, April 14, 1955, p7.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFlXxfsPPXB4_Tw4Dtnnom2Xvn4FZImszKBEBQsrpRKNWCnVggt8v4uc3BawCdwZQdMcpiQ0XMG_R7A1WIpAJge-K0bbWmi_ZehVb8nOsULjoVwQtZ0aFi9tzbDbSr7JYKvEjbgPMik9LEZxLzAPMAXD2NmLILFqobjmPwC1eHZlJ2WuSqNrYAoRwfw/s2500/Busy%20Bee%202022.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFlXxfsPPXB4_Tw4Dtnnom2Xvn4FZImszKBEBQsrpRKNWCnVggt8v4uc3BawCdwZQdMcpiQ0XMG_R7A1WIpAJge-K0bbWmi_ZehVb8nOsULjoVwQtZ0aFi9tzbDbSr7JYKvEjbgPMik9LEZxLzAPMAXD2NmLILFqobjmPwC1eHZlJ2WuSqNrYAoRwfw/w400-h300/Busy%20Bee%202022.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Busy Bee Restaurant, 1046 Beacon Street, today (from <a href="https://www.busybee50diner.com/">Busy Bee website</a>)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>The commercial building (1040-1054 Beacon) housing Busy Bee marked its 100th anniversary last year. Busy Bee's location in the middle of the block of storefronts was the site of a variety of businesses -- including one featuring miniature bowling! -- before the first of a series of short-lived restaurants opened there in 1949.<br /><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsc0046vTU807YB6hmLcEJsXsPp5F6qQ7kJOUz_SE18ERhLH53up5r_V5-IRfiu_gLjFc7xwJNRy2IHsvBzgF6REBL0ul1RQg432n2q0pOgekdf8fxQPD7nRU3hurZsquflhiVKbWYq7vqxDrUSZiJ4tTaVwMaruXO5azusPjU3y1pZRjKJB5ICIXHDg/s1420/Miniature%20Bowling.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="1420" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsc0046vTU807YB6hmLcEJsXsPp5F6qQ7kJOUz_SE18ERhLH53up5r_V5-IRfiu_gLjFc7xwJNRy2IHsvBzgF6REBL0ul1RQg432n2q0pOgekdf8fxQPD7nRU3hurZsquflhiVKbWYq7vqxDrUSZiJ4tTaVwMaruXO5azusPjU3y1pZRjKJB5ICIXHDg/w400-h328/Miniature%20Bowling.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This article and advertisement for miniature bowling at 1046 Beacon Street ran in the <i>Brookline Citizen </i>on February 11 and February 18, 1938. (Click for larger view)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0S1K80-kSLo9v22WqkbTjZ6zDJYOBOeDo9wQHKbbTR_nlKENNISgOai3biLkJiPXp8UuHWl1M4jWO8Zc9pK3j20yS2f7V46jBgWUaV-FH279bFPVVPD9ZD4gueKUeXnfEkD3sXnNAv_b0Vw2jFMk8MXOeefJm37ikqIVoxFbT2LCsN5RZVY3WBRlOQ/s3132/1046%20Beacon%20Restaurants.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2168" data-original-width="3132" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0S1K80-kSLo9v22WqkbTjZ6zDJYOBOeDo9wQHKbbTR_nlKENNISgOai3biLkJiPXp8UuHWl1M4jWO8Zc9pK3j20yS2f7V46jBgWUaV-FH279bFPVVPD9ZD4gueKUeXnfEkD3sXnNAv_b0Vw2jFMk8MXOeefJm37ikqIVoxFbT2LCsN5RZVY3WBRlOQ/w400-h278/1046%20Beacon%20Restaurants.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advertisements for restaurants that preceded Busy Bee at 1046 Beacon Street: Danny's (1949); Margo's (1950); and Fitzpatrick's (1952) (Click for larger view)</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>But while Busy Bee is the oldest existing restaurant, there is one Brookline storefront that has been a restaurant location -- though not the <i>same</i> restaurant -- for even longer than has 1046 Beacon Street. In fact, this location will mark 100 years of continuous operation as one restaurant or another in 2023. <br /><br /></p><p>Can you guess where it is? (Hint: You may not think of this address as being in Brookline. See the comments below for some guesses, including the correct one.) <br /><br /></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p><i><br />* - Brookline directories did not list businesses after 1944. None of the restaurants listed in the 1944 directory are still around. It is possible that one of today's restaurants started between 1944 and the opening of Busy Bee in 1955, but I cannot think of one. I'd be happy to be corrected if someone knows of one I've overlooked.</i><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2958235941877138879.post-17115597212154541042022-02-20T16:33:00.003-05:002022-02-22T09:12:46.261-05:0019th Century Tobogganing on Corey Hill<p>A winter storm in Brookline today brings sledders to local hills, carrying all manner of conveyance for children and adults alike: classic Flexible Flyers; modern plastic models in a variety of shapes and colors; even cardboard boxes and purloined cafeteria trays. <br /><br /></p><p>130 years ago, it also brought tobogganers to go whizzing down the most celebrated toboggan run in the Boston area: the steep chutes of the Corey Hill Toboggan Club.</p><p><br />Operating each winter, from December 1886 to February 1895, chutes ran from a clubhouse on Winchester Street across the then undeveloped lower slope of Corey Hill to a spot on Harvard Street approximately where the Chabad Center of Brookline (496 Harvard Street) is today.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:6t053v19z" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Corey Hill toboggan chute, 1886" border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="800" height="306" src="https://bpldcassets.blob.core.windows.net/derivatives/images/commonwealth:6t054117m/image_access_800.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:6t053v19z">The toboggan chutes of the Corey Hill Toboggan Club. Looking from Winchester Street toward Harvard Street, 1886. Photo courtesy of the Public Library of Brookline. (Click on image for larger, zoomable view.)</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><b>A Canadian Import Comes to Brookline </b></p><p><br />Toboggans – and the word <i>toboggan</i> – originated with indigenous peoples of North America, who used them to transport items across snowy landscapes. Recreational tobogganing began in Canada, most notably on Mount Royal in Montreal where the Montreal Toboggan Club opened three slides in 1879.<br /></p><p><br />Tobogganing soon spread across the U.S. border. The Corey Hill Toboggan Club was formed in November 1886, and quickly became known as the best facility in the northeast. </p><p><br />Construction of a clubhouse and chutes began immediately after the formation of the club. The clubhouse stood approximately where 197-199 Winchester Street is today. By December 1886 there were three chutes in place, one of the three starting from a platform at the top of the clubhouse 12 feet above the level of Winchester Street. That made for a rapid 42-foot drop to the level of the meadow that ran to Harvard Street. </p><p><br />In early December, the club successfully petitioned the Brookline Electric Light Company to have poles places along Harvard Street to provide power to light the chutes at night. By Christmas, the electric lights were in place.</p><p><br />When a 300-strong contingent of the Montreal snowshoe and toboggan club <i>Le Trappeur</i> visited Massachusetts in February 1887, members of the three-month old Corey Hill Toboggan Club were their main escort in a large parade through the streets of Boston. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2h-ZzVIVINxbfKWBy1lYGGMY6qHYHyLmzvsJ5ZEJToMYT6sUhHO9rtPXulZ_mRd9kTv_kdTRMybN1Eb8oxvur35e4Llvnz9xku6X_XbDcetruOaWUm49pyTX1g_y5zIKdttJJIuDlj3EYQ383u_EaWRgCiQTlj-xyhhae3fNVSZi2XObJbicsVBuL2A=s724" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="724" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2h-ZzVIVINxbfKWBy1lYGGMY6qHYHyLmzvsJ5ZEJToMYT6sUhHO9rtPXulZ_mRd9kTv_kdTRMybN1Eb8oxvur35e4Llvnz9xku6X_XbDcetruOaWUm49pyTX1g_y5zIKdttJJIuDlj3EYQ383u_EaWRgCiQTlj-xyhhae3fNVSZi2XObJbicsVBuL2A=w400-h301" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <i>Le Trappeur</i> club of Montreal marching down Beacon Street in Boston from the State House as shown in <i>Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper</i>, February 12, 1887</td></tr></tbody></table> <br /> <p></p><p>A lack of snow prevented the Canadians from trying the Brookline slides, but they did take back to Montreal an oil painting showing two club members, Massachusetts governor Oliver Ames and 20-year old Florence Peck of Boston, flying down the Corey Hill chute on a toboggan. Peck, whose father was on the executive committee of the club, presented the painting to Montreal mayor Honoré Beaugrand at a State House reception. </p><p><br />A month later, several members of the Brookline club visited their one-time guests for the winter carnival in Montreal. <br /> </p><p><b>The “Best and Most Expensive” Slide </b></p><p><br />By the winter of 1887-88, there were at least five toboggan slides in the Boston area. They included a slightly older Brookline club at Wright’s Hill, near Boylston Street and Reservoir Lane, and facilities in Dorchester, Cambridge, and Malden. But, reported the <i>Boston Globe</i> in a lengthy article on tobogganing, “the Corey Hill slide is by far the best and most expensive one.” </p><p><br />The chutes, reported the <i>Globe</i>, were not as long as some of the others in the area, “but the management finds that it is more pleasing to the members to have them short and steep instead of long and gradual.” In fact, wrote the <i>Globe</i> reporter, the Corey Hill chute was the steepest in the country. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEganSb9_2fcDP-xCdeq3wBPUGqtsY7gits3Y3XKI0hRw8cjNd8c8Q3ylFOwQmaUBv6UvNh6KSDWULkQn6_KbcSo8xx2Z1nGy_wlJ4DAbFZBC79dPRo4bPfpP5EhiCrl70we35XRnd2_KNP8izy9dwjVJBurehKCXE0ObP1t6YT0qHLotHE5PfVkuAWw6Q=s662" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="662" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEganSb9_2fcDP-xCdeq3wBPUGqtsY7gits3Y3XKI0hRw8cjNd8c8Q3ylFOwQmaUBv6UvNh6KSDWULkQn6_KbcSo8xx2Z1nGy_wlJ4DAbFZBC79dPRo4bPfpP5EhiCrl70we35XRnd2_KNP8izy9dwjVJBurehKCXE0ObP1t6YT0qHLotHE5PfVkuAWw6Q=w400-h388" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tobogganing on Corey Hill, as seen in a later article in the <i>Boston Globe</i> (January 15, 1893)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The club grew to more than 300 members that second winter of its existence, including residents of Brookline, Back Bay, and other parts of Boston and neighboring communities. The clubhouse was enlarged to include a waiting room with a fireplace on the lower floor, a smoking room, bathrooms, a kitchen for preparing meals and refreshments, and a storage area for toboggans so that club members did not have to carry them to the site each time. </p><p><br />The chutes themselves had water poured on top of the packed snow where it would freeze and provide a smooth sliding surface. A well was sunk and pipe was laid along the length of the chutes to keep them watered. Innovations in later years includes a tilting platform at the top and a motor-driven return chute to bring toboggans back up the hill for additional runs or storage. </p><p><br />Articles in the Brookline and Boston newspapers described the thrill of taking a toboggan down the Corey Hill chutes. Here’s how the <i>Boston Globe</i> described it in December 1887: </p><blockquote><p><br />“A push, a rush of cold air, and you fall through space more like a meteor than anything else. It is not a slide; it is a flying hop-step-and-jump to the foot of that 100-foot slope. Even then the speed seems to increase, but the novice feels that the toboggan is sliding over something solid, and that is a crumb of comfort. In quicker time than it takes to read, much less write it, the toboggan flies straight out over the dip or second fall and comes down with a flop, but without wavering in its wild career continues scurrying down the incline.”<br /></p></blockquote><p><br />Novices, said the <i>Globe</i>, find “their sensations of fright and delight so inextricably mixed that they can’t tell which is uppermost. And the beauty of the whole thing is the sensation does not wear away as your trips become more frequent.” </p><p><br />An 1893 article in the <i>Boston Post</i>, written under the pseudonym “Amy Robsart,” described one woman’s experience going down the Corey Hill chute this way: </p><blockquote><p><br />“I took a long breath and shut my eyes. – ! – ! <br />There were two consecutive bumps half way down that made me open them, and I saw flying bits of Biela’s comet and thousands of starry dazzlements in a flight through the air. That is probably the nearest I shall ever approximate to flying…. <br />My bangs stood up straight, my hat flapped wildly on the firm pivot of my hat pin, there was a trail of hairpins in my wake. <br />‘Where am I at?’ I inquired a little ruefully when I had been picked out of the snow and had smoothed my ruffled plumage. <br />But it was fun! <br />Fun with the keen edge of fear that gives it the fascination that it is.” <br /></p></blockquote><p><b><br />Clothing, Class, and Gender </b></p><p><br />Toboggans, toboggan slides or chutes, and the thrill of participating were not the only elements of this popular recreational activity to cross the border from Canada. Tobogganing fashion also followed the Canadian model. Members of the Corey Hill club, and other clubs, wore outfits modeled on those of Canadian clubs, with each club having its own colors. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXRjAkNiay1TuKL36gr7xhUTAXZ48hliSRBP_hCfy5T_i_QWNZ1Nugi0k-gVuLJRkmvlQepSdSg5ptMe8LA7MqndTTkEx0dHBUGafJ6kSKbGvGjSGHHODyMcanxU-itAi3VP_Rm2jkJffJFxPggum58XPvP9hjL-Sqn5czEc5mLIHiAxP8maG6LsBUrg=s936" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="936" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXRjAkNiay1TuKL36gr7xhUTAXZ48hliSRBP_hCfy5T_i_QWNZ1Nugi0k-gVuLJRkmvlQepSdSg5ptMe8LA7MqndTTkEx0dHBUGafJ6kSKbGvGjSGHHODyMcanxU-itAi3VP_Rm2jkJffJFxPggum58XPvP9hjL-Sqn5czEc5mLIHiAxP8maG6LsBUrg=w400-h239" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The c1880 photo at left shows men and women of a Montreal toboggan club in their club outfits. (Photo courtesy of the McCord Museum). Similar outfits can be seen in an 1886 advertisement in the <i>Brookline Chronicle</i>, top right, and an illustration of Corey Hill tobogganers in an 1888 story, bottom right. (Click image for a larger view)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><p>More significant were class and gender elements of tobogganing that were common in Canada and were replicated in Brookline and other American communities. As Canadian scholar Gillian Poulter wrote in a 1999 dissertation (later turned into a book) on sport, spectacle, and identity in Montreal: </p><blockquote><p><br />“Forming clubs and building slides and club houses was a means by which club members differentiated and separated themselves from the poorer classes. By demarcating specific areas as club property, and by adopting blanket suit costumes, the professional and commercial middle-class tobogganers were in no danger of having to share their slides with ‘the great unwashed,’ who in any case probably had little time and energy to spare for such diversions.” <br /></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p></p><p>At Corey Hill, a club membership cost $3, later increased to $5. Club members had to wear their club badge – an example is shown below – to use the toboggan chutes. The club outfits – not required, but common – and the toboggans themselves added additional costs. The club drew members – including at least two Massachusetts governors -- from Brookline as well as the Back Bay and other areas. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwekX3rcY94Qq5i0EJ-FePZ0utNbwc6Iwy1au2muEq0gwj5fQ9siyAZOMyY-qDnLNBRWw_AXTh2e_fuxb5ei9zy_0cNPYmhJazvQsT7B4S7cTwXQhmyEcqCuKFtJ7-DjHLylWtW-bzrn8Ih4F2fYVo0AZTRLl6lXUnXqFod4IcBVfojA01vhUaZvIEKg=s1870" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1273" data-original-width="1870" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwekX3rcY94Qq5i0EJ-FePZ0utNbwc6Iwy1au2muEq0gwj5fQ9siyAZOMyY-qDnLNBRWw_AXTh2e_fuxb5ei9zy_0cNPYmhJazvQsT7B4S7cTwXQhmyEcqCuKFtJ7-DjHLylWtW-bzrn8Ih4F2fYVo0AZTRLl6lXUnXqFod4IcBVfojA01vhUaZvIEKg=w400-h272" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of the Public Library of Brookline </td></tr></tbody></table><p>It’s not known if there were specific ethnic restrictions in the club’s bylaws, but it is worth noting that although Brookline had a substantial, largely working class, Irish-American population by this time there are no Irish surnames shown in the many articles in the Brookline and Boston newspapers that listed officers and participants in the club’s activities </p><p><br />(The Country Club in Brookline, which was started just four years before the Corey Hill Toboggan Club and had its own history of restrictive membership policies, also had its own toboggan slide during this period.) </p><p><br /></p><p><b>Men and Women Together on the Slopes </b></p><p><br />The thrilling ride down a toboggan chute presented opportunities for a kind of closeness not usually considered proper for young couples. As the Toronto literary magazine <i>The Week</i> put it in an 1885 article: </p><blockquote><p><br />“When Florence or Charlotte has to be tightly encircled in the grasp of an admiring pilot, down the glittering descent, the pair feel the mutual dependence and responsibility, which often leads them to courtship in earnest.” </p></blockquote><p><br />In her dissertation, Gillian Poulter notes that Canadian newspapers
sometimes described the sensation of tobogganing for women in what she
described as “surprisingly eroticised terms”. The <i>Brookline News</i>, in an
article on tobogganing published on Christmas Day, 1886, was more
circumspect:. “There are some things about it [tobogganing],” wrote the
<i>News</i>, “that never will and never can get into any newspaper.” </p><p><br />The
same article in the <i>News</i> did include a description of another part of
tobogganing with particular appeal for young couples: the climb together
back up the hill. The article quoted a pamphlet on tobogganing,
together with an illustration of “The Uphill Road,”: </p><blockquote><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRvPaQarEAimPo8oJgEHtqsnSaHwRFwrZi2OTQyDn-Mut6sz2rG390MLQTWUahJaG3TFpfyw5eiRSLt5LL9YKWmT4osSEj3KsBLv8lgXTxNfsle8Jo1ghfSnbJ6Wo519xtzKhUhv8x7ZE6yeBLI4By4KNzf0wULfJvh3wq1gatDbYvfKcuF3zNhEfcRw=s260" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="174" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRvPaQarEAimPo8oJgEHtqsnSaHwRFwrZi2OTQyDn-Mut6sz2rG390MLQTWUahJaG3TFpfyw5eiRSLt5LL9YKWmT4osSEj3KsBLv8lgXTxNfsle8Jo1ghfSnbJ6Wo519xtzKhUhv8x7ZE6yeBLI4By4KNzf0wULfJvh3wq1gatDbYvfKcuF3zNhEfcRw=w134-h200" width="134" /></a></div><br />"Uphill we clambered, and as I felt the gloved hand of Dick’s younger
sister upon my sustaining arm, I wished the climb might have been twice
the distance; and right here I want to say that if ever a woman looks
fresh and young and irresistibly lovely it is when at the top of a climb
up a toboggan slide she stops with her cheeks flushed, her lips parted,
and her eyes shining with the exertion [of the climb].” <p></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><br /><p>In January 1888, the <i>Brookline News</i> shared what a couple of magazines had to say about what was on the minds of young couples on the Corey Hill slopes:<br /></p><blockquote><p><br />"<i>Puck</i> [a humor magazine) says if you have the right kind of girl,
the walk up the toboggan slide is just as exciting as the ride down.
And sometimes more so. It's a glorious sport both ways." <br />- <i>Brookline News</i>, January 14, 1888<br /><br />“Ethel: Which toboggan slide to you like best, Corey’s Hill or Wright’s Hill? <br />Mabel: Oh ! Corey’s Hill, don’t you? It’s so much steeper that the men have to hold on to – er – the <i>toboggans</i> ever so much tighter.” <i><br />- Brookline News</i>, January 21, 1888 (Reprinted from the <i>Harvard Lampoon</i>)<br /><br /></p></blockquote><p><b>Tobogganing Seasons Come and Gone </b></p><p><br />Club members and their guests continued to climb Corey Hill to use the club’s chutes through the winter of 1894-95. Many more came out to watch. As many as 500 people were reported on the slopes at times, with as many as 150 actually going down the chutes. </p><p><br />A good tobogganing season depended, of course, on having enough snow. Activity rarely began before January, and there were years where very little tobogganing took place. (A January 28, 1888, <i>Brookline Chronicle</i> article noted there had been 30 nights of tobogganing so far that season and that they hoped to break the previous records of 55 nights.) </p><p><br />Social events at the clubhouse were a big part of the Corey Hill Toboggan Club’s activities, whether there was actually tobogganing or not. There were musical performances by club members, “smokers” (probably male-only social gatherings) and “ladies’ nights.” </p><p><br />There were carnivals on the slopes, modeled on those that were held in Montreal and elsewhere. (The 1893-94 season, for example, included an “Illumination Night,” with fireworks, fire balloons and bonfires, and a “Fancy Dress Carnival.”) In the last years of the club, these social events received more attention in the local press than the actual tobogganing. </p><p><br />The winter of 1894-95 was the last to see tobogganing on the chutes of the Corey Hill Toboggan Club. In December 1895, the <i>Brookline Chronicle</i> reported that the club was planning several elaborate entertainments for the next three or four months. But on January 18, 1896, the <i>Chronicle</i> asked “What is the matter with the Corey Hill Toboggan Club this winter? Will the gentle art of harmless chuteing [<i>sic</i>] be allowed to become extinct?” </p><p><br />That same week, the <i>Boston Post</i>, in a brief article titled “Tobogganing on Corey Hill,” reported: </p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>“The lovers of tobogganing in the city will probably not have a chance this winter to enjoy the sport at the Corey Hill Toboggan Club. The chute is all falling to pieces and ditches are dug through the field where the chute makes its course. </p><p><br />A meeting of the directors of the Corey Hill Club was held last Christmas, but nothing definite was done in regard to fixing up the slide. " </p></blockquote><p><br />The demise of the Corey Hill Toboggan Club was no doubt due to growing residential development in this part of Brookline in the wake of the laying out of the Beacon Street boulevard and the coming of the streetcar a decade earlier. </p><p><br />By 1897, the club, it’s clubhouse, and its celebrated toboggan chutes were no more. (See the maps below for a detailed view of the change.) </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhh3A0E3gFMGl3_b9oj2mmdT1yPmCvWq7rU0hfpMGGUsYaFVCD4pIVZvxDFmMeyTPSdFmeaklfF4-Rc2LC8DhYJSaYvkzs5sHjSzcjpt-OiRh71EquJHTGbRfVXcgB6Sj7hodQVYPWBTnb92g5_YONbksH1FCndbNbhsjy22ELVVjxjfeopm_MeqE3WRg=s634" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="634" data-original-width="483" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhh3A0E3gFMGl3_b9oj2mmdT1yPmCvWq7rU0hfpMGGUsYaFVCD4pIVZvxDFmMeyTPSdFmeaklfF4-Rc2LC8DhYJSaYvkzs5sHjSzcjpt-OiRh71EquJHTGbRfVXcgB6Sj7hodQVYPWBTnb92g5_YONbksH1FCndbNbhsjy22ELVVjxjfeopm_MeqE3WRg=w305-h400" width="305" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These segments from the 1893 (top) and 1900 (botom) Brookline atlases show the
northwest side of Corey Hill. The approximate location of the toboggan
chutes has been added as an orange line. The clubhouse of the Toboggan
Club is at the high point on Winchester Street in the 1893 map. <br /><br />By 1900, Verndale, Kenwood, Henry (now Russell),
and Columbia Streets have been added and there are houses on the lower
part of the hill with plots laid out higher up, including on both sides
of Winchester Street. The clubhouse is gone. (Click image for a larger
view)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /> </p><br /><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2