As I scanned through weekly issues of the 1952 Jamaica Plain Citizen, the biggest running issue was juvenile delinquency. Vandalism was mentioned most often, but a general increase in youth crime was constantly being discussed by civic leaders. The merchant mentioned below would have been Mike Kalajian, proprietor of the Green Elm variety store - you can guess the location. Mike was known for helping kids, including those who might interact with the men from Station 13.
Jamaica Plain Citizen April 3, 1952
Costello Defends Local Youth In Delinquent Probe.
Edward A. Costello, president of St Thomas Unit of the National Council of Catholic Men defended the youth of Jamaica Plain at a meeting of judges, police and court officials as well as youth workers. The meeting was called by Mayor John B. Hynes in an attempt to stop vandalism by youths in different parts of the city. It was held in the office of the Mayor on Monday, last.
As the result of a disturbance at a Dorchester party where it was claimed that some local youths "crashed the gate," four Jamaica Plain boys were taken into custody. They, it was alleged with a gang numbering about 20 youths caused property damage at a Dorchester home where a birthday party was in progress for a Jamaica Plain girl.
As a result of their arraignment in court, a report was circulated that the youths had attempted to force the Jamaica Plain girl to join a club whose members engaged in unlawful practices.
Mr Costello told the Mayor's gathering that as a result of his investigation that he learned that the club in question was a hand ball club, formed by a merchant in the vicinity of Green and Elm streets and has been disbanded for five years. He also told the committee that the girl denied that she had made any such statement regarding such a club. She made this denial to local police in addition to denying it to Costello. She further told the speaker that she did not know what kind of a club it might be as she never belonged to it, he said.
The girl in question came from another section of the city and has resided in Jamaica Plain about six months, Costello said.
The speaker told the gathering that Jamaica Plain is free from rowdy gangs but that all of the youths there are not angels.He said there are plenty of burglars around and they do not distinguish between the homes of judges and policemen and ordinary workmen. He praised the people for catching many of them.
He said however that acts of rowdyism are seldom reported to the police and on the whole Jamaica plain juveniles and teenagers are a pretty good lot.
Speaking of his work with youth, Costello said that he had plenty of experience with them. He told of heading at one time the largest Boy Scout outfit in the entire country.
He said that the church organization does everything it can to wipe out temptation for youngsters. He told of Mr. Edward Matthews, president of the parish Holy Name society entering stores where suggestive pictures and books are displayed and of his telling the storekeepers that such things are dangerous to children and are displeasing to the parishioners of the local church. After such visits he said the literature adn pictures disapper from the shelves in the stores.
He also told of the driving out of business of a man who ran a cafe where liquor was sold to minors. He pointed out that while the establishment was across the parish boundry line, it did not stop the action against the place as minors from the parish were served liquor there.
He praised the Licensing Board for takng away the seven day license held by the cafe making it possible to eliminate teh condition.
"Regardless of where it exists, if a condition is found that is likely to tempt Jamaica Plain youth, we will go after it" he said.
In the conclusion he said that from his experience, education of and the proper approach to the youths that remain away from social and athletic events are the things we need.
He pointed out that youngsters are often engaged in bother and quarrels with other youth and they do not realize what harm they can do to innocent adults and property during such disturbances. It should be pointed out to them to settle their difference among themselves without injuring other people. "We must get to the youths that need our help. We must send people to them whose language they understand. We must come down to their level and we must make some concessions to them in some cases he pointed out. The incorrigable is another question. He must be segregated and treated differently from the boys who commit only minor infractions he said.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
A Night At The Opera
Actually, two nights at the opera, in the mid-1870s. Unfortunately, there is no mention of who sponsored the events, or who attended.
Boston Daily Globe November 30, 1875
Opera In Jamaica Plain.
Jamaica Plain is to have the "Bohemian Girl," on Thursday evening of next week. It will be given with the following cast: Count Arnheim, Mr J.F. Rudolphsen; Arline, Miss Anna Starbird; Queen of the Gypsies, Mrs Jenny T. Kempton; Thaddeus, Mr. Charles R. Hayden; Devilshoof, Mr. Stanley Felch; Florstein, Mr. W. Willis Clark; Buda, Mrs E.V. Rink; the whole company numbering twenty persons. The costumes and scenery will be beautiful, and no expense will be spared to tender the opera in the best manner. Tickets wll reserved seats, at fifty cents, may be had at the apothecary stores and at Ditson's music store. Steam trains leave Boston at 6:30 and 7:35 p.m. and return at 9:20 and 10:20, and street cars run directly to the hall every half hour, from Tremont House.
January 17, 1877
Music.
Opera at Jamaica Plain.
The people of the Twenty-third Ward were afforded a musical treat of no mean order last evening, and it is to be hoped that it was appreciated. The Dow-Kempton Opera Troupe gave a performance of "Martha" at Curtis Hall before an audience not quite large enough to fill the hall, and although the scenery, the accessories and the orchestra were not of the most pretentious character, the performance was first class in all respects. The orchestra part of the music was furnished by Professor W.E. Taylor, pianist and director, who, as a one-man orchestra, proved to be an unqualified success. The caste was as follows:
Lady Harriet Dunbar..........Mrs Anna Granger Dow
Nancy....................................Mrs Jennie Twichell Kempton
Lionel....................................Mr. Charles R. Hayden
Lord Tristan........................Mr. Stanley Felch
Sherriff.................................H.M. Morse
Farmers, servant maids, hunters and huntresses in the suite of the queen, pages, etc.
The opera was "cut" liberally in some parts, to the advantage of the performance. Mrs. Dow never sang in better voice, probably, and her extreme purity of tone, and the ease and grace of the method were never more strikingly apparent. The romanza in the third act, "Here in Deepest Forests," was exqisitely rendered. Mr. Hayden, unfortunately, was suffering from a severe cold, but he went through all his numbers in gallant style, although his effort to maintain his voice was painful to witness. His aria, "Like a Dream," was encored with warmth, and deservedly, for he gave it with unusual expression and tunefullness. Mrs. Kempton and Mr. Felch were in excellent voice, and did some acting, which was no less creditable than their vocalism. The chorus deserves more than ordinary praise. Although few in number it excelled in many respects the usual "grand opera" chorus. The voices were fresh and clear, and the attack was splendid. Taken all in all it was a really fine performance in every regard. The same troupe will appear this evening in East Boston.
Boston Daily Globe November 30, 1875
Opera In Jamaica Plain.
Jamaica Plain is to have the "Bohemian Girl," on Thursday evening of next week. It will be given with the following cast: Count Arnheim, Mr J.F. Rudolphsen; Arline, Miss Anna Starbird; Queen of the Gypsies, Mrs Jenny T. Kempton; Thaddeus, Mr. Charles R. Hayden; Devilshoof, Mr. Stanley Felch; Florstein, Mr. W. Willis Clark; Buda, Mrs E.V. Rink; the whole company numbering twenty persons. The costumes and scenery will be beautiful, and no expense will be spared to tender the opera in the best manner. Tickets wll reserved seats, at fifty cents, may be had at the apothecary stores and at Ditson's music store. Steam trains leave Boston at 6:30 and 7:35 p.m. and return at 9:20 and 10:20, and street cars run directly to the hall every half hour, from Tremont House.
January 17, 1877
Music.
Opera at Jamaica Plain.
The people of the Twenty-third Ward were afforded a musical treat of no mean order last evening, and it is to be hoped that it was appreciated. The Dow-Kempton Opera Troupe gave a performance of "Martha" at Curtis Hall before an audience not quite large enough to fill the hall, and although the scenery, the accessories and the orchestra were not of the most pretentious character, the performance was first class in all respects. The orchestra part of the music was furnished by Professor W.E. Taylor, pianist and director, who, as a one-man orchestra, proved to be an unqualified success. The caste was as follows:
Lady Harriet Dunbar..........Mrs Anna Granger Dow
Nancy....................................Mrs Jennie Twichell Kempton
Lionel....................................Mr. Charles R. Hayden
Lord Tristan........................Mr. Stanley Felch
Sherriff.................................H.M. Morse
Farmers, servant maids, hunters and huntresses in the suite of the queen, pages, etc.
The opera was "cut" liberally in some parts, to the advantage of the performance. Mrs. Dow never sang in better voice, probably, and her extreme purity of tone, and the ease and grace of the method were never more strikingly apparent. The romanza in the third act, "Here in Deepest Forests," was exqisitely rendered. Mr. Hayden, unfortunately, was suffering from a severe cold, but he went through all his numbers in gallant style, although his effort to maintain his voice was painful to witness. His aria, "Like a Dream," was encored with warmth, and deservedly, for he gave it with unusual expression and tunefullness. Mrs. Kempton and Mr. Felch were in excellent voice, and did some acting, which was no less creditable than their vocalism. The chorus deserves more than ordinary praise. Although few in number it excelled in many respects the usual "grand opera" chorus. The voices were fresh and clear, and the attack was splendid. Taken all in all it was a really fine performance in every regard. The same troupe will appear this evening in East Boston.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Noise Pollution
I copied out this article as a comment on the times. We tend to think of the railroad as bringing growth to communities, but it also brought noise and soot and accidents. The complaint in the article resonates with me because I live a few miles south along the very same railroad line, and the passing trains can shake me right through my mattress at night.
Boston Daily Globe July 23, 1874
The American Devil.
A long time ago, some English newspaper christened the steam whistle "The American Devil," and the epithet is by no means misapplied. Of all the inventions of Yankee ingenuity it is the most demoniac, and the efforts which are now being made to exorcise this fiend from the locomotive ought to be aided by the prayers of all sensitive and nervous people. It has been testified to before the Railroad Commissioners that there are people who still survive at a place in Jamaica Plain where the screech of this instrument of torture is heard more than 300 times every day. It makes some portions of the beautiful suburbs of Boston the abode of misery by its horrible notes, shaking the state of man, especially if he happens to be ill, with pangs scarcely less than would be engendered by the trump of doom.
[article continues - no JP content]
Boston Daily Globe July 23, 1874
The American Devil.
A long time ago, some English newspaper christened the steam whistle "The American Devil," and the epithet is by no means misapplied. Of all the inventions of Yankee ingenuity it is the most demoniac, and the efforts which are now being made to exorcise this fiend from the locomotive ought to be aided by the prayers of all sensitive and nervous people. It has been testified to before the Railroad Commissioners that there are people who still survive at a place in Jamaica Plain where the screech of this instrument of torture is heard more than 300 times every day. It makes some portions of the beautiful suburbs of Boston the abode of misery by its horrible notes, shaking the state of man, especially if he happens to be ill, with pangs scarcely less than would be engendered by the trump of doom.
[article continues - no JP content]
The High School That Never Was
Like my earlier M.I.T. entry, this one tells the story of what didn't happen in Jamaica Plain. I had seen a mention of plans to build a Catholic high school in the Moss Hill area, but I needed an end to the story. With the second article below, I learned the details of what was the obvious outcome.
For those who don't know, Don Bosco high school started in East Boston, and, after the detour described below, ended up in downtown Boston. I've found three addresses, including the one given below, but I suspect that Washington street is correct - a Doubletree Hotel claims to be in the old school building. Which raises the question, what happened to the Warrenton street Brandeis school the Salesian Brothers were promised? It's not a Jamaica Plain issue, so I'll leave it unanswered.
A more interesting question is how the Brothers were able to buy the land, hire an architect and contractor, and not get the neighbors into full battle stations sooner. They could not have picked a more connected neighborhood to mess with south of Beacon Hill, and I'm sure the project was doomed from the start. The story told in the second article stinks to high heaven - it's hard to imagine that the Brothers wanted to trade a 23 acre tree-lined campus with brand new buildings for an old Boston public school in downtown Boston. Granted the public transportation was better in town, but Catholic Memorial got by without the Orange Line just fine.
I had some friends who went to Don Bosco in the late 1960s, and they never mentioned the bid to build in Jamaica Plain - I'm sure they didn't know about it. Regarding Councillor McLaughlin's assertions below, I'm sure the Catholic families of Jamaica Plain would have loved to have a Catholic boy's high school in walking distance of their homes. He was taking care of the interests of Moss Hill, not Jamaica Plain. Follow the money.
The site is the current home of Our Lady of the Cedars of Lebanon church. Their web site tells us that the Archdiocese owned the property and kept it until donating it to Boston's Maronite church in the 1960s. So did Cardinal Cushing pull the plug on Don Bosco? There was definitely some dealing going on that didn't make the newspaper.
Jamaica Plain Citizen January 14, 1954
New School To Be Built On Rockwood St.
Don Bosco Technical School Will Offer Facilities For 1,000 Students
Construction of a new Don Bosco Technical School with facilities for more than 1000 students will be started on Rockwood street, Jamaica Plain, sometime in March, it was disclosed this week.
The New School, a $1,000,000 three-building project, will replace the present school which was founded on Byron street, East Boston in 1946 to provide technical as well as academic training.
Present school facilities are inadequate to take care of the number of students who have requested to enroll in the past few years, officials said.
The new school will contain facilities for technical, academic, recreational and religious instruction of its students.
To Occupy 23 Acres
The plant will occupy more than 23 acres. Two buildings, facing each other, will border on Rockwood street.The third will set behind these two structures and face the street.
One of the front builds will house the teaching staff. Directly opposite will be a building containing a chapel, gymnasium and cafeteria.
The rear building will house classrooms, a library, science laboratories and the woodworking, printing, auto mechanics and radio-television shops.
The new gymnasium and chapel will be connected by a sliding door which when opened will increase the gym when large crowds are expected for service.
The school operated by the Salesian Fathers and Brothers of Saint John Bosco, started in East Boston with 16 seventh grade students. The school now has an enrollment of 200 pupils and grammar school classes have been discussed.
The first building of the proposed project is expected to be ready for students in February or next year.
August 19, 19
Don Bosco Trade To Be Located On Site Of Brandeis School
Seen In Best Interests Of Local Area Residents
The abandonment of the Jamaica Plain site for the Don Bosco Trade School in favor of the former Brandeis High School on Warrenton street, South End, was announced today by Councilman Edward F. McLaughlin, Jr. The announcement followed a series of protests by Jamaica Plain residents of the Moss Hill and Jamaica Hills section against construction of the school in a residential area.
McLaughlin was the first public official to suggest a delay in construction and recommended the Brandeis school as a site. The school had been declared surplus and was considered on of the best equipped and centrally located high schools for a trade institution.
The fathers who operate the present Don Bosco school in East Boston immediately concurred with McLaughlin's plan and asked the School Committee for permission to purchase the Brandeis structure.
McLaughlin arranged for a series of meetings between the interested parties and the sale was concluded last week when the Board of Sale for School Buildings approved a price of about $100,000. The vote was four to two in favor, with Mayor Hynes dissenting to the sale. The Mayor said he wanted the bids opened to all and wanted a higher price.
McLaughlin said the change of sites would prove beneficial to all concerned.
"There is no doubt," McLaughlin added, "that construction of a high school in the best residential are of Jamaica Plain was not to the best interests of either Jamaica Plain residents or the Fathers of the Don Bosco School."
For those who don't know, Don Bosco high school started in East Boston, and, after the detour described below, ended up in downtown Boston. I've found three addresses, including the one given below, but I suspect that Washington street is correct - a Doubletree Hotel claims to be in the old school building. Which raises the question, what happened to the Warrenton street Brandeis school the Salesian Brothers were promised? It's not a Jamaica Plain issue, so I'll leave it unanswered.
A more interesting question is how the Brothers were able to buy the land, hire an architect and contractor, and not get the neighbors into full battle stations sooner. They could not have picked a more connected neighborhood to mess with south of Beacon Hill, and I'm sure the project was doomed from the start. The story told in the second article stinks to high heaven - it's hard to imagine that the Brothers wanted to trade a 23 acre tree-lined campus with brand new buildings for an old Boston public school in downtown Boston. Granted the public transportation was better in town, but Catholic Memorial got by without the Orange Line just fine.
I had some friends who went to Don Bosco in the late 1960s, and they never mentioned the bid to build in Jamaica Plain - I'm sure they didn't know about it. Regarding Councillor McLaughlin's assertions below, I'm sure the Catholic families of Jamaica Plain would have loved to have a Catholic boy's high school in walking distance of their homes. He was taking care of the interests of Moss Hill, not Jamaica Plain. Follow the money.
The site is the current home of Our Lady of the Cedars of Lebanon church. Their web site tells us that the Archdiocese owned the property and kept it until donating it to Boston's Maronite church in the 1960s. So did Cardinal Cushing pull the plug on Don Bosco? There was definitely some dealing going on that didn't make the newspaper.
Jamaica Plain Citizen January 14, 1954
New School To Be Built On Rockwood St.
Don Bosco Technical School Will Offer Facilities For 1,000 Students
Construction of a new Don Bosco Technical School with facilities for more than 1000 students will be started on Rockwood street, Jamaica Plain, sometime in March, it was disclosed this week.
The New School, a $1,000,000 three-building project, will replace the present school which was founded on Byron street, East Boston in 1946 to provide technical as well as academic training.
Present school facilities are inadequate to take care of the number of students who have requested to enroll in the past few years, officials said.
The new school will contain facilities for technical, academic, recreational and religious instruction of its students.
To Occupy 23 Acres
The plant will occupy more than 23 acres. Two buildings, facing each other, will border on Rockwood street.The third will set behind these two structures and face the street.
One of the front builds will house the teaching staff. Directly opposite will be a building containing a chapel, gymnasium and cafeteria.
The rear building will house classrooms, a library, science laboratories and the woodworking, printing, auto mechanics and radio-television shops.
The new gymnasium and chapel will be connected by a sliding door which when opened will increase the gym when large crowds are expected for service.
The school operated by the Salesian Fathers and Brothers of Saint John Bosco, started in East Boston with 16 seventh grade students. The school now has an enrollment of 200 pupils and grammar school classes have been discussed.
The first building of the proposed project is expected to be ready for students in February or next year.
August 19, 19
Don Bosco Trade To Be Located On Site Of Brandeis School
Seen In Best Interests Of Local Area Residents
The abandonment of the Jamaica Plain site for the Don Bosco Trade School in favor of the former Brandeis High School on Warrenton street, South End, was announced today by Councilman Edward F. McLaughlin, Jr. The announcement followed a series of protests by Jamaica Plain residents of the Moss Hill and Jamaica Hills section against construction of the school in a residential area.
McLaughlin was the first public official to suggest a delay in construction and recommended the Brandeis school as a site. The school had been declared surplus and was considered on of the best equipped and centrally located high schools for a trade institution.
The fathers who operate the present Don Bosco school in East Boston immediately concurred with McLaughlin's plan and asked the School Committee for permission to purchase the Brandeis structure.
McLaughlin arranged for a series of meetings between the interested parties and the sale was concluded last week when the Board of Sale for School Buildings approved a price of about $100,000. The vote was four to two in favor, with Mayor Hynes dissenting to the sale. The Mayor said he wanted the bids opened to all and wanted a higher price.
McLaughlin said the change of sites would prove beneficial to all concerned.
"There is no doubt," McLaughlin added, "that construction of a high school in the best residential are of Jamaica Plain was not to the best interests of either Jamaica Plain residents or the Fathers of the Don Bosco School."
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Ghosts At Franklin Park Zoo
I found the pictures below at the Library of Congress web site. They were taken in 1978, and apparently someone decided to record the buildings for posterity. It's a shame they didn't think to take pictures before they removed the animals - these photos are spooky to me. I remember the buildings, but only just. The last time my parents brought me to the zoo was probably 1965. In light of today's zoo practices, these buildings seem positively primitive. They were old and run down when I saw them, but the animals were no less grand for their surroundings. For those who wince at the tiny, bare quarters the animals were held in, a story. My father told me that when he was at the zoo once - probably pre-war - he watched an elderly woman approach the lion cage at the outside corner of the building. The cat, a big male, looked at the lady, lifted his leg, and sent a stream of piss directly towards her head. No doubt, the old lady took one for our sins, bless her soul.
I wonder what happened to the head that projected from the building above the front door of the elephant house. Did they just destroy it? It was modeled on one of the three original elephants who opened the zoo. There must be someone who knows the answer to this.
I wonder what happened to the head that projected from the building above the front door of the elephant house. Did they just destroy it? It was modeled on one of the three original elephants who opened the zoo. There must be someone who knows the answer to this.
Jamaica Cycle Club - In The News
During the late 19th Century, the cycle club news was a regular feature in the Boston Globe. I've copied out a representative set of such notices here, taken from larger articles featuring clubs from around the Boston area. Where I could, I used the Boston Directory of 1905 to determine the address and profession of some of the members mentioned. Most would be called working class men - machinists, delivery men, printers, with clerks who were probably earning similar money to their blue collar co-members. The articles below show that the club was much more than a bicycle rider's association. They had rooms on Centre street, held dances, and seemed to spend as much time playing pool and cards as riding their bicycles. The Cycle Club seems to have been a working man's answer to the more middle class Jamaica Club. They couldn't afford a house of their own, but their rooms on Centre street - the address given is at the top of Starr lane - seem to have served them just fine. I'd love to know what happened to the trophies the prizes they collected.
Boston Daily Globe
February 3, 1888
Jamaica Cycle Club Dance.
The second entertainment and dance of the Jamaica Cycle Club, in Eliot Hall, Roxbury, last evening, proved a decided success, socially and financially. The entertainment consisted of banjo and guitar selections by the trio, Edwin C. Chase, E.W. Brewer and Seaverns; solos by Walter J. Cowlishaw, readings by Henry S. Lawton, and guitar solos by Robert Hyde.
Twelve dances occupied the evening until 12 o'clock. The entertainment committee were Charles W. Dennis, Waldo Cushing, Edwin C. Chase and William A. Mosman.
March 11, 1894
Jamaica Cycle
The Jamaica cycle club held its regular monthly meeting last Tuesday evening. Mr E. Griffin, Sidney Cogswell, B. Johnson and H.E. Hill were admitted as members.
The candidates are as follows: President, C.A. Underwood; vice president, J.C. Odell; treasurer, W.R. Cole; secretary, D.C.Valentine Jr; captain, A. Butterworth; first lieutenants, F. Collinson, G. Peterson, G.P. Roberts, J. Kilroe; bugler, W. Johnson; colorbearers, F.H. Valentine, Chas. E. Cobbett, W.J. Wergman.
The election of officers will tke place April 3 at the next regular monthly meeting.
C.A. Underwood - bookkeeper, 44 Green st.
Burton Johnson - pressman, 324 Centre st.
Harry E. Hill - expressman, 160 Hillside, Roxbury
William R. Cole - printer, 64 Mozart st.
A. Butterworth - 12 Dalrymple st. (?)
G. Peterson - machinist, 87 Mozart st.
J. Kilroe - clerk, 3536 Washington st.
February 10, 1895
Jamaica Cycle Club.
At the last monthly meeting, it was voted to purchase and locate one "helping hand" every month, and example which might be followed with profit by every cycle club in the state.
The club also voted to entertain some visiting club, pprovided the national meet is held in Boston.
The second annual dance will be held in Jamaica hall on Feb 12.
A sleighing party will be run this month, and a stereopticon exhibition , to be held in the clubrooms, is in rapid preparation.
April 14, 1895
Jamaica Cycle Club
This club entertained the Shawmuts last Thursday night and lost two games of pool, the scores being: Shawmuts, Hewins 50, Donovan 50; Jamaicas, Larish 41, Vogel 49. In whist the scores were 32 - 20, 21 - 7, and 19 - 8 in favor of Jamaicas.
The club run for today is Waltham, at 2 p.m.
Francis Larish - wire chief, 42 Seaverns ave., boards Enfield st. Dorchester
Boylston Cycle Club.
The final touches have already been made for the ball, which is to take place in Curtis hall, Jamaica Plain, tomorrow night. Tickets have sold extremely well and a large attendance is expected. Everything has been done to make it a success. Arrangements hae been made for the accommodation of wheels for out-of-town clubs.
September 5, 1895
Jamaica Prizes.
Following is a partial list of the prizes in the Jamaica cycle club road race next Saturday:
Wheel, solid silver cyclometer engraved with the date and name of the winner, a pair of tires, revolver, bicycle pants, billiard cue, cyclometer, bicycle pants, adjustable handle bars, shoes, saddle, card table, pedals, 10,000 cyclometer, smoking set, luggage carrier, langer, cyclometers, etc. Time prize $30 diamond.
Those desiring to be shown over the course can be a accommodated by calling at 656 Centre st, Jamaica Plain, evenings after 7. The course is as follows: Start, corner South and MOrton sts, South the Centre, Centre to Baker, Baker to Mt Vernon, Mt vernon to La Grange, La Grange to Spring, Spring to Centre, Centre to Corey, Corey to Weld, Weld to Centre, finishing at Monument, junction Centre and South.
January 25, 1899
Cycle Men The Hosts.
Jamaica club Gives Its Sixth Annual Ball, Which is a Successful One in All Respects.
The Jamaica cycle club of Jamaica Plain held its sixth annual ball last evening in Curtis hall, the affair being attended by upward of 500 people. The party was in every was successful.
After a concert program by the orchestra there was dancing adn a general good time until 1 o'clock.
The success of the ball was in a great measure due to the work of the following committee of arrangements, assisted by the members in charge of the floor: J.E. McGuire chairman, W.R. cole, George Drown, Henry F. Gerlach, James T. Kilroe, Henry Hulme and J.H. Egan. Those in charge of the floor were: Le van Molineux floor director, Henry F. Gerlach assistant floor director, A.W. Butterworth, Clarance Cassidy, John Chamberlain, Edward Coombs, Charles Coombs, John H.Egan, J.J.N. Foley, H.E. Hudson, J.W. Sargent, W.C. Yule and George Connor aids.
February 12, 1899
Jamaica Cycle Club.
A gander party will be given by the members to their friends on the evening of Feb 21.
Andrew Lannon was presented with a $5 gold piece for selling the most tickets for the dance.
Five new members were elected recently.
Henry Gerlach leads in the pool tournament with 195 points, followed by H. Lipps with 100 points.
C. Cassidy leads in the cribbage tournament with 1816 points, followed by J. Kilroe with 1711 points, W. Cole 1708, G. Drown 1695, H. Hulme 1672, H. Hudson 511, C. Coombs 395.
Henry Gerlach - plumber, 15 Rockview st.
Clarence Cassidy - shipper, 69 Boylston st.
Henry Hulme - carpenter, 64 Keyes st.
Charles Coombs - machinist, 2 Hillside ave.
Boston Daily Globe
February 3, 1888
Jamaica Cycle Club Dance.
The second entertainment and dance of the Jamaica Cycle Club, in Eliot Hall, Roxbury, last evening, proved a decided success, socially and financially. The entertainment consisted of banjo and guitar selections by the trio, Edwin C. Chase, E.W. Brewer and Seaverns; solos by Walter J. Cowlishaw, readings by Henry S. Lawton, and guitar solos by Robert Hyde.
Twelve dances occupied the evening until 12 o'clock. The entertainment committee were Charles W. Dennis, Waldo Cushing, Edwin C. Chase and William A. Mosman.
March 11, 1894
Jamaica Cycle
The Jamaica cycle club held its regular monthly meeting last Tuesday evening. Mr E. Griffin, Sidney Cogswell, B. Johnson and H.E. Hill were admitted as members.
The candidates are as follows: President, C.A. Underwood; vice president, J.C. Odell; treasurer, W.R. Cole; secretary, D.C.Valentine Jr; captain, A. Butterworth; first lieutenants, F. Collinson, G. Peterson, G.P. Roberts, J. Kilroe; bugler, W. Johnson; colorbearers, F.H. Valentine, Chas. E. Cobbett, W.J. Wergman.
The election of officers will tke place April 3 at the next regular monthly meeting.
C.A. Underwood - bookkeeper, 44 Green st.
Burton Johnson - pressman, 324 Centre st.
Harry E. Hill - expressman, 160 Hillside, Roxbury
William R. Cole - printer, 64 Mozart st.
A. Butterworth - 12 Dalrymple st. (?)
G. Peterson - machinist, 87 Mozart st.
J. Kilroe - clerk, 3536 Washington st.
February 10, 1895
Jamaica Cycle Club.
At the last monthly meeting, it was voted to purchase and locate one "helping hand" every month, and example which might be followed with profit by every cycle club in the state.
The club also voted to entertain some visiting club, pprovided the national meet is held in Boston.
The second annual dance will be held in Jamaica hall on Feb 12.
A sleighing party will be run this month, and a stereopticon exhibition , to be held in the clubrooms, is in rapid preparation.
April 14, 1895
Jamaica Cycle Club
This club entertained the Shawmuts last Thursday night and lost two games of pool, the scores being: Shawmuts, Hewins 50, Donovan 50; Jamaicas, Larish 41, Vogel 49. In whist the scores were 32 - 20, 21 - 7, and 19 - 8 in favor of Jamaicas.
The club run for today is Waltham, at 2 p.m.
Francis Larish - wire chief, 42 Seaverns ave., boards Enfield st. Dorchester
Boylston Cycle Club.
The final touches have already been made for the ball, which is to take place in Curtis hall, Jamaica Plain, tomorrow night. Tickets have sold extremely well and a large attendance is expected. Everything has been done to make it a success. Arrangements hae been made for the accommodation of wheels for out-of-town clubs.
September 5, 1895
Jamaica Prizes.
Following is a partial list of the prizes in the Jamaica cycle club road race next Saturday:
Wheel, solid silver cyclometer engraved with the date and name of the winner, a pair of tires, revolver, bicycle pants, billiard cue, cyclometer, bicycle pants, adjustable handle bars, shoes, saddle, card table, pedals, 10,000 cyclometer, smoking set, luggage carrier, langer, cyclometers, etc. Time prize $30 diamond.
Those desiring to be shown over the course can be a accommodated by calling at 656 Centre st, Jamaica Plain, evenings after 7. The course is as follows: Start, corner South and MOrton sts, South the Centre, Centre to Baker, Baker to Mt Vernon, Mt vernon to La Grange, La Grange to Spring, Spring to Centre, Centre to Corey, Corey to Weld, Weld to Centre, finishing at Monument, junction Centre and South.
January 25, 1899
Cycle Men The Hosts.
Jamaica club Gives Its Sixth Annual Ball, Which is a Successful One in All Respects.
The Jamaica cycle club of Jamaica Plain held its sixth annual ball last evening in Curtis hall, the affair being attended by upward of 500 people. The party was in every was successful.
After a concert program by the orchestra there was dancing adn a general good time until 1 o'clock.
The success of the ball was in a great measure due to the work of the following committee of arrangements, assisted by the members in charge of the floor: J.E. McGuire chairman, W.R. cole, George Drown, Henry F. Gerlach, James T. Kilroe, Henry Hulme and J.H. Egan. Those in charge of the floor were: Le van Molineux floor director, Henry F. Gerlach assistant floor director, A.W. Butterworth, Clarance Cassidy, John Chamberlain, Edward Coombs, Charles Coombs, John H.Egan, J.J.N. Foley, H.E. Hudson, J.W. Sargent, W.C. Yule and George Connor aids.
February 12, 1899
Jamaica Cycle Club.
A gander party will be given by the members to their friends on the evening of Feb 21.
Andrew Lannon was presented with a $5 gold piece for selling the most tickets for the dance.
Five new members were elected recently.
Henry Gerlach leads in the pool tournament with 195 points, followed by H. Lipps with 100 points.
C. Cassidy leads in the cribbage tournament with 1816 points, followed by J. Kilroe with 1711 points, W. Cole 1708, G. Drown 1695, H. Hulme 1672, H. Hudson 511, C. Coombs 395.
Henry Gerlach - plumber, 15 Rockview st.
Clarence Cassidy - shipper, 69 Boylston st.
Henry Hulme - carpenter, 64 Keyes st.
Charles Coombs - machinist, 2 Hillside ave.
Jamaica Plain Brings God To Missouri
Granted the title is a reach, but not by much. During the post-Civil War years, New England churches sent out missionaries to "the West" to spread Christian teachings to settlements that had left church and The Book behind. Today we tend to think of missionaries as international travellers, but, as told in this article, Christian missions in the 1870s supported by established American churches were internal. The new lands of the West had to be Christianized before churchmen could begin looking overseas for souls to save.
So how many Texans do you suppose know that it was New Englanders who taught them their Evangelical A-B-Cs? And make sure you don't miss the last sentence.
Boston Daily Globe June 12, 1876
American Sunday School Union.
Fifty-second Anniversary Observed at Jamaica Plain.
The fifty-second anniversary of the American Sunday School Union was observed last evening at the Central Congregational Church at Jamaica Plain. There was a large attendance, the beautiful and specious audience-room of the church being filled to its full capacity. Nelson Kingsbury, Esq., the secretary of the New England department of the society, presided, and in the course of an address in which he set forth the general character of the work performed by the society during the past fifty-two years, he said that in that period there had been established by agents and missionaries of the society, principally at the West, 63,793 Bible and Sunday Schools. The total number of pupils represented by these was 2,745,000; teachers 420,000: aid furnished to 7000 destitute scholars; money expended in furnishing such aid, $517,000. The exercises of the evening consisted largely of singing by the children of the Boylston Chapel Sunday School. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr. Virgin, pastor of the Methodist Church of Jamaica Plain. The principal address of the evening was made by the Rev. William P. Paxson of St Louis, who is the agent and missionary of the society for the States of Missouri and Texas. He explained in detail the methods of missionary work followed by him and related many interesting facts of his experience as illustrative of the classes of people he has had to deal with and the peculiar success which, under adverse circumstances, has often rewarded his labors. The establishment of Sunday Schools in newly-settled or sparsely-populated districts he regarded the most efficient method of building up the cause of religion and multiplying the number of churches. In these districts there is often no difficulty in gathering children together for a Sunday School, when it would be impossible to induce their parents to come together for religious worship, much less to organize a church. IN time the little one taught in Sunday School grows to maturity, and constant accessions to the various settlements being the rule, the nucleus is in good time found to exist for the establishment of a church. In this way through Central Illinois and Northern Missouri 500 churches have been organized and are now in a flourishing condition. The same good work in its natal stages in the form of Sunday School organization is now going forward in Southern Missouri, Arkansas and Texas and would as he predicted one day cross the border and carry the gospel to the ignorant and priest-ridden people of Mexico.
So how many Texans do you suppose know that it was New Englanders who taught them their Evangelical A-B-Cs? And make sure you don't miss the last sentence.
Boston Daily Globe June 12, 1876
American Sunday School Union.
Fifty-second Anniversary Observed at Jamaica Plain.
The fifty-second anniversary of the American Sunday School Union was observed last evening at the Central Congregational Church at Jamaica Plain. There was a large attendance, the beautiful and specious audience-room of the church being filled to its full capacity. Nelson Kingsbury, Esq., the secretary of the New England department of the society, presided, and in the course of an address in which he set forth the general character of the work performed by the society during the past fifty-two years, he said that in that period there had been established by agents and missionaries of the society, principally at the West, 63,793 Bible and Sunday Schools. The total number of pupils represented by these was 2,745,000; teachers 420,000: aid furnished to 7000 destitute scholars; money expended in furnishing such aid, $517,000. The exercises of the evening consisted largely of singing by the children of the Boylston Chapel Sunday School. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr. Virgin, pastor of the Methodist Church of Jamaica Plain. The principal address of the evening was made by the Rev. William P. Paxson of St Louis, who is the agent and missionary of the society for the States of Missouri and Texas. He explained in detail the methods of missionary work followed by him and related many interesting facts of his experience as illustrative of the classes of people he has had to deal with and the peculiar success which, under adverse circumstances, has often rewarded his labors. The establishment of Sunday Schools in newly-settled or sparsely-populated districts he regarded the most efficient method of building up the cause of religion and multiplying the number of churches. In these districts there is often no difficulty in gathering children together for a Sunday School, when it would be impossible to induce their parents to come together for religious worship, much less to organize a church. IN time the little one taught in Sunday School grows to maturity, and constant accessions to the various settlements being the rule, the nucleus is in good time found to exist for the establishment of a church. In this way through Central Illinois and Northern Missouri 500 churches have been organized and are now in a flourishing condition. The same good work in its natal stages in the form of Sunday School organization is now going forward in Southern Missouri, Arkansas and Texas and would as he predicted one day cross the border and carry the gospel to the ignorant and priest-ridden people of Mexico.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Grifters Hit Jamaica Plain
Not so much a history of Jamaica Plain as simply a good story.
Boston Daily Globe January 13, 1897
Change Numbers On Houses.
Fraud That One Gang of Sharpers Have Been Perpetrating on the People of Jamaica Plain.
There have been many frauds perpetrated in Boston, but the latest one which police have seen fit to warn the public against is the most unique. It is so bold that if it were not mentioned on the police manifold the public might doubt the story being true.
This is a fraud in which a man and a boy are engaged. Their scheme has never been operated in Boston before. The pair of swindlers made their first appearance in Boston about a week ago. They drove into the district of Jamaica Plain with a bay horse and a green wagon, and began work on one of the most fashionable streets. They began at the end of the street and worked every house.
Placing new numbers on the houses was their scheme. The man rang the front door bell and informed the mistress of the house that orders had been given to change the numbers on every house. In most instances the owner thought that the order was compulsory and allowed the man to take off the old number and put on a new one. A number of the residents objected, and said that they didn't want the man to touch the number, at least until Mr ---- came home. In such instances as these, the man said that he had the authority to change numbers, and the persons who tried to prevent him might get into trouble. This threat had its effect. The owner thought it was an order from the street department, and felt that it must be obeyed. The result has been that almost everywhere the pair of frauds went they were allowed to go on with their work and collect the money after they had finished.
Just how extensively the plan has been operated is not known, but if they did as well in every part of the city as they did at Jamaica Plain, they have reaped a harvest. One fact which the police are certain of is that the men have operated only in the suburban districts. Their reason for doing this is plain. Inside the city proper there would be more danger of being caught perpetrating their fraud, for patrolmen are more numerous than they are in the suburban districts.
The fraud was doubly effective because those who allowed the man to change the numbers of their dwellings are now compelled to replace the number, for there has been no order to change.
Boston Daily Globe January 13, 1897
Change Numbers On Houses.
Fraud That One Gang of Sharpers Have Been Perpetrating on the People of Jamaica Plain.
There have been many frauds perpetrated in Boston, but the latest one which police have seen fit to warn the public against is the most unique. It is so bold that if it were not mentioned on the police manifold the public might doubt the story being true.
This is a fraud in which a man and a boy are engaged. Their scheme has never been operated in Boston before. The pair of swindlers made their first appearance in Boston about a week ago. They drove into the district of Jamaica Plain with a bay horse and a green wagon, and began work on one of the most fashionable streets. They began at the end of the street and worked every house.
Placing new numbers on the houses was their scheme. The man rang the front door bell and informed the mistress of the house that orders had been given to change the numbers on every house. In most instances the owner thought that the order was compulsory and allowed the man to take off the old number and put on a new one. A number of the residents objected, and said that they didn't want the man to touch the number, at least until Mr ---- came home. In such instances as these, the man said that he had the authority to change numbers, and the persons who tried to prevent him might get into trouble. This threat had its effect. The owner thought it was an order from the street department, and felt that it must be obeyed. The result has been that almost everywhere the pair of frauds went they were allowed to go on with their work and collect the money after they had finished.
Just how extensively the plan has been operated is not known, but if they did as well in every part of the city as they did at Jamaica Plain, they have reaped a harvest. One fact which the police are certain of is that the men have operated only in the suburban districts. Their reason for doing this is plain. Inside the city proper there would be more danger of being caught perpetrating their fraud, for patrolmen are more numerous than they are in the suburban districts.
The fraud was doubly effective because those who allowed the man to change the numbers of their dwellings are now compelled to replace the number, for there has been no order to change.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
World Series Winnning Manager - JP Resident
Bill Carrigan as a catcher. (photo: Library of Congress)Until last year, Bill Carrigan was the only Red Sox manager to win two World Series championships. Starting with the Sox as a catcher, Carrigan's teams won championships in the
1915 and 1916. He also lived for a time in Jamaica Plain, in the Arborway Court apartment building near Forest Hills. The building, and Fordham Court on South street, were both owned by the owner and President of the Red Sox, Joseph Lannin.
Mr Lannin, a real estate tycoon, must have lived in one of his Jamaica Plain buildings as well, because he was described in a later article as a parishioner of St Thomas' church. In fact, when the Red Sox went to the World Series later in 1915, Lannin brought Fr James Sherry of St Thomas with him as a guest - the same Fr Sherry who performed the marriage of Bill Carrigan and his wife, as described below.
So how long did Carrigan live in Jamaica Plain? We know that he won a law suit in which he was a defendant, involving an auto accident that occurred at the intersection of Centre and Orchard streets on September 5, 1914. That's not much of a window, but it's all I've got for now.
The Jamaica Plain Historical Society baseball article discussed the Lannin connection to Jamaica Plain. You can read more about Bill Carrigan here.
Boston Daily Globe January 6, 1915
Bill Carrigan Married Again
Ceremony Performed by Rev Fr Sherry.
Red Sox Manager Attended by Eddie Riley as Best Man.
Wedding in Rectory of St Thomas Church.
William F. (Bill) Carrigan, manager of the Boston American League team, and his bride of six days, who was MIss Beulah Bartlett of Lewiston, Me, were married according to the precepts of the Roman Catholic Church last evening.
The ceremony was performed by Rev James P. Sherry, assistant pastor of St Thomas Church, Jamaica Plain, at the rectory at 7 o'clock. Sec Edwin Riley of the Red Sox was best man, and Miss Anna L. Cahill of Brighton attended the bride.
Following the ceremony, Mr and Mrs Carrigan returned to their apartments at Arborway Court, Forest Hills, where they received the congratulations of a few intimate friends.
The announcement last Wednesday of the wedding of Carrigan and Miss Bartlett, who were friends and neighbors since childhood in Lewiston, caused considerable surprise. The first cerememony was performed by Rev Charles Hosea Temple of the First Universalist Church of the Redeemer at the home of the clergyman in Lewiston. On Thursday the bride and groom arrived in Boston and announcement of the marriage was made by Carrigan, through Sec Eddie Riley.
Although Carrigan and his bride succeeded in secreting themselves from friends in this city, the groom immediately instituted steps to have a ceremony performed by a clergyman of his own faith, and since his wife is a Protestant, it was necessary to secure a dispensation for his marriage wiht the rites of the Catholic Church.
The dispensation was secured and Riley, a close friend of the groom, and Miss Cahill, sister of Billy Cahill, a former Holy Cross athlete, agreed to attend the bride and groom.
Boston Daily Globe: October 8, 1915, January 19, 1916.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
American Napier Automobile Company
1906 American Napier (picture found online)
Napier was a British manufacturer of automobiles in the early twentieth century. An American Napier company was formed to assemble parts shipped from Britain for sale in the United States. The Napier Motor Company of America opened their factory in part of the old B.F. Sturtevant blower plant between Green and Williams streets in 1904.
You can see the location of the company here. Look in the upper right, near the Jamaica Plain (Green street) train station.
I haven't been able to find much information on the cars, but the company was in the news in at least two occasions. In 1906, an injunction was requested against local 264 of the International Association of Machinists, restraining them from interfering with the operation of the Napier motor company and from meeting or patrolling near the factory.
The union men of the factory had gone on strike protesting the firing of workers. The company claimed that the men had threatened workers who would not join the union, while the union said that the men had refused to sign an agreement to pay for tools spoiled during work.
In a hearing in the court of Judge Fessenden, the judge seemed to respect the rights of labor organizations to strike. He had granted an injunction to a union in the past, and suggested that the two parties come to an agreement.
The court heard evidence from non-union workers that they had been threatened by union workers. The union men denied the charges. When three men were fired by the company, sixty union men went on strike in their support.
Days later, Judge Fessenden granted the injunction, and the matter disappeared from the news.
In March of 1909, the company was back in the news, this time because of bankruptcy. The company was reorganized and put under new management. The same arrangement with British Napier was retained, A medium priced roadster and a light delivery wagon were planned, and negotiations were under way with a taxi service for several hundred taxicabs to be built. The company also established a repair department at the plant.
The next month, 10,000 shares of preferred stock of the American-Napier Company was offered to the public.
"The Napier companies assets consist of a thoroughly equipped plant covering 4 acres and capable of turning out two complete cars per day, as soon as the desired additional force of men is put to work, also of complete parts - mostly imported for immediate assembling of a number of cars. To this can be added the American rights to the Napier, estimated at $30,000 per year in experimental work and designs alone.
"Dividends at the rate of 7 per cent per annum are payable quarterly, beginning the calendar year. The next dividend date is July 1.
"The automobile industry was never in better shape than at present. The big factory of American-Napier Company at Jamaica Plain is rushed with work for spring delivery. The repair department, established to accommodate the thousands of owners of good cars in Greater Boston, is working to capacity."
And that's the last mention I can find of the Napier Company of Jamaica Plain. The company seems to have survived until 1912, only to be replaced in Jamaica Plain - in another former Sturtevant building - by the Farnham & Nelson automobile company, as I've discussed here.
Boston Daily Globe March 9, 1906, March 14, 1906, March 7, 1909
Friday, January 25, 2008
Italian Cemetery (St Michaels)
I didn't know that St Michael's cemetery had any special connection to Italians until last year, when I was doing some footwork tracing down the tributaries of Stony Brook. The old Canterbury brook wrapped around today's border of St Michael's, so I went in to look for any surviving evidence of the stream. What I found when I drove in to the property was a veritable cornucopia of vowels - row after row of musical Italian names. There had to be an explanation for this, and here it is. St Michael's was founded as an Italian Catholic cemetery. St Michael's web site describes the facility as non-denominational, so somewhere along the line both the Italian and Catholic origins gave way. Today's Boston is diverse even in death.
Here's a map of the area from 1914 - the grounds have expanded since then. The cemetery is in the upper right.
Boston Daily Globe January 9, 1906
Italian Cemetery.
Clergymen Interested in Starting It Comment Upon "Unfounded Rumors" That Have Been Circulated.
To the Editor of the Globe - Since the granting by the board of aldermen of a permit to the Italian Catholic cemetery association to use a certain parcel of land for burial purposes all sorts of unfounded rumors have been circulated, and in order that the public may have correct information we ask the publication of this letter.
The Italian population in Boston numbers about 60,000 and has had no place of its own in which to bury its dead. Holy Cross cemetery at Malden and Calvary cemetery in West Roxbury are crowded, and the burial lots can no longer be secured at reasonable figures, and no more free graves for the poor are obtainable. The movement for a new cemetery was started by the pastors of the four Italian churches in Boston, and all steps taken, both with reference to negotiating for the purchase of the land and for the granting of a permit by the board of aldermen, were by and under their advice.
The continued news items against the cemetery because of its being Italian are unfair. We are proud to say that no people of God's earth better adorn or decorate the graves of their dead than do the Italians. We characterize as false all statements relative to graft or illegal burial. We ourselves were in touch with the negotiation for the purchase of the land, and we also attended upon the board of aldermen in person the interment of the body, made solely for the purpose of taking legal possession of the premises under the permit as we understand to be customary, was made on the afternoon of Monday, and not in the evening of Saturday.
we understand that under the laws of the commonwealth and ordinances of our city the dead may be buried within the confines of the city. We asked nothing more, and we received nothing but what was our right, what has been granted to others and will be again. We deem it a right that no man can deny, that as citizens of Boston we are entitled to a place of burial for our dead.
If the entire city were searched no more fitting place could be found for the site of a cemetery than that selected, as may be attested by the location of others in the same vicinity, namely the Forest Hills cemetery, Calvary cemetery, Mt Hope cemetery and others. In fact it is the cemetery district of Boston, and this leads us to look in that direction for a location.
The property is bounded by Walk Hill, Canterbury and Bourne sts on three sides and by vacant unused land on the fourth. There are no buildings on the property save one on Walk Hill st, which we are willing and desirous of purchasing. Pierce farm, owned by the city of Boston, is on the opposite corner, and with the crematory but a few feet away on Walk Hill st it is in no sense a residential district.
We must have a cemetery and what better place could there be for one than the one selected, with a cemetery on the opposite side of the street and another directly to the rear, with very few residences in the immediate locality, and with the prospect of building entirely eliminated by the public lands held by the city in the immediate vicinity.
We have met every legal requirement, and feel that the opposition we are now meeting has been aroused, and that the press is unwittingly being used by interested persons with ulterior motives, who have endeavored to thwart us in our efforts to secure the permit, and we are cognizant of the fact that they are now encouraging unjust agitation against us.
Rev Roberto Biasotti
Rev F. Valerianus, OFM
Rev P Di Milla
Rev Francis F. Saunella.
January 28, 1907
Blessing The Ground.
Rev Fr Di Milla Officiates at the Services Held at the Italian Cemetery in Forest Hills.
Yesterday afternoon many Italians were present at the blessing of the ground of the Italian Catholic cemetery association on Walkhill st, Forest Hills.
Since it gained title to the plot of ground near Canterbury st, over which there had been much objection made by residents of that section, the association has fenced it in, graded the lot, established a system of drainage and erected an ornamental gateway.
The exercises were conducted by Rev Fr Pasquale Di Milla.
Here's a map of the area from 1914 - the grounds have expanded since then. The cemetery is in the upper right.
Boston Daily Globe January 9, 1906
Italian Cemetery.
Clergymen Interested in Starting It Comment Upon "Unfounded Rumors" That Have Been Circulated.
To the Editor of the Globe - Since the granting by the board of aldermen of a permit to the Italian Catholic cemetery association to use a certain parcel of land for burial purposes all sorts of unfounded rumors have been circulated, and in order that the public may have correct information we ask the publication of this letter.
The Italian population in Boston numbers about 60,000 and has had no place of its own in which to bury its dead. Holy Cross cemetery at Malden and Calvary cemetery in West Roxbury are crowded, and the burial lots can no longer be secured at reasonable figures, and no more free graves for the poor are obtainable. The movement for a new cemetery was started by the pastors of the four Italian churches in Boston, and all steps taken, both with reference to negotiating for the purchase of the land and for the granting of a permit by the board of aldermen, were by and under their advice.
The continued news items against the cemetery because of its being Italian are unfair. We are proud to say that no people of God's earth better adorn or decorate the graves of their dead than do the Italians. We characterize as false all statements relative to graft or illegal burial. We ourselves were in touch with the negotiation for the purchase of the land, and we also attended upon the board of aldermen in person the interment of the body, made solely for the purpose of taking legal possession of the premises under the permit as we understand to be customary, was made on the afternoon of Monday, and not in the evening of Saturday.
we understand that under the laws of the commonwealth and ordinances of our city the dead may be buried within the confines of the city. We asked nothing more, and we received nothing but what was our right, what has been granted to others and will be again. We deem it a right that no man can deny, that as citizens of Boston we are entitled to a place of burial for our dead.
If the entire city were searched no more fitting place could be found for the site of a cemetery than that selected, as may be attested by the location of others in the same vicinity, namely the Forest Hills cemetery, Calvary cemetery, Mt Hope cemetery and others. In fact it is the cemetery district of Boston, and this leads us to look in that direction for a location.
The property is bounded by Walk Hill, Canterbury and Bourne sts on three sides and by vacant unused land on the fourth. There are no buildings on the property save one on Walk Hill st, which we are willing and desirous of purchasing. Pierce farm, owned by the city of Boston, is on the opposite corner, and with the crematory but a few feet away on Walk Hill st it is in no sense a residential district.
We must have a cemetery and what better place could there be for one than the one selected, with a cemetery on the opposite side of the street and another directly to the rear, with very few residences in the immediate locality, and with the prospect of building entirely eliminated by the public lands held by the city in the immediate vicinity.
We have met every legal requirement, and feel that the opposition we are now meeting has been aroused, and that the press is unwittingly being used by interested persons with ulterior motives, who have endeavored to thwart us in our efforts to secure the permit, and we are cognizant of the fact that they are now encouraging unjust agitation against us.
Rev Roberto Biasotti
Rev F. Valerianus, OFM
Rev P Di Milla
Rev Francis F. Saunella.
January 28, 1907
Blessing The Ground.
Rev Fr Di Milla Officiates at the Services Held at the Italian Cemetery in Forest Hills.
Yesterday afternoon many Italians were present at the blessing of the ground of the Italian Catholic cemetery association on Walkhill st, Forest Hills.
Since it gained title to the plot of ground near Canterbury st, over which there had been much objection made by residents of that section, the association has fenced it in, graded the lot, established a system of drainage and erected an ornamental gateway.
The exercises were conducted by Rev Fr Pasquale Di Milla.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Children's Museum - 1950s, and Miss Miriam Dickey
This entry is a two-fer, a short article and an obituary. Newcomers to Jamaica Plain all learn that the Children's Museum was once housed across from Jamaica Pond, but they can have little idea of what the Museum was actually like. We are all probably the same when it comes to the buildings still standing that once contained carriage factories. Unless you were there, it's difficult to imagine the day-to-day goings-on of the carpenters, blacksmiths and leather workers. In this case, I doubt many residents today know that the Children's Museum showed movies for children, or that children came from around the city for regular programs. The Museum was more than glass cases and stuffed animals - it was an active community with a caring staff.
The mention of the Bird Club made me think of Miss Dickey, who was a fixture at the Museum for many years. She was in charge of education programs at the Museum, and led the weekly bird walks over decades. I found the obituary below in a usenet group, and it came without attribution. She was even more busy than I remembered, and lived an active life, dying in her Nineties in 2002. She inspired generations of children at the Museum and around the city, and deserves to be remembered as much as any Curtis or Greenough or Weld.
Jamaica Plain Citizen January 31, 1952
Peck's Bad Boy At Children's Museum Feb. 2
All indications are that young people find "Peck's Bad Boy at the Circus" a very entertaining motion picture. That is why The Children's Museum in Jamaica Plain has scheduled it once more - this time on Saturday, February 2d at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free but limited to those in grade three and above.
At Story Hour this week, it will be a Hans Anderson fairy tale - "The Tinder Box" - that Miss Ruth Green will tell to her little listeners of first and second grade. The stories are always made more vivid by use of objects from the Museum's collection. The boys and girls look forward to the handwork which they may take home afterwards. This program begins at 2:30.
Museum Bird Club members are among those who go on the regular two-hour Saturday Morning Nature Walk. Sometimes they have the thrill of adding a new bird to their list. Anyone of any age is welcome to join the Museum leader at Centre and Eliot streets, Jamaica Plain, at 8:00 a.m.
As a result of the Game-Making Contest, five new Museum Games will be published on February 2d. The names of the winning game-makers are:
James Boyle, Dorchester, Carolyn Glennon, Jamaica Plain, Francis McCusker, Jamaica Plain, Robert O'Connell, Jamaica Plain, and Susam Parmalee, Roslindale.
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In 1969, when Miss Miriam Dickey pulled into the South End, Boston,
Massachusetts, in a shocking yellow hearse called the Plantmobile, she had her work cut out for her.Her mission was to lead a flower walk for kids, but nothing was blossoming on Shawmut Avenue. She eventually found dandelions growing in a vacant lot.
"It's only a weed if it's growing where it's not supposed to," she said. "In the city, it's a flower."Miss Dickey, 94, a teacher and naturalist, who was director of education at the Boston Children's Museum, died May 23, 2002, in Charlwell HouseNursing Home in Norwood, Massachusetts.
In the late 1960s, she and her staff in the Plantmobile, part of the city of Boston's Summerthing program, brought nearly 18,000 plants and trees to neighborhoods, where they were sold at cost - about a nickel a flower - as part of an effort to spruce up the city.The Plantmobile's most popular program was Miss Dickey's wildflower walks for city kids.
One morning in 1969, she led 20 fidgety 4- to 7-year-olds around the South End . . . and there wasn't even a dandelion to be found. But she hit paydirt peeking through the mesh of a yellow fence: a pale magenta plant called a ladies' thumb.She patiently pointed out the "thumb print" on the green leaf to the hooting and hollering kids. Then she plucked a small green plant and distributed its tiny green seeds.
"Does it taste good?" she asked one 5-year-old.
"Oh, it's hot," said the youngster.
That's how Miss Dickey introduced the youngsters to the pepper plant.
Born in Medford, she graduated from Wheaton College in 1932. Soon after graduation, she joined the education department at the Children's Museum. She became head of the department in 1941. At the museum, which was then located overlooking Jamaica Pond in Jamaica Plain, she was constantly lobbying to upgrade its natural history exhibits of skunks and woodchucks.
"Traditions have to be brought up to date for young space cadets already
dreaming of the 25th century." she said.
But she had both feet firmly planted on the ground.
"For many," she said, "the wonders of nature are limited to what can grow, crawl or fly in a city backyard."
For 27 years, Miss Dickey ran a summer day camp for kids. She also taught natural history classes in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and Roxbury, Massachusetts, sponsored by the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
"She knew everything about all the birds and plants," said a former student, Frederick T. Atwood, a naturalist and nature photographer who teaches at Flint Hill School in Oakton, Virginia. Atwood, who is now in his mid-40s, took her classes at the Children's Museum when he was 8 years old. He said she cultivated his interest in birds into "a passionate fascination and curiosity with everything about nature.
"She took us to the same places every week: Arnold Arboretum and Jamaica Pond," he said. "She was always enthusiastic and interested in everything. If you brought something to her, she'd gush about it, even if she'd seen it a hundred times."
Miss Dickey continued to teach natural history to preschool children as a volunteer for the Visiting Nurses Center in Dedham, Massachusetts, until her retirement in 1997, when she was 90. The following year, she was inducted into the Massachusetts Hall of Fame of Science Educators.
The mention of the Bird Club made me think of Miss Dickey, who was a fixture at the Museum for many years. She was in charge of education programs at the Museum, and led the weekly bird walks over decades. I found the obituary below in a usenet group, and it came without attribution. She was even more busy than I remembered, and lived an active life, dying in her Nineties in 2002. She inspired generations of children at the Museum and around the city, and deserves to be remembered as much as any Curtis or Greenough or Weld.
Jamaica Plain Citizen January 31, 1952
Peck's Bad Boy At Children's Museum Feb. 2
All indications are that young people find "Peck's Bad Boy at the Circus" a very entertaining motion picture. That is why The Children's Museum in Jamaica Plain has scheduled it once more - this time on Saturday, February 2d at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free but limited to those in grade three and above.
At Story Hour this week, it will be a Hans Anderson fairy tale - "The Tinder Box" - that Miss Ruth Green will tell to her little listeners of first and second grade. The stories are always made more vivid by use of objects from the Museum's collection. The boys and girls look forward to the handwork which they may take home afterwards. This program begins at 2:30.
Museum Bird Club members are among those who go on the regular two-hour Saturday Morning Nature Walk. Sometimes they have the thrill of adding a new bird to their list. Anyone of any age is welcome to join the Museum leader at Centre and Eliot streets, Jamaica Plain, at 8:00 a.m.
As a result of the Game-Making Contest, five new Museum Games will be published on February 2d. The names of the winning game-makers are:
James Boyle, Dorchester, Carolyn Glennon, Jamaica Plain, Francis McCusker, Jamaica Plain, Robert O'Connell, Jamaica Plain, and Susam Parmalee, Roslindale.
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In 1969, when Miss Miriam Dickey pulled into the South End, Boston,
Massachusetts, in a shocking yellow hearse called the Plantmobile, she had her work cut out for her.Her mission was to lead a flower walk for kids, but nothing was blossoming on Shawmut Avenue. She eventually found dandelions growing in a vacant lot.
"It's only a weed if it's growing where it's not supposed to," she said. "In the city, it's a flower."Miss Dickey, 94, a teacher and naturalist, who was director of education at the Boston Children's Museum, died May 23, 2002, in Charlwell HouseNursing Home in Norwood, Massachusetts.
In the late 1960s, she and her staff in the Plantmobile, part of the city of Boston's Summerthing program, brought nearly 18,000 plants and trees to neighborhoods, where they were sold at cost - about a nickel a flower - as part of an effort to spruce up the city.The Plantmobile's most popular program was Miss Dickey's wildflower walks for city kids.
One morning in 1969, she led 20 fidgety 4- to 7-year-olds around the South End . . . and there wasn't even a dandelion to be found. But she hit paydirt peeking through the mesh of a yellow fence: a pale magenta plant called a ladies' thumb.She patiently pointed out the "thumb print" on the green leaf to the hooting and hollering kids. Then she plucked a small green plant and distributed its tiny green seeds.
"Does it taste good?" she asked one 5-year-old.
"Oh, it's hot," said the youngster.
That's how Miss Dickey introduced the youngsters to the pepper plant.
Born in Medford, she graduated from Wheaton College in 1932. Soon after graduation, she joined the education department at the Children's Museum. She became head of the department in 1941. At the museum, which was then located overlooking Jamaica Pond in Jamaica Plain, she was constantly lobbying to upgrade its natural history exhibits of skunks and woodchucks.
"Traditions have to be brought up to date for young space cadets already
dreaming of the 25th century." she said.
But she had both feet firmly planted on the ground.
"For many," she said, "the wonders of nature are limited to what can grow, crawl or fly in a city backyard."
For 27 years, Miss Dickey ran a summer day camp for kids. She also taught natural history classes in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and Roxbury, Massachusetts, sponsored by the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
"She knew everything about all the birds and plants," said a former student, Frederick T. Atwood, a naturalist and nature photographer who teaches at Flint Hill School in Oakton, Virginia. Atwood, who is now in his mid-40s, took her classes at the Children's Museum when he was 8 years old. He said she cultivated his interest in birds into "a passionate fascination and curiosity with everything about nature.
"She took us to the same places every week: Arnold Arboretum and Jamaica Pond," he said. "She was always enthusiastic and interested in everything. If you brought something to her, she'd gush about it, even if she'd seen it a hundred times."
Miss Dickey continued to teach natural history to preschool children as a volunteer for the Visiting Nurses Center in Dedham, Massachusetts, until her retirement in 1997, when she was 90. The following year, she was inducted into the Massachusetts Hall of Fame of Science Educators.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Nazareth
Another corner of Jamaica Plain, another institution. Nazareth was a more recent introduction to the district than many I've covered earlier, coming in the post-war years (that would be The Big One, as my father liked to say). Although it was out of the way, on the far side of Moss Hill, I was aware of it as a child. That may have been because I was raised Catholic, and might have herd mention of it in church. Years later, a good friend of mine told me that he had spent some time at Nazareth, and had even been sent to the Agassiz school. No doubt we had been in the school at the same time, fifteen years or so earlier. He did not remember the experience of Nazareth fondly, although that should be no surprise - the situation was a necessarily unpleasant one to deal with. The four million dollar facility didn't even make a half century of use, being closed and replaced by the Showa Institute. This link will get you to a 1905 map of the area, where you can see the Slocum estate along Pond street.
I think that it's fair to assume that the headline below contains a typo - the children were homeless, not nameless.
Jamaica Plain Citizen March 20, 1952
Abp. Cushing Breaks Ground For Nazareth
$4,000,000 Home On Moss Hill For Temporarily Nameless Children
Archbishop Cushing yesterday broke ground for Nazareth, the $4,000,000 home for temporarily homeless and dependent children, on Moss Hill, Jamaica Plain, on the grounds of the former Slocum estate.
The brief ceremony was attended by Mayor Hynes and other civic officials; nuns and children from the Home for Catholic Children on Harrison ave., which Nazareth will succeed; and representatives from Catholic religious organizations.
Nazareth will be built on a radial plan of 10 cottages, each cottage containing five sleeping rooms, with six beds to a room; a two-bed infirmary; storage, recreation and dining rooms and kitchenette. Play areas will be built between cottages. The recreation center, in the middle of the radial, will contain an auditorium and gymnasium.
I think that it's fair to assume that the headline below contains a typo - the children were homeless, not nameless.
Jamaica Plain Citizen March 20, 1952
Abp. Cushing Breaks Ground For Nazareth
$4,000,000 Home On Moss Hill For Temporarily Nameless Children
Archbishop Cushing yesterday broke ground for Nazareth, the $4,000,000 home for temporarily homeless and dependent children, on Moss Hill, Jamaica Plain, on the grounds of the former Slocum estate.
The brief ceremony was attended by Mayor Hynes and other civic officials; nuns and children from the Home for Catholic Children on Harrison ave., which Nazareth will succeed; and representatives from Catholic religious organizations.
Nazareth will be built on a radial plan of 10 cottages, each cottage containing five sleeping rooms, with six beds to a room; a two-bed infirmary; storage, recreation and dining rooms and kitchenette. Play areas will be built between cottages. The recreation center, in the middle of the radial, will contain an auditorium and gymnasium.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Jamaica Plain Boy - Red Sox Mascot
Time to move on from Franklin park for a while. There is more Jamaica Plain content than meet's the eye in this article. As told in the baseball article at the Jamaica Plain Historical Society web site, Joseph J. Lannin owned property in Jamaica Plain. In 1914 he owned both Fordham Court - still standing on South street near the Arborway - and Arborway Court, a long-lost apartment building that sat at the corner of South street and St Ann street (now defunct), near where Asticou road comes out to Washington street today. It may have been Lannin's connection to Jamaica Plain that got "Lefty" Glennon his job with the Red Sox described below.
Boston Daily Globe February 11, 1915
How Can The Rex Sox Lose?
Between "Lefty" Glennon, Luck Producer, and Ty Cobb Prophet,
There Seems to Be Nothing to It This Year.
Thousands of Red Sox fans will be interested in the announcement that William Joseph Glennon, the 13-year-old youngster with the deep-red hair, who was seen on the diamond every afternoon that the Boston team played in Boston last season, has been "signed" as a member of the team for the coming year in the capacity of mascot.
He is known as "Red" by his playmates, but this name has not the approval of his mother, who is naturally proud of the signal distinction of her son, coming as it does direct from Pres Lannin. The new mascot is left-handed, and she says "Lefty" is much better; so "Lefty" Glennon his name will henceforth be to Boston baseball enthusiasts.
"Lefty" Glennon is a freshman at Boston College High School; he is a bright student and well liked. He was "graduated" into the major league from a local team, the Red Sox of Jamaica Plain, an organization fostered by one of the curates of the St Thomas parish, in which he lives at 16 St Rose st.
On this team, which claimed the 12-13-year-old championship of Greater Boston, he played in centerfield and played it well, according to the fans of the neighborhood. These same experts figure also that the rise of the Red Sox near the end of the season last year was due to the daily attendance of young "Lefty."
Pres Lannin's letter notifying "Lefty" of his appointment states the hope that the team will play its way to success the coming season as a result of its mascot.
Red Sox Will Win Flag Before Sept 1 - Ty Cobb
Detroit. Feb 10 - Tyrus Raymond Cobb, writing to a Detroit friend from his home in Georgia, makes two predictions. One is that the Detroit Tigers will show an improvement over their 1914 form, and the other, of more interest to Boston, says that the Boston Red Sox will sew up the American League pennant before Sept 1.
"I say this advisedly, because I do not consider accidents. To my way of guessing, the next World's Series will be staged in Boston," Cobb says.
Boston Daily Globe February 11, 1915
How Can The Rex Sox Lose?
Between "Lefty" Glennon, Luck Producer, and Ty Cobb Prophet,
There Seems to Be Nothing to It This Year.
Thousands of Red Sox fans will be interested in the announcement that William Joseph Glennon, the 13-year-old youngster with the deep-red hair, who was seen on the diamond every afternoon that the Boston team played in Boston last season, has been "signed" as a member of the team for the coming year in the capacity of mascot.
He is known as "Red" by his playmates, but this name has not the approval of his mother, who is naturally proud of the signal distinction of her son, coming as it does direct from Pres Lannin. The new mascot is left-handed, and she says "Lefty" is much better; so "Lefty" Glennon his name will henceforth be to Boston baseball enthusiasts.
"Lefty" Glennon is a freshman at Boston College High School; he is a bright student and well liked. He was "graduated" into the major league from a local team, the Red Sox of Jamaica Plain, an organization fostered by one of the curates of the St Thomas parish, in which he lives at 16 St Rose st.
On this team, which claimed the 12-13-year-old championship of Greater Boston, he played in centerfield and played it well, according to the fans of the neighborhood. These same experts figure also that the rise of the Red Sox near the end of the season last year was due to the daily attendance of young "Lefty."
Pres Lannin's letter notifying "Lefty" of his appointment states the hope that the team will play its way to success the coming season as a result of its mascot.
Red Sox Will Win Flag Before Sept 1 - Ty Cobb
Detroit. Feb 10 - Tyrus Raymond Cobb, writing to a Detroit friend from his home in Georgia, makes two predictions. One is that the Detroit Tigers will show an improvement over their 1914 form, and the other, of more interest to Boston, says that the Boston Red Sox will sew up the American League pennant before Sept 1.
"I say this advisedly, because I do not consider accidents. To my way of guessing, the next World's Series will be staged in Boston," Cobb says.
Franklin Park Zoo Grows and Grows
I vaguely remember visiting the zoo with my parents in the early Sixties. I do remember the elephant house, the big cat house, and the monkeys. For at least one summer, around 1967, St Thomas band held marching practice in the infield grounds just inside the Blue Hill avenue entrance. Unlike my mother, who had names for the zoo animals and pulled a sled from Amory or Oakdale street to the park to go sledding (think about it), I never spent much time at the zoo or park.
Go here to see a 1924 map of Franklin Park that shows the location of the lion and elephant houses, the bird cage and the bear pens.
On October 4, 1912, the new bear exhibit was opened at the Franklin Park zoo to an audience of nearly 10,000 people. Mayor Fitzgerald, City Council President Attridge and Councillor Ballentyne released 12 bears from their enclosed housing to the open pens near Walnut avenue. John T. Benson, curator of the zoo, boasted that the bear enclosure was the best in the world. Mayor Fitzgerald gave credit to George Parkman, whose bequest of $6,000,000 in 1910 for the parks of Boston destined the city to have the most wonderful parks in the world.
By June of the next year, two of 137 planned building had been built - the bear dens and the bird cage. Two monkeys were housed in a small circular building near the refectory, which stayed crowded throughout Sunday visiting hours. Present sensibilities would be deeply offended by the scene observed by the Globe reporter - a monkey given a hand mirror to play with, which it bit and broke, only to examine the resulting shards of glass. An agouti was in the next cage, and an adjutant stork, described as a "horrid bird." Its eye is "large, full of intelligence, and it has an expression of utter cynicism." Here, I think we can see the writer having some fun, as with the description of a camel on loan to the zoo - "He is an unpleasant, two-humped, supercilious affair..."
At the periphery of the temporary building were elk, a wild boar, and a buffalo. Bears, wolves, skunks and spotted ocelots were held there as well, with the building being planned for later use as a hospital and quarantine.
At the bird cage, which had been delayed in opening by a strike, four eagles perched on the branches of the enclosed trees, and a demoiselle crane performed its dance.
The bears included polar, Siberians, browns and a black, giving a population of 15, with Indian bears still to come.
The tropical birds in the collection had not all fared well, seven having died over the winter, including four flamingos from Florida and two German storks had died as well.
By December of the same year, permanent housing was in place near Blue Hill avenue for the buffalo, elk, llama, goat and red deer. Louis A. Mowbray, curator of the Aquarium, had taken temporary charge of the zoo since the retirement of John T. Benson, holding the position until the new curator, Arthur B. Baker, was to take over on the first of January.
In July of the following year, 2 lions and 10 monkeys arrived in Boston by steamship. The lions had been captured in Africa by Mr. Nelson Slater, who left Harvard and was "famous as a daring motorist, then turned to the African continent for thrills." Such were the times. Another donation to the zoo was a black bear cub from Oregon, given by the comedian Eddie Foy. The cub had been appearing with the Foy family at the Palace Theatre, and was said to be a favorite with women and children.
January of 1915 saw the opening of the new elephant house, home for Tony, Waddy and Mollie. The facility included an exercise yard and a pool 60 feet by 60 feet across, and sloping to seven feet deep. The elephants had come from a vaudeville show, and there was room to allow for similar performance.
A new round house contained leopards, pumas, wolves, red foxes and a wild-cat. The newly arrived lions were kept here, as well as one hyena. The polar bears enjoyed a swim in their pool, even when they needed to stamp through the ice to reach the water.
The second season of the Franklin Park Zoo started with a collection of 856 animals, including 705 birds and 151 mammals. Among the most popular attractions were the golden baboons, Jack and Jocko; Spider and Prince, the ring-tailed monkeys, Mutt, the spotted hyena and Sultan, the leopard.
In January of 1921, the lions, leopards and spotted hyena were moved to the new Lion House. Under the watchful eyes of the monkeys, and with meat tempting them into them each in succession into the travelling crate, each animal yielded and made the short trip. The exception was Sheila, the leopard, who refused the enticement offered and had to be corralled with a noose and drawn into the crate.
Resources: Boston Daily Globe, October 4, 1912, June 1, 1913, December 21, 1913, July 27, 1914, January 4, 1915, April 4, 1915, and January 14, 1921.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Hagborne Hill Reservoir
Richards, L.J. 1899 (copyright © 2000 by Cartography Associates)David Rumsey Collection.
In the center of the above map, you see Hagborne hill. If you're like me, as soon as the weather gets nice you'll want to talk a walk around the hill and look for evidence of the lost reservoir of Franklin Park. Even more, I'd love to know what's inside it now. I'd also like to know where the pumps of the Jamaica Pond Aqueduct Company were. And finally, I'd like to know the name of the Nimrod responsible for this disaster.
Boston Daily Globe October 26, 1902
Abandoned Hole. A Record Hall of Park Department. Reservoir Was Built in the Rock of Hagborne Hill. Meant to Supply Ponds of Franklin Park.
Boston has a great reservoir, built to hold water, which is utilized as a graveyard for public documents.
When it became apparent that the water shed of Franklin park was insufficient to keep the ponds full during the dry season and that it would be necessary to supplement the natural water supply, it was determined to utilize the plant of the Jamaica pond aqueduct corporation, laying an eight-inch pipe from the pumping station to a reservoir on Hagborne hill, and erecting standpipes along the line for road sprinkling purposes.
Work on the reservoir was begun in 1894. It was entirely below the original surface of the ground, and was excavated chiefly in rock, the bottom resting entirely on rock. This would have made the cost excessively high, except for the fact that material for road surfacing was obtained.
Inasmuch as the level of the water could not well be kept at a constant height and the appearance of the reservoir, if exposed, would be unsightly, it was thought best to have it covered.
The side walls were perpendicular, of American cement concrete, with a thickness nowhere less than one foot, the remaining space between the concrete and the ledge being filled with dry rubble.
Brick piers, 16 inches square, 10 inches high and 10 feet apart, were built for supporting the roof.
The top is covered today by 2 1/2 feet of loam.
The big main branches in a manhole just outside. The branch which was to supply the reservoir enters about six inches above the bottom, and is carried diagonally across nearly to the farther corner, where it ends in a globe-shaped casting, with an opening above. The branch which was to serve for an outflow pipe passes under the bottom and in embedded in concrete.
The reservoir covers an area of 9733 square feet, and has a capacity of 951,000 gallons, which is estimated to be a week's supply, n the driest time, for water carts on the drive between the reservoir and Jamaica park and also for making good the loss by evaporation from the ponds in Franklin park.
Difficulties arose which prevented the carrying out of the project, and the immense and costly reservoir, together with the tons of pipe, was abandoned. It was found that the water of Jamaica pond was too low to be carried to Hagborne hill without a more powerful pumping energy than could be supplied by the old Jamaica pond aqueduct pumps, and it was not deemed wise to construct a new pumping plant.
Since, the old pumping station has been removed, and instead of water in the great well in the park, the dry and musty records of the park department are to be found.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Frankln Park Zoo - Animals Arriving
Boston Daily Globe May 5, 1912
Jungle Dwellers For The Zoo
Two Grizzly, Two Cinnamon and Two Black Bears Expected from the Yellowstone National Park for the Boston Collection of Wild Animals, Water Fowl and Beautifully Plumed Foreign Birds.
Large Flocks Of Game Birds Given by John E. Thayer.
Donations of animals and birds to the city of Boston for its new zoo at Franklin Park have been so frequent and so liberal up to date that it begins to look as if Curator John T. Benson of the zoo will have a good-sized collection of beasts to put in their proper places when the time rolls around for the official opening of the animals' and birds' new quarters.
Mr Benson has been much pleased with the immediate recognition which had been given the new institution by prominent collectors and naturalists all over the country. Not only friends of Boston alone, but many others interested in the spread of appreciation of the wonders of natural science have expressed a desire to do their part, no matter how small, and to aid in suggestions for the keeping of the mammals in not in personal donations.
"The fame of the new zoo and reports of our preparations for it," said Mr Benson in speaking of the interest that is being taken, "have already spread far and wide, so much so that I begin to think people in the other parts of the country have heard more about it than have Boston people. I have been receiving letters from prominent persons of different States, some of them in the West, all of whom have congratulated me, as the representative of the city, on the new departure, and have sought information. The immediate success of the enterprise is assured."
Meanwhile Curator Benson is doing what he can to hurry along the work of construction of the future homes of the animals and birds, viz, the bear dens, the flying cage and the service room for the reception of the live stock. No exact date for opening has been set. This will depend largely on the rapidity with which the work progresses from now on. Up to this time the laborers have been hampered often by difficulties imposed by the weather, yet the buildings have already taken definite shape.
While waiting for the completion of their Summer quarters the beasts are being temporarily housed in cages and pens built expressly for the purpose. Great care has been exercised in their keeping during the Winter months and every advantage has been offered them.
Perhaps the largest collection of any kind that has yet been presented to the Zoo and delivered to the keeper is that of water fowl, given by John E. Thayer of Lancaster, the well-known ornithologist and collector. The donation of this collection stands as another of the many public services which Mr Thayer has rendered along the line of natural science.
The group presented comprises a very large number of aquatic birds, many of them rare specimens, a collection the gathering of which undoubtedly required many years of patience. There are not only strange birds from other parts of the United States and Canada, but also several from foreign countries, such as Australia, Japan and China.
Specimens contained in the collection include pairs of comb geese, semipalmated geese, widgeon, tree ducks, shoveler ducks, ruddy sheldrakes, red heads, pintails, Egyptian geese and snow geese. Altogether a fine group of water fowl to start with.
With these are being kept six beautiful white swans which were given to the city by Howard Marston. These handsome birds occupy a prominent place in the whole collection.
A good start has also been made in the animal department. The first donation was that of a fine black bear, made by Newton Newkirk of Boston. The animal has been enjoying himself during the Winter in the recesses of a private dun which is kept in the Franklin Park yard. This present was followed by the gift of a young alligator and another of a Gila monster, a member of the lizard family. The givers of these withheld their names.
Still more recent has been the donation of a rare tortoise by Dr James B. Thornton of the Back Bay. This creature is known as a wood tortoise and its habitat is in the Southern climes, particularly in islands of the West Indies.
It came into the Dr Thornton's possession in a very peculiar way. One day when he was driving through Fenway in an automobile he saw the animal crossing the road at a rapid rate. He captured it and took it home, keeping it there during the Winter in a small cage which he made for it. The animal made a splendid pet, he states. It arose with the rest of the family in the morning, took its meals about the same time and usually went off to bed about 2 in the afternoon. In cold weather it crawled off into the darkness for days at a time.
An addition to the above collection of mammals is expected in a short time from the National Government, which has expressed its intention of taking some of the animals in Yellowstone National Park and transporting them to the Boston Zoo, there to have their habitation. This group will probably include four grizzly bears, two cinnamon bears and two blacks.
Curator Benson has received intimations that donations are to come from several other sources, and the fact has been well manifest that outsiders as well as the people of Boston are deeply interested in the success of the new zoo.
Franklin Park Zoo - Getting Closer.
Boston Daily Globe November 24, 1911
Pushing Work At Zoological Gardens. Iron and Masonry Parts Nearly Finished -- Bear Pits Practically complete and Great Bird Cage Progressing.
Work is being rapidly pushed at the Zoological Gardens at Franklin Park, the contractors endeavoring to have the iron and masonry work completed before the snow comes. At the bear pens the heavy walls are nearly finished and the pens themselves lack only a few minor additions.
The large bird cage that is being erected near Humbolt av is nearly completed as far as the iron work is concerned. During the past week the work of putting the girders in place has gone on.
The cage will be 210 feet long, 60 feet high and 50 feet wide, with a large arched roof. Inside the cage will be a number of trees for the birds to roost on and a large cement tank will be put in for the water fowl. I was the intention to have only water fowl in the cage, but it has been decided to put all kinds of birds there. At present the authorities have 37 different kinds of birds in the cage.
Owing to the cold the building of the tank will not start until early in the Spring.
Franklin Park Zoo - Opening Soon
I will note here that I'm pretty sure that the John Benson cited below was later the founder of Benson's Wild Animal Farm of Hudson New Hampshire. Or was it his son? Any one who grew up in the metro Boston area during the 1960s like I did will remember the name, and many will have visited the park. If I'm right about this, why did Mr Benson leave Franklin Park? Maybe someone will have an answer to leave in the Comments section.
Boston Daily Globe May 28, 1911
Boston Zoo Ready In A Year
J.T. Benson Has Been Nominated Curator.
Talks of His Experiences and of Franklin Park Plans.
By this time next year the new municipal zoo in Franklin park will be opened. It is expected at present, with the bear dens occupied and the denizens of the great flying cage on view to the public. Work has already started on the bear dens and Monday a large force of men will be employed on this one feature. If plans for the new Boston zoological gardens can be taken as any criterion for the completed zoo, Boston will undoubtedly have one of the finest such exhibits to be found in the world.
A Globe reporter visited the site of the proposed zoo in Franklin park last week to ascertain what had been done. There he found John T. Benson, who has been appointed curator of the zoo by park commissioners, subject to confirmation by Mayor Fitzgerald. His honor has not yet confirmed the selection of the park commissioners.
Mr Benson is well equipped for this great work, as he has been intimately associated with animals, birds and fish from his boyhood. Last winter he passed five months in the great European cities studying the zoos there and securing first-hand information as to the latest and best methods of housing and caring for park animals, birds, etc. During his trip he visited the great zoological gardens at Dublin, London, Paris, Berlin, Antwerp and Hamburg.
Being personally friendly with Hagenbeck, he visited that famous animal man's place at Hamburg, which is the most modern and best equipped in the world, he says. Because of his friendship he was permitted to make a careful study of the quarters, making measurements and plans of the cages, houses, drainage systems, etc, all of which would be invaluable to him here.
He says that owing to the rapid decrease in wild animals the world over, and the inability of people to study them in their native haunts, the demand for zoological gardens in being felt in all large cites, and those not yet having a zoo are preparing to establish one; their educational advantages are unlimited. He thinks Boston is particularly fortunate in having the great Parkman fund to help it with its work of establishing a zoo here.
[skip section about Mr Benson]
He took the Globe representative over the section of Franklin park to be devoted to the zoological garden, and showed him just where the men are engaged in grading and blasting for the bear dens, which is almost opposite Humbolt av, on the Seaver-st side of the park. It is an ideal location for the dens, which are to be made as natural as possible, consistent with proper drainage, etc.
Bids for the construction of the largest flying cage in the world are to be opened May 29 and it is expected that the cage will be completed and it feathered inhabitants in place by next May. This cage will be so large that it will entirely enclose six or eight great towering elms, now growing on the site, and the trees will be left undisturbed within the cage.
Dimensions of the Cage.
An idea of the size of this cage can be had from the fact that the cage in the Bronx park in New York is 132 feet long and 55 feet high, while that to be built at Franklin park will be 190 feet long and 56 feet high, or nearly 10 feet longer than the one in New York.
Plans have just been completed for the bear cages and dens, and the foundation work for these is already in progress. The cages will be completed and the animals installed in them by next year. There will be four of these great bear cages, with opportunity for more if desirable and accommodations will be provided for 23 or more bears. These cages will be built in Long Crough woods, near Seaver st.
The cages will be arranged in a great semicircle, before which is to be an open court, approached by a broad flight of steps. There is to be a fountain in the open court. About 10 feet from the front of the cages will be a barrier to prevent people getting too close to the animals, and between that and the cages will be a mass of low shrubbery. All four cages will have pools of about 20 feet width for the bears to swim in, and natural conditions will be simulated within the cages as much as possible. There will be trees within the cages, but they will be provided with guards to prevent the bears climbing and destroying them.
Each cage will be 90 feet in depth, not including the den portion, which will project from the rear. One cage is to be 130 feet long and the others about 90 feet long. Upon the suggestion of Mr Benson a drainage system will be installed so that the cages can be kept perfectly clean at all times.
Almost in front of the bear cages, under a great natural bowlder(sic) which is to act as a background for the cage, will be built the quarters of the lynx group. As little ironwork as possible will be used, but of necessity some must be visible, in the various cages. Next summer a great bird house is to be erected for winter quarters, and it will be ready to receive them by the time they most be taken in from the flying cage.
Mr Benson has already been in correspondence with a number of persons to secure animals and birds for the new zoo. In fact, at Franklin park there is a small black bear from Main, which has been donated to the new zoo by a Boston newspaper man. This bear was one year old last February. Other offers of bear, buffalo, elk and a wolf have already been made by a person wishing to donate them.
Mr Benson, in the work he has been doing at the park up to this time, has been given quarters in the office of supt Pettigrew, but he expects to change to the Overlook building and to share the rooms of the park police until some permanent offices are assigned the curator of the zoo.
Boston Daily Globe May 28, 1911
Boston Zoo Ready In A Year
J.T. Benson Has Been Nominated Curator.
Talks of His Experiences and of Franklin Park Plans.
By this time next year the new municipal zoo in Franklin park will be opened. It is expected at present, with the bear dens occupied and the denizens of the great flying cage on view to the public. Work has already started on the bear dens and Monday a large force of men will be employed on this one feature. If plans for the new Boston zoological gardens can be taken as any criterion for the completed zoo, Boston will undoubtedly have one of the finest such exhibits to be found in the world.
A Globe reporter visited the site of the proposed zoo in Franklin park last week to ascertain what had been done. There he found John T. Benson, who has been appointed curator of the zoo by park commissioners, subject to confirmation by Mayor Fitzgerald. His honor has not yet confirmed the selection of the park commissioners.
Mr Benson is well equipped for this great work, as he has been intimately associated with animals, birds and fish from his boyhood. Last winter he passed five months in the great European cities studying the zoos there and securing first-hand information as to the latest and best methods of housing and caring for park animals, birds, etc. During his trip he visited the great zoological gardens at Dublin, London, Paris, Berlin, Antwerp and Hamburg.
Being personally friendly with Hagenbeck, he visited that famous animal man's place at Hamburg, which is the most modern and best equipped in the world, he says. Because of his friendship he was permitted to make a careful study of the quarters, making measurements and plans of the cages, houses, drainage systems, etc, all of which would be invaluable to him here.
He says that owing to the rapid decrease in wild animals the world over, and the inability of people to study them in their native haunts, the demand for zoological gardens in being felt in all large cites, and those not yet having a zoo are preparing to establish one; their educational advantages are unlimited. He thinks Boston is particularly fortunate in having the great Parkman fund to help it with its work of establishing a zoo here.
[skip section about Mr Benson]
He took the Globe representative over the section of Franklin park to be devoted to the zoological garden, and showed him just where the men are engaged in grading and blasting for the bear dens, which is almost opposite Humbolt av, on the Seaver-st side of the park. It is an ideal location for the dens, which are to be made as natural as possible, consistent with proper drainage, etc.
Bids for the construction of the largest flying cage in the world are to be opened May 29 and it is expected that the cage will be completed and it feathered inhabitants in place by next May. This cage will be so large that it will entirely enclose six or eight great towering elms, now growing on the site, and the trees will be left undisturbed within the cage.
Dimensions of the Cage.
An idea of the size of this cage can be had from the fact that the cage in the Bronx park in New York is 132 feet long and 55 feet high, while that to be built at Franklin park will be 190 feet long and 56 feet high, or nearly 10 feet longer than the one in New York.
Plans have just been completed for the bear cages and dens, and the foundation work for these is already in progress. The cages will be completed and the animals installed in them by next year. There will be four of these great bear cages, with opportunity for more if desirable and accommodations will be provided for 23 or more bears. These cages will be built in Long Crough woods, near Seaver st.
The cages will be arranged in a great semicircle, before which is to be an open court, approached by a broad flight of steps. There is to be a fountain in the open court. About 10 feet from the front of the cages will be a barrier to prevent people getting too close to the animals, and between that and the cages will be a mass of low shrubbery. All four cages will have pools of about 20 feet width for the bears to swim in, and natural conditions will be simulated within the cages as much as possible. There will be trees within the cages, but they will be provided with guards to prevent the bears climbing and destroying them.
Each cage will be 90 feet in depth, not including the den portion, which will project from the rear. One cage is to be 130 feet long and the others about 90 feet long. Upon the suggestion of Mr Benson a drainage system will be installed so that the cages can be kept perfectly clean at all times.
Almost in front of the bear cages, under a great natural bowlder(sic) which is to act as a background for the cage, will be built the quarters of the lynx group. As little ironwork as possible will be used, but of necessity some must be visible, in the various cages. Next summer a great bird house is to be erected for winter quarters, and it will be ready to receive them by the time they most be taken in from the flying cage.
Mr Benson has already been in correspondence with a number of persons to secure animals and birds for the new zoo. In fact, at Franklin park there is a small black bear from Main, which has been donated to the new zoo by a Boston newspaper man. This bear was one year old last February. Other offers of bear, buffalo, elk and a wolf have already been made by a person wishing to donate them.
Mr Benson, in the work he has been doing at the park up to this time, has been given quarters in the office of supt Pettigrew, but he expects to change to the Overlook building and to share the rooms of the park police until some permanent offices are assigned the curator of the zoo.
The Zoo At Franklin Park
Note the dates of the articles. The wheels of government turn slowly. The Parkman Fund refers to money left by George Francis Parkman for the care of parks in the City of Boston.
Boston Daily Globe March 19, 1888
The "Zoo" at Franklin Park.
Definite arrangements have been concluded for the establishment of a zoological garden, in occupancy of that portion of Franklin Park on the corner of Walnut avenue and Seaver street, taking in the present entrance opposite School street, and extending along Seaver street about midway towards Blue Hill avenue, and covering a large tract of territory. This part of the grounds is particularly eligible for the purpose, on account of its rustic nature, a large part abounding in ledges, acclivities and groves. Suitable buildings will be erected in consonance with plans now being perfected, and the various components of a grand zoo, equalling at least anything in this country, will be furnished as speedily as possible.
June 25, 1910
Favors New Zoo At Franklin Park.
But Parkman Committee Takes No Action.
Recommends $10,000 be Used to Improve Charlesbank.
The special committee of the city council on the Parkman fund, Councilor Hale presiding, held a meeting at city hall yesterday afternoon at which the members discussed the project of establishing a zoo at Franklin park. There were representatives present from the art and park commissions.
The discussion was general, and though no definite action was taken, the members of the committee expressed themselves in favor of the establishment of the zoo.
The committee voted to report to the next meeting of the city council "ought to pass" on the order appropriating from the Parkman fund income for this year the sum of $10,000 to be used in improving the Charlesbank.
Boston Daily Globe March 19, 1888
The "Zoo" at Franklin Park.
Definite arrangements have been concluded for the establishment of a zoological garden, in occupancy of that portion of Franklin Park on the corner of Walnut avenue and Seaver street, taking in the present entrance opposite School street, and extending along Seaver street about midway towards Blue Hill avenue, and covering a large tract of territory. This part of the grounds is particularly eligible for the purpose, on account of its rustic nature, a large part abounding in ledges, acclivities and groves. Suitable buildings will be erected in consonance with plans now being perfected, and the various components of a grand zoo, equalling at least anything in this country, will be furnished as speedily as possible.
June 25, 1910
Favors New Zoo At Franklin Park.
But Parkman Committee Takes No Action.
Recommends $10,000 be Used to Improve Charlesbank.
The special committee of the city council on the Parkman fund, Councilor Hale presiding, held a meeting at city hall yesterday afternoon at which the members discussed the project of establishing a zoo at Franklin park. There were representatives present from the art and park commissions.
The discussion was general, and though no definite action was taken, the members of the committee expressed themselves in favor of the establishment of the zoo.
The committee voted to report to the next meeting of the city council "ought to pass" on the order appropriating from the Parkman fund income for this year the sum of $10,000 to be used in improving the Charlesbank.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Agassiz School - And The Old Homestead
Brewer street, 1960sTaking a break from Franklin Park entries...
OK, so it's a picture of my old house, with the "new" Agassiz school in the background. I just found the picture in a box, and I figured I'd make it available to anyone who wanted to see the school again. I believe the address of the school was Burroughs street, but the main entrance was on Brewer. Go figure. I believe our house was at least the second on the property. Maps show a building with a different footprint on the property from 1874 to 1905, and then this building shows up in 1914. In the back hall on the second floor there was an ice box on the platform and a gas lamp in the wall. In the living room there was a faux fireplace with a cast metal "log" gas fixture that was not connected. By the time I was waking up for school, the earliest children would already be in the schoolyard outside my window. The schoolyard beside the house was our "ballfield", and my mother always had to get after us to use rubber balls to protect the windows.
Curling On Scarboro Pond - 1903
Boston Daily Globe January 11, 1903
Play The Old Scotch Game.
Boston Curling Club Defeats the Country Club The Country Club's Representatives at Scarboro Pond, 46 to 36.
The Boston curling club and Country club of Brookline representatives met yesterday afternoon in a friendly match on the ice at Scarboro pond, Franklin park, the Boston curling club winning 46 to 36.
Three rinks were organized and the sport was enjoyed by all the participants. The ice was planed especially for the occasion, and although it was extremely keen, it had a bias which affected shots somewhat.
The first rink, skipped by Wrenton of the Boston curling club and Stevens of the Country club, had a tie score 13 to 13. The second rink went to the Boston curling club, Weinys'(sp?) four having a total of 21 to Jaques' 12. The third rink had a close contest, the Boston men winning by one point. The summary:
[scores followed]
The two curling clubs will meet in the national district medal series Saturday, Jan 24, at Scarboro pond, Franklin park.
Scarboro Pond at Franklin Park
Richards, L.J. 1899 (copyright © 2000 by Cartography Associates)David Rumsey Collection.
Boston Daily Globe September 26, 1891
Ponds For Pleasure.
Three of Them Already Commenced in Franklin Park.
The work of constructing a chain of three artificial ponds has commenced at Franklin Park with the view of affording recreation, both winter and summer,for the children of Boston.
The ponds will be situated in the valley south of Scarboro hill, extending in a southwesterly direction, the third pond lying west of the circuit drive south of Rock Morton.
About six and a half acres will be covered by the ponds. Their depth will be eight feet in summer, but in winder the water will be drawn off so that the depth will be but four feet, and so prevent danger of drowning accidents, and allow skaters to pass under a rustic bridge situated between the second and third ponds.
Over the northerly shore of the largest pond a boathouse will be built where boats and canoes will be kept for hire. The ponds are so laid out as to add greatly to the beauty of the park.
January 30, 1902
Hockey Players Barred.
English High - Dorchester Game Postponed.
Schoolboys Indignant Over the Delay at Franklin Field.
Supt Pettigrew Will be Appealed to for a New Rink at Franklin Park.
The ice hockey game scheduled for yesterday afternoon at Franklin park between English high school and Dorchester high was postponed indefinitely, notwithstanding the fact that both teams were on the ice and ready to play.
Capt Hamburger of English high got his men ready to play at 3:30, but was notified by the officer on duty at Scarboro pond that he had received orders from Supt Pettigrew to prevent playing between the bridges, as it interfered with the other skaters.
The schoolboys were then allotted space above the westerly bridge, but when they went there, it was already taken possession of by the curlers from the Boston curling club, and as there was no possibility of playing without interfering with the curlers, the hockey players had to give up the idea of having a game.
The schoolboys now propose, if possible, to find out how things stand and they are indignant over the way they have been treated regarding Franklin field, and blame the park authorities for not insisting upon the contractor finishing his work so that the field may be flooded.
The also claim that the superintendent some weeks ago stated that a hockey rink would be provided for the boys at Franklin park, and that everything would be done to make up for the loss of Franklin field.
It is understood that a complaint has been made to the authorities that the hockey players monopolize the ice along with the curlers. Such is not the fact, as the rink, 180 by 80 feet, takes up comparatively small space and allows plenty of surface for the young people who are not interested in the game to enjoy themselves.
Hockey is exceptionally popular this year, and many teams practice at Franklin park whenever the ice is in good condition. Supt Pettigrew will be asked to provide a new rink by the school teams.
***********************************************************************************
Not all was beauty and fun when Scarboro pond was laid out and filled.
At about 3:30 on the afternoon of June 18, 1896, a canoe capsized on Scarboro pond. While W.T. Irving was pulled from the water by boatman in charge Herbert Stiles, P.M. Benway drowned in spite of the efforts of Patrolman George Riley.
On the evening of September 12, 1902, Mrs. Ellen A. Donovan was found drowned in Scarboro pond. Mrs. Donovan, a resident of Roxbury, had been an inmate at the Austin farm hospital just up Morton street, and had escaped from the institution in the morning.
On May 20, 1918, Miss Hansea Larson, 24, disappeared from the Boston State hospital, and committed suicide by drowning herself at Scarboro pond.
Sadly, whether through accident or intent, on rare occasions Scarboro pond became a scene of tragedy.
Note: I followed the spelling of the article, but you may see Scarborough as well.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Franklin Park - Against and For
These two articles give some of the back and forth over the development of Franklin Park. You can see what the area looked like both before and after the park was founded in the these linked maps from 1874 and 1884 from the Jamaica Plain Historical Society web site.
Boston Daily Globe March 24, 1886
Franklin Park Betterments.
Public Hearing in the Council Chamber Yesterday.
The committee on claims gave a public hearing yesterday in the Council chamber on the subject of betterments assessed on account of laying out West Roxbury, now Franklin Park. There was a large attendance of interested persons. Nearly every seat in the chamber was occupied, the seats of Councilmen Lee, Dugan and Foss being filled by three ladies.
Alderman Hart, chairman, called the committee to order at 2:16 p.m. There were present Aldremen Hart, Sullivan and Freeman, and Councilmen Blume, Regan and Brown of the committee, and Corporation Counsel Nettleton. Thomas P. Proctor appeared for the Milton heirs of the petitioners.
After the reading of the petition, Richard Olney stated that he appeared on behalf of William Minot and others. He made an opening statement to the effect that he appeared, not as a particular representative of any one or several persons, but for all the persons assessed. He thought it would be a scandal to let the big fish escape and the little ones suffer. Most of the cases were in court. He thought some action should be taken to do away with the assessment. Unless it was so done, the city would be unable to collect more than a small portion of the betterments.
M.D. Ross called attention to Mr Olmsted's report and exhibited surveyor's plans to show that a new park road, designed to go through the place, destroyed six building lots and wiped out one house altogether. He did not complain of this, but he wanted to show how hard it was for him to sell his property under the existing uncertainty.
L. Foster Morse, a real estate broker, testified that the taking of the park for a public playground injured every estate bordering on it. With all due respect to Mr Dalton, he thought there was not a park betterment assessed that could be collected.
William Minot Jr., said the whole question of betterments was an experiment. The rise in value of Back Bay land was largely due not only to the park but to the improvements in health and sewers. The city had made a jump in the dark and trusted to time to show a betterment.
William P. Carter, a farmer, testified to the nuisance caused by stealing by visitors to the park. He owned six acres on which the betterment was $300. He would not sell his land less than $2000 an acre, because it cost him that much. The land in the neighborhood could not increase much, as the city had established a pauper institution and a small-pox hospital within three minutes walk. Milton A. Kent and A.T. Calder testified to the same effect as Mr. Carter and other witnesses.
Mr Olney stated that Mr. Bowditch had sold property for $19,000 since the park was laid out, for which he refused $23,000 some years ago. Mr Olney then read a communication from Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, who said the estates were not bettered by the park. He claimed that as his property was devoted to experimental agriculture in the testing of fruits for the benefit of the whole country, and would never be sold for house lots, it ought not be taxed. The petitioners put in the following figures collected by real estate men in regard to fifteen estates charged with betterments. There were 118 acres in all. The park assessment was $30,321; the betterment was $30,642. Between 1883 and 1885 the assessors books show that seven of these estates were not increased at all. The remaining were increased and two decreased. The total increase is $20,100. The park commissioners' estimated increase is $61,842; of these six estates one was $11,700 more than half the total increase.
A letter was read from Samuel Bradstreet and the hearing was adjourned to Friday, March 2d, at 1:30 p.m.
May 30, 1886
The Park Is For The People.
Franklin Park, is the sun shines today, will be visited no doubt by thousands of people from the crowded districts of Boston Proper. Monday and Tuesday, the columns of those of our contemporaries who make it their mission to air the grievances of well-to-do grumblers will bristle with letters complaining of their "vandalism." We shall be told about "the mob," and how it damaged the park, tearing the trees to pieces, despoiling them of their blossoms and playing havoc generally. All of which will be untrue, so far as it represents the frequenters of Franklin Park as in any sense a rough or disorderly body of people, while as to the flower-picking accusation it is simply trumpery impertinence. The West Roxbury lands have been bought by the people of Boston for the people of Boston's use and pleasure. As yet they are not laid out, nor cultivated, nor policed. They are in a wild state of picturesque natural beauty. The people have a right to flock there on Sunday, and to every well-ordered mind it is a positive pleasure to see the happy throngs of hard-working men and women strolling over the green fields, with groups of delighted children, from the city streets where grass and the blossoms of the orchards, are never seen. They have not, so far, been guilty of any disorderly conduct, though it is no doubt true that they have gathered bunches of lilacs, a few boughs of hawthorne, a handful of apple blossoms, or made up boquets of wild flowers, daisies, buttercups and clovers to carry back as souvenirs of their outing and light up their humble homes in the heart of the city with a little color from the country. Why not? Where is the kindly-disposed person who grudges them this little gratification? One of Boston's ex-mayors, commenting on the recent ridiculous complaints on this score, says: I rejoice that the Franklin Park lands are not yet laid out in apple-pie order, and it does my heart good to see the thousands of city people roaming at will over them every Sunday, and enjoying the full liberty of them. The blossoms will soon fade and fall away, and if they are picked to carry back to the city homes where flowers are so rarely seen, I don't see why there need be any fuss made about it." The truth is Franklin Park is serving its purpose as a public breathing space and pleasure ground for the people very admirably. But some folks will never feel happy about it until it is all fenced in, gravel-walked, flower-bedded and lawn-mowered, with an iron sign-post put up every few rods -- "Keep off the grass" -- and a policeman at every corner to see that nothing is touched.
Boston Daily Globe March 24, 1886
Franklin Park Betterments.
Public Hearing in the Council Chamber Yesterday.
The committee on claims gave a public hearing yesterday in the Council chamber on the subject of betterments assessed on account of laying out West Roxbury, now Franklin Park. There was a large attendance of interested persons. Nearly every seat in the chamber was occupied, the seats of Councilmen Lee, Dugan and Foss being filled by three ladies.
Alderman Hart, chairman, called the committee to order at 2:16 p.m. There were present Aldremen Hart, Sullivan and Freeman, and Councilmen Blume, Regan and Brown of the committee, and Corporation Counsel Nettleton. Thomas P. Proctor appeared for the Milton heirs of the petitioners.
After the reading of the petition, Richard Olney stated that he appeared on behalf of William Minot and others. He made an opening statement to the effect that he appeared, not as a particular representative of any one or several persons, but for all the persons assessed. He thought it would be a scandal to let the big fish escape and the little ones suffer. Most of the cases were in court. He thought some action should be taken to do away with the assessment. Unless it was so done, the city would be unable to collect more than a small portion of the betterments.
M.D. Ross called attention to Mr Olmsted's report and exhibited surveyor's plans to show that a new park road, designed to go through the place, destroyed six building lots and wiped out one house altogether. He did not complain of this, but he wanted to show how hard it was for him to sell his property under the existing uncertainty.
L. Foster Morse, a real estate broker, testified that the taking of the park for a public playground injured every estate bordering on it. With all due respect to Mr Dalton, he thought there was not a park betterment assessed that could be collected.
William Minot Jr., said the whole question of betterments was an experiment. The rise in value of Back Bay land was largely due not only to the park but to the improvements in health and sewers. The city had made a jump in the dark and trusted to time to show a betterment.
William P. Carter, a farmer, testified to the nuisance caused by stealing by visitors to the park. He owned six acres on which the betterment was $300. He would not sell his land less than $2000 an acre, because it cost him that much. The land in the neighborhood could not increase much, as the city had established a pauper institution and a small-pox hospital within three minutes walk. Milton A. Kent and A.T. Calder testified to the same effect as Mr. Carter and other witnesses.
Mr Olney stated that Mr. Bowditch had sold property for $19,000 since the park was laid out, for which he refused $23,000 some years ago. Mr Olney then read a communication from Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, who said the estates were not bettered by the park. He claimed that as his property was devoted to experimental agriculture in the testing of fruits for the benefit of the whole country, and would never be sold for house lots, it ought not be taxed. The petitioners put in the following figures collected by real estate men in regard to fifteen estates charged with betterments. There were 118 acres in all. The park assessment was $30,321; the betterment was $30,642. Between 1883 and 1885 the assessors books show that seven of these estates were not increased at all. The remaining were increased and two decreased. The total increase is $20,100. The park commissioners' estimated increase is $61,842; of these six estates one was $11,700 more than half the total increase.
A letter was read from Samuel Bradstreet and the hearing was adjourned to Friday, March 2d, at 1:30 p.m.
May 30, 1886
The Park Is For The People.
Franklin Park, is the sun shines today, will be visited no doubt by thousands of people from the crowded districts of Boston Proper. Monday and Tuesday, the columns of those of our contemporaries who make it their mission to air the grievances of well-to-do grumblers will bristle with letters complaining of their "vandalism." We shall be told about "the mob," and how it damaged the park, tearing the trees to pieces, despoiling them of their blossoms and playing havoc generally. All of which will be untrue, so far as it represents the frequenters of Franklin Park as in any sense a rough or disorderly body of people, while as to the flower-picking accusation it is simply trumpery impertinence. The West Roxbury lands have been bought by the people of Boston for the people of Boston's use and pleasure. As yet they are not laid out, nor cultivated, nor policed. They are in a wild state of picturesque natural beauty. The people have a right to flock there on Sunday, and to every well-ordered mind it is a positive pleasure to see the happy throngs of hard-working men and women strolling over the green fields, with groups of delighted children, from the city streets where grass and the blossoms of the orchards, are never seen. They have not, so far, been guilty of any disorderly conduct, though it is no doubt true that they have gathered bunches of lilacs, a few boughs of hawthorne, a handful of apple blossoms, or made up boquets of wild flowers, daisies, buttercups and clovers to carry back as souvenirs of their outing and light up their humble homes in the heart of the city with a little color from the country. Why not? Where is the kindly-disposed person who grudges them this little gratification? One of Boston's ex-mayors, commenting on the recent ridiculous complaints on this score, says: I rejoice that the Franklin Park lands are not yet laid out in apple-pie order, and it does my heart good to see the thousands of city people roaming at will over them every Sunday, and enjoying the full liberty of them. The blossoms will soon fade and fall away, and if they are picked to carry back to the city homes where flowers are so rarely seen, I don't see why there need be any fuss made about it." The truth is Franklin Park is serving its purpose as a public breathing space and pleasure ground for the people very admirably. But some folks will never feel happy about it until it is all fenced in, gravel-walked, flower-bedded and lawn-mowered, with an iron sign-post put up every few rods -- "Keep off the grass" -- and a policeman at every corner to see that nothing is touched.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Design Plan For Franklin Park
This sketch comes from the Boston Daily Globe, February 18, 1886. The West Roxbury park is now Franklin Park. Benjamin Franklin had left the city of Boston a sum of money, to be invested and kept for 100 years. The city considered uses for the money - approximately $200,000 in 1882 - and voted in that year to use the money to retire the debt resulting from buying the land for the West Roxbury Park, and to name the park in honor of its illustrious benefactor. The actual renaming doesn't show up in the Globe archive until we see it on the sketch above.
Note that although the layout of the park shown above is very much like we know it now, there was no zoo and no golf course.
Addendum: Commenter Meg reminds me that the money from the Franklin fund was not used for Franklin Park. Due to a lawsuit by the heirs of Benjamin Franklin, that source of money was tied up in the courts, and the city paid for the park from other sources.
Additional source: Boston Daily Globe January 24, 1882
A Day At The Park
These observations by a Boston Globe reporter came after the park land had been purchased, but before it had been laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted. There had been complaints about the crowds by abutters, so this may have been pro-park propaganda by the civic boosters at the Globe.
Boston Daily Globe June 29, 1885
Flocking To The Fields.
West Roxbury Park Visited by 20,000 People.
They Were Still Coming When the Rain Put an End to the Fun.
What a Five Minute's Shower Will Cost the Tourists.
The tide of travel was decidedly southward yesterday. West Roxbury Park has been a city Pleasure ground for a few seasons only, and the Common has many attractions to old residents, who go there from force of habit. From present indications its day is over, and hereafter those who want a few hours out will go elsewhither. Young people, fellows with their girls, and ladies and gentlemen, who with a sea breeze and clam chowder go to City Point this year, and young married people with their children, as well as citizens of a mature age, who simply want a ride and a view of country scenery, will go to West Roxbury.
To meet the demand that was evidently coming the Highland railway ran its usual cars to the depots, to Cornhill and to Temple place, and put on two additional lines, one ending at Park square and the other at Dover street. By this arrangement some arrived at and left Oakland Garden every minute from 10 o'clock a.m. until after the rain. They were needed, too. By 1 o'clock every bit of seating room was filled before reaching Dudley street, and in several instances the steps and platforms were loaded.
Groups of early risers, workingmen and boys,
Began to Stroll Into the Park
hours before noon. As the sun rose higher ladies and children added their bright garments to the browns and blacks of the gentlemen, making the green fields gay with variegated tints of red and blue, old gold and many metallic hues. Summer suits with straw hats and yellow shoes, were all the rage. Fully one-fourth of all the 20,000 people who were on the ground at 3 o'clock were children, ranging from 2 to 14 years of age. These were in the main tastefully dressed in light clothes, while many of them were ornamented with gay sashes. If they were representative Boston children the coming generation will not lack for beauty.
As the object of the excursions was evidently a ride and a view of the woods and fields the older members of the company sauntered from field to field, taking in the scenes, while the little folks ran and scampered like lambs. At the different ponds the usual game of making a big, good-natured dog go into the water after a stick was played by the boys, who enjoyed seeing the dog swim, and did not object to having him shake himself on coming out, even if they got wet by the performance. One dog, and great black Newfoundland, was kept busy all the afternoon, and swam many miles. Bouquets of ox-eye daisies, buttercups, fern leaves, clover and other plants were in great demand, as indeed were leaves, moss and fragments of stone. Every person
Had One or More Keepsakes
as a reminder of the day. The soda fountain and the ice-cream stand were patronized fairly well, but a majority were in pursuit of more aesthetic delights.
Shortly after 2 o'clock the clouds, which had been in the sky all day, began to grow denser, and soon it was evident that a heavy rain was close at hand. A few hundred of the more wise pleasure-seekers took the hint and hurried towards the cars. The majority however, felt that they were out for the day and were not to be frightened by a threatened shower. The clouds continued to grow darker and darker, and a few minutes after 4 o'clock the rain came down. Those in the woods far away from all shelter were the first to receive it. Then there was a rush. Silk dresses were taken up around the waists of the ladies, who held them there as they scampered across the fields and recklessly scaled stone fences that would on other occasions have been impassable barriers. Pocket handkerchiefs, shawls and lunch baskets were indiscriminately used as shields. Not one in a hundred had an umbrella. The few fortunate possessors of those useful articles were besieged by dozens of friends, who huddled around them in dripping masses. Many of the ladies had such pretty parasols, but they were of such small size that they were almost useless. Some of the ladies had such pretty parasols that rather than let the rain spoil them they preferred a ducking for themselves.
Every available place of shelter was crowded to suffocation. The car station restaurants and ice-cream tents were so crowded that it was with difficulty the waiters could move about. It was very warm in those places, and the demand for ices and cooling drinks was something tremendous. At one of the hotels, twelve quarts of ice-cream were disposed of during the few minutes that the shower lasted. It is impossible to estimate the number of quarts of
Soda Water, Ginger Beer and Tonic
absorbed during that time. When it began to rain there were about twenty-five open cars waiting on the tracks in front of the park. These were filled in a very short time. There were several box cars, which were soon packed The rain continued for about ten minutes, and the clouds then broke apart, giving promise of a pleasant evening. Soon the fields were again covered with the happy promenaders. The rocks were now carefully selected for seats, instead of the grass.
Though the rain was of short duration, great damage was done. A reporter sitting on the piazza of the car station overheard fragments of a conversation between two young ladies. "Oh," said one, "I do wish I was at home. I'm wet all over. Won't we get a lovely cold. My feet are soaked. Oh, Julia, do you know I believe that the color in those pretty stockings of mine has run I declare, it's a shame. They were such a lovely shade, and I only bought them yesterday."
"Botheration," replied the other young lady. "If I didn't have anything more than that to worry about, I'd by happy. Just look at that new feather in my hat - all wilted out like a drowned hen; and those pretty flowers, - why they don't look any more like roses than you do."
Boston Daily Globe June 29, 1885
Flocking To The Fields.
West Roxbury Park Visited by 20,000 People.
They Were Still Coming When the Rain Put an End to the Fun.
What a Five Minute's Shower Will Cost the Tourists.
The tide of travel was decidedly southward yesterday. West Roxbury Park has been a city Pleasure ground for a few seasons only, and the Common has many attractions to old residents, who go there from force of habit. From present indications its day is over, and hereafter those who want a few hours out will go elsewhither. Young people, fellows with their girls, and ladies and gentlemen, who with a sea breeze and clam chowder go to City Point this year, and young married people with their children, as well as citizens of a mature age, who simply want a ride and a view of country scenery, will go to West Roxbury.
To meet the demand that was evidently coming the Highland railway ran its usual cars to the depots, to Cornhill and to Temple place, and put on two additional lines, one ending at Park square and the other at Dover street. By this arrangement some arrived at and left Oakland Garden every minute from 10 o'clock a.m. until after the rain. They were needed, too. By 1 o'clock every bit of seating room was filled before reaching Dudley street, and in several instances the steps and platforms were loaded.
Groups of early risers, workingmen and boys,
Began to Stroll Into the Park
hours before noon. As the sun rose higher ladies and children added their bright garments to the browns and blacks of the gentlemen, making the green fields gay with variegated tints of red and blue, old gold and many metallic hues. Summer suits with straw hats and yellow shoes, were all the rage. Fully one-fourth of all the 20,000 people who were on the ground at 3 o'clock were children, ranging from 2 to 14 years of age. These were in the main tastefully dressed in light clothes, while many of them were ornamented with gay sashes. If they were representative Boston children the coming generation will not lack for beauty.
As the object of the excursions was evidently a ride and a view of the woods and fields the older members of the company sauntered from field to field, taking in the scenes, while the little folks ran and scampered like lambs. At the different ponds the usual game of making a big, good-natured dog go into the water after a stick was played by the boys, who enjoyed seeing the dog swim, and did not object to having him shake himself on coming out, even if they got wet by the performance. One dog, and great black Newfoundland, was kept busy all the afternoon, and swam many miles. Bouquets of ox-eye daisies, buttercups, fern leaves, clover and other plants were in great demand, as indeed were leaves, moss and fragments of stone. Every person
Had One or More Keepsakes
as a reminder of the day. The soda fountain and the ice-cream stand were patronized fairly well, but a majority were in pursuit of more aesthetic delights.
Shortly after 2 o'clock the clouds, which had been in the sky all day, began to grow denser, and soon it was evident that a heavy rain was close at hand. A few hundred of the more wise pleasure-seekers took the hint and hurried towards the cars. The majority however, felt that they were out for the day and were not to be frightened by a threatened shower. The clouds continued to grow darker and darker, and a few minutes after 4 o'clock the rain came down. Those in the woods far away from all shelter were the first to receive it. Then there was a rush. Silk dresses were taken up around the waists of the ladies, who held them there as they scampered across the fields and recklessly scaled stone fences that would on other occasions have been impassable barriers. Pocket handkerchiefs, shawls and lunch baskets were indiscriminately used as shields. Not one in a hundred had an umbrella. The few fortunate possessors of those useful articles were besieged by dozens of friends, who huddled around them in dripping masses. Many of the ladies had such pretty parasols, but they were of such small size that they were almost useless. Some of the ladies had such pretty parasols that rather than let the rain spoil them they preferred a ducking for themselves.
Every available place of shelter was crowded to suffocation. The car station restaurants and ice-cream tents were so crowded that it was with difficulty the waiters could move about. It was very warm in those places, and the demand for ices and cooling drinks was something tremendous. At one of the hotels, twelve quarts of ice-cream were disposed of during the few minutes that the shower lasted. It is impossible to estimate the number of quarts of
Soda Water, Ginger Beer and Tonic
absorbed during that time. When it began to rain there were about twenty-five open cars waiting on the tracks in front of the park. These were filled in a very short time. There were several box cars, which were soon packed The rain continued for about ten minutes, and the clouds then broke apart, giving promise of a pleasant evening. Soon the fields were again covered with the happy promenaders. The rocks were now carefully selected for seats, instead of the grass.
Though the rain was of short duration, great damage was done. A reporter sitting on the piazza of the car station overheard fragments of a conversation between two young ladies. "Oh," said one, "I do wish I was at home. I'm wet all over. Won't we get a lovely cold. My feet are soaked. Oh, Julia, do you know I believe that the color in those pretty stockings of mine has run I declare, it's a shame. They were such a lovely shade, and I only bought them yesterday."
"Botheration," replied the other young lady. "If I didn't have anything more than that to worry about, I'd by happy. Just look at that new feather in my hat - all wilted out like a drowned hen; and those pretty flowers, - why they don't look any more like roses than you do."
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Artillery Bivouac at West Roxbury Park
This is a neat story - an artillery unit camped out for the night at the future Franklin Park on their way from Newport, Rhode Island to South Framingham.
Boston Daily Globe June 5, 1885
Battery B's Bivouac.
Artillerymen Spend the Night at West Roxbury Park.
The bivouac fires of Battery B, Fourth Regiment, United States Artillery, merrily burned at West Roxbury Park last evening, and a large number of visitors viewed the camp and were courteously received by Brevet-Major John Eagen, the officer in Command. The battery, which is on its way to South Framingham, where it will remain next wee,, left its headquarters at Fort Adams, Newport, on Monday last, and has come over the roads by easy marches, averaging three miles per hour. Monday night the command pitched camp a mile or two outside Fall River. Tuesday night was spent on the fair grounds at Taunton, and Randolph was the scene of Wednesday night's encampment. The battery reached the West Roxbury Park about noon yesterday and was received by Generals Dalton and wales of Governor Robinson's staff. The camp is on the outskirts of a small grove, near which runs a small stream of clear sparkling water. The officer's tents are located on a slight knoll, while below on a gentle incline and in view of a stone wall beyond are the guns. These are four in number, and of an entirely modern pattern being 3-inch rifled cannon. The battery has sixty horses, and these are secured at a point a short distance within the grove. The battery is thoroughly equipped and includes forge, kitchen and ambulance wagons. A captain, two first lieutenants, one second lieutenant and sixty-five men constitute the force manning the battery, and in each limber are 225 rounds of ammunition. The greater part of this comprises blank cartridges for use during the coming week, but there are also a few shells for target practice. The battery is officered as follows: Captain, John Egan (brevet-major): first lieutenant, R.R. Strong; first lieutenant, L.N. Walker; second lieutenant, H.E. Schroeder.
Battery B is stated to be one of the best in the regiment. Lieutenant Walker was officer of the day yesterday and the guard consisted of Sergeant Parker, Corporal Knipple and Privates Garrity, wood, Noble, Schwiveller, Broderick and Bresnahan. Among the visitors last night were Colonel w.M. Strachan and other militia officers. "Taps" were sounded at 9 o'clock, and soon silence reigned throughout the camp, broken now and then by voices of the guard or the neighing of a horse. The battery will break camp about 8 o'clock this morning, and after "boots and saddles" the command will leave the park and march through Walnut avenue, Warren street, Washington street, Chester Park, Columbus avenue, Boylston, Tremont and Beacon streets to the Common, where a salute will be fired in the Governor's honor. This event will probably take place about 11 o'clock. The battery will then reform and march to the State camp ground at South Framingham.
Boston Daily Globe June 5, 1885
Battery B's Bivouac.
Artillerymen Spend the Night at West Roxbury Park.
The bivouac fires of Battery B, Fourth Regiment, United States Artillery, merrily burned at West Roxbury Park last evening, and a large number of visitors viewed the camp and were courteously received by Brevet-Major John Eagen, the officer in Command. The battery, which is on its way to South Framingham, where it will remain next wee,, left its headquarters at Fort Adams, Newport, on Monday last, and has come over the roads by easy marches, averaging three miles per hour. Monday night the command pitched camp a mile or two outside Fall River. Tuesday night was spent on the fair grounds at Taunton, and Randolph was the scene of Wednesday night's encampment. The battery reached the West Roxbury Park about noon yesterday and was received by Generals Dalton and wales of Governor Robinson's staff. The camp is on the outskirts of a small grove, near which runs a small stream of clear sparkling water. The officer's tents are located on a slight knoll, while below on a gentle incline and in view of a stone wall beyond are the guns. These are four in number, and of an entirely modern pattern being 3-inch rifled cannon. The battery has sixty horses, and these are secured at a point a short distance within the grove. The battery is thoroughly equipped and includes forge, kitchen and ambulance wagons. A captain, two first lieutenants, one second lieutenant and sixty-five men constitute the force manning the battery, and in each limber are 225 rounds of ammunition. The greater part of this comprises blank cartridges for use during the coming week, but there are also a few shells for target practice. The battery is officered as follows: Captain, John Egan (brevet-major): first lieutenant, R.R. Strong; first lieutenant, L.N. Walker; second lieutenant, H.E. Schroeder.
Battery B is stated to be one of the best in the regiment. Lieutenant Walker was officer of the day yesterday and the guard consisted of Sergeant Parker, Corporal Knipple and Privates Garrity, wood, Noble, Schwiveller, Broderick and Bresnahan. Among the visitors last night were Colonel w.M. Strachan and other militia officers. "Taps" were sounded at 9 o'clock, and soon silence reigned throughout the camp, broken now and then by voices of the guard or the neighing of a horse. The battery will break camp about 8 o'clock this morning, and after "boots and saddles" the command will leave the park and march through Walnut avenue, Warren street, Washington street, Chester Park, Columbus avenue, Boylston, Tremont and Beacon streets to the Common, where a salute will be fired in the Governor's honor. This event will probably take place about 11 o'clock. The battery will then reform and march to the State camp ground at South Framingham.
Victims of West Roxbury Park
Not everyone was happy with the new park - particularly those who felt an undue burden in paying for it. In this case abuttors were to be levied an extra tax assessment for having their vicinity "improved" by the park. There were similar protests when abuttors were asked to pay for the improvements to that waterway.
Boston Daily Globe April 21, 1885
West Roxbury Victims.
Neighbors of the Park Meet to Protest Against the Betterment Scheme.
About 150 persons assembled in Wetherell Hall, Grove Hall, last evening, in answer to the call for the "victims of West Roxbury park." The meeting organized by the choice of J.M. Way as chairman, and I.W. Adams as secretary. Mr Way said that he felt strongly the outrage of levying taxes on the surrounding property for the fitting up of West Roxbury park. He thought that the property was taxed enough now, and hoped the meeting would pronounce a strong opposition to it.
Mr Albert Betteley presented the following petition:
The Honorable Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Boston, and Benjamin Dean, Patrick Maguire and C.H. Dolan, Park Commissioners:
Gentlemen - The undersigned citizens of Boston, owners of real estate and residents of Roxbury and West Roxbury, and who have received notice through the newspapers that it is proposed to assess them for betterments to their estate by the establishment of the so-called West Roxbury park, hereby protest against such assessment on the ground that said park will not be a benefit to their property or to them. For if there was no park, many persons would purchase parts of this property and would erect houses for themselves as well as for others upon it, which would bring a large income to the city as taxable property and lessen the burden of taxation which is now drawing out of this city many of its citizens. That the visitors to this park, especially on Sundays and holidays, are not the most desirable persons, and that on the days mentioned the cars are so crowded that the residents in the vicinity cannnot without serious inconvenience reach their homes, and that hordes of rude persons are now a great annoyance to quiet and orderly inhabitants living in the neighborhood of this park, and that this trouble will continually be on the increase. That we believe that today, as well as in the future, the park will be a great damage to their property, and in fact the city is bound to pay us damages instead of our paying to the city for so-called betterments.
Signed by S.A. Bolster (judge of Roxbury Municipal Court). Martin L. Cate, A.D. Williams, L.J. Wood, E.C.R. Walther, Leonard Ware, Jr., and others.
Boston, April 20, 1885.
Mr. Betteley explained how he had been driven from different parts of the city on account of various annoyances. At the North End it was the pawnbrokers, at the South End there was other troubles and now at West Roxbury it was the betterment scheme.
George O. Fillebrown said he didn't propose to pay one cent for betterments, for he did not think the assessment morally or legally right. He said it was impossible to get as much for property as they could before the park was thought of. He was willing to subscribe $10 to fight the scheme "to the bitter end, but not one cent for tribute." In conclusion he moved that a committee of five be appointed to conduct the case of the remonstrances before the park commissioners and as much further as necessary.
While the chairman was making up this committee General Hazard Stevens was invited to speak. General Stevens thought that this betterment scheme was in the nature of a fishing excursion on the part of the commissioners. "The park commissioners want," said he, "to reduce the cost of the park by taxing us. It is our duty to oppose them and go to them and show them their mistake. That park does not benefit us as much as it does those who live in the crowded parts of the city. We are willing to pay our part in taxes, but it is not right for us to pay for a special benefit."
The chairman announced this committee: General Hazard Stevens, Samuel Atherton, Albert Betteley, William Minot, Jr., and Augustus Parker. The chairman was added to the committee. The question of finances was then discussed. Mr. Betteley moved that the meeting subscribe a sum not more than $5 nor less than $2 to carry on work. An amendment that "each member subscribe according to his means" was carried. The chairman was appointed treasurer, and a very satisfactory contribution was obtained. At the close of the meeting the petition was numerously signed.
Boston Daily Globe April 21, 1885
West Roxbury Victims.
Neighbors of the Park Meet to Protest Against the Betterment Scheme.
About 150 persons assembled in Wetherell Hall, Grove Hall, last evening, in answer to the call for the "victims of West Roxbury park." The meeting organized by the choice of J.M. Way as chairman, and I.W. Adams as secretary. Mr Way said that he felt strongly the outrage of levying taxes on the surrounding property for the fitting up of West Roxbury park. He thought that the property was taxed enough now, and hoped the meeting would pronounce a strong opposition to it.
Mr Albert Betteley presented the following petition:
The Honorable Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Boston, and Benjamin Dean, Patrick Maguire and C.H. Dolan, Park Commissioners:
Gentlemen - The undersigned citizens of Boston, owners of real estate and residents of Roxbury and West Roxbury, and who have received notice through the newspapers that it is proposed to assess them for betterments to their estate by the establishment of the so-called West Roxbury park, hereby protest against such assessment on the ground that said park will not be a benefit to their property or to them. For if there was no park, many persons would purchase parts of this property and would erect houses for themselves as well as for others upon it, which would bring a large income to the city as taxable property and lessen the burden of taxation which is now drawing out of this city many of its citizens. That the visitors to this park, especially on Sundays and holidays, are not the most desirable persons, and that on the days mentioned the cars are so crowded that the residents in the vicinity cannnot without serious inconvenience reach their homes, and that hordes of rude persons are now a great annoyance to quiet and orderly inhabitants living in the neighborhood of this park, and that this trouble will continually be on the increase. That we believe that today, as well as in the future, the park will be a great damage to their property, and in fact the city is bound to pay us damages instead of our paying to the city for so-called betterments.
Signed by S.A. Bolster (judge of Roxbury Municipal Court). Martin L. Cate, A.D. Williams, L.J. Wood, E.C.R. Walther, Leonard Ware, Jr., and others.
Boston, April 20, 1885.
Mr. Betteley explained how he had been driven from different parts of the city on account of various annoyances. At the North End it was the pawnbrokers, at the South End there was other troubles and now at West Roxbury it was the betterment scheme.
George O. Fillebrown said he didn't propose to pay one cent for betterments, for he did not think the assessment morally or legally right. He said it was impossible to get as much for property as they could before the park was thought of. He was willing to subscribe $10 to fight the scheme "to the bitter end, but not one cent for tribute." In conclusion he moved that a committee of five be appointed to conduct the case of the remonstrances before the park commissioners and as much further as necessary.
While the chairman was making up this committee General Hazard Stevens was invited to speak. General Stevens thought that this betterment scheme was in the nature of a fishing excursion on the part of the commissioners. "The park commissioners want," said he, "to reduce the cost of the park by taxing us. It is our duty to oppose them and go to them and show them their mistake. That park does not benefit us as much as it does those who live in the crowded parts of the city. We are willing to pay our part in taxes, but it is not right for us to pay for a special benefit."
The chairman announced this committee: General Hazard Stevens, Samuel Atherton, Albert Betteley, William Minot, Jr., and Augustus Parker. The chairman was added to the committee. The question of finances was then discussed. Mr. Betteley moved that the meeting subscribe a sum not more than $5 nor less than $2 to carry on work. An amendment that "each member subscribe according to his means" was carried. The chairman was appointed treasurer, and a very satisfactory contribution was obtained. At the close of the meeting the petition was numerously signed.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Olmsted Speaks
Frederick Law Olmsted saw the proposed West Roxbury (Franklin) park as a place for passive enjoyment. No ball fields, no games and no gardens were planned. It was a time when reformers wanted to get urban workers out of the city and in to an uplifting "natural" environment. Soon after the park was opened, the people decided otherwise, but this article gives us some insight into the thinking of the man himself.
Boston Daily Globe October 29, 1884
Landscape Architecture.
Plans and Theories of Laying Out Public Parks - Sylvan Features to Be Adhered to in the City Lands at West Roxbury.
The park commissioners recently requested F.L. Olmsted, landscape architect, to prepare plans for the laying out of West Roxbury Park. When asked in regard to the matter yesterday, Mr. Olmsted replied:
"I have avoided giving any special study to the laying out of this park until I could obtain accurate information by the survey of the topographer, lest the impressions which I should get by a mere cursory examination might in some way lead me into wrong ideas, and give me a false start in some respect. Therefore all I can say with respect to the plan for laying out the park would be what would be applicable to any large park. There is no purpose commonly expected to be met in a park - or in the grounds called parks - that requires a very large area, except that of the simpler forms of rural recreation, and the value of the West Roxbury park will depend wholly upon the degree in which it will present natural scenes of beauty. The first thing to be thought of will be the drainage. The park will have to be put in the best possible sanitary condition. The next thing to be considered will be the number of entrances to be made, and where to locate them so as best to suit the convenience of the public. Then the roads and walks must be laid out in such a manner as to present the sylvan and rural features of the park to the best advantage.
"There are not many houses left in the park," said Mr. Olmsted. "I think that nearly all of them will necessarily have to come down. There should be no artificial structures in the park that are no to necessary for comfort. One or two houses will no doubt be retained for administration purposes. One is now occupied by the engineer, and we are intending to fit up another as an office of the landscape gardener. The matter has not received any attention yet but if it should be found that one or two of the houses are well adapted to the purpose of shelter and refreshment houses they will no doubt be used for those purposes.
"As large a part of the park as possible will be kept under greensward. There has been no thought of growing plants; that is to say, the Public Garden, for example, is what may be called a decorated ground; it is not intended that the West Roxbury Park shall be a decorated ground at all. It is intended that it shall have a simple, natural character. The propagating house and nursery to be located there are for propagating material that it is difficult to obtain in the commercial nurseries in sufficient quantities, and are chiefly for low-growing plants, to be used in covering surfaces that are not adapted to grass."
Mr. Olmsted dwelt particularly upon the fact that Boston is largely made up of what were formerly a number of distinct local communities.
"Each of these is," he said, "habituated to regard its public affairs from an independent point of view, and sometimes in spirit of competition and jealousy toward the others."
To this, he added, he had called attention of the park commissioners in a communication. The site of the West Roxbury Park offered special qualities that could not "be gained in a tenth part of that measure at ten times the cost" on some other sites for parks that might be named. That park should be looked upon as one of the parks of the city of Boston, and not especially for the residents of the city in which it is located. The distinctive qualities of the park might, he said, be summarized as follows, to quote from the communication referred to: Complete escape from the town; open country; pastoral scenery; a lovely dale, gently winding between low wooded slopes, giving a broad expanse of unbroken turf, lost in the distance under scattered trees."
The plans for the laying out will be prepared during the winter. Mr Olmsetd expects that the work itself will be commenced in earnest in the spring.
Boston Daily Globe October 29, 1884
Landscape Architecture.
Plans and Theories of Laying Out Public Parks - Sylvan Features to Be Adhered to in the City Lands at West Roxbury.
The park commissioners recently requested F.L. Olmsted, landscape architect, to prepare plans for the laying out of West Roxbury Park. When asked in regard to the matter yesterday, Mr. Olmsted replied:
"I have avoided giving any special study to the laying out of this park until I could obtain accurate information by the survey of the topographer, lest the impressions which I should get by a mere cursory examination might in some way lead me into wrong ideas, and give me a false start in some respect. Therefore all I can say with respect to the plan for laying out the park would be what would be applicable to any large park. There is no purpose commonly expected to be met in a park - or in the grounds called parks - that requires a very large area, except that of the simpler forms of rural recreation, and the value of the West Roxbury park will depend wholly upon the degree in which it will present natural scenes of beauty. The first thing to be thought of will be the drainage. The park will have to be put in the best possible sanitary condition. The next thing to be considered will be the number of entrances to be made, and where to locate them so as best to suit the convenience of the public. Then the roads and walks must be laid out in such a manner as to present the sylvan and rural features of the park to the best advantage.
"There are not many houses left in the park," said Mr. Olmsted. "I think that nearly all of them will necessarily have to come down. There should be no artificial structures in the park that are no to necessary for comfort. One or two houses will no doubt be retained for administration purposes. One is now occupied by the engineer, and we are intending to fit up another as an office of the landscape gardener. The matter has not received any attention yet but if it should be found that one or two of the houses are well adapted to the purpose of shelter and refreshment houses they will no doubt be used for those purposes.
"As large a part of the park as possible will be kept under greensward. There has been no thought of growing plants; that is to say, the Public Garden, for example, is what may be called a decorated ground; it is not intended that the West Roxbury Park shall be a decorated ground at all. It is intended that it shall have a simple, natural character. The propagating house and nursery to be located there are for propagating material that it is difficult to obtain in the commercial nurseries in sufficient quantities, and are chiefly for low-growing plants, to be used in covering surfaces that are not adapted to grass."
Mr. Olmsted dwelt particularly upon the fact that Boston is largely made up of what were formerly a number of distinct local communities.
"Each of these is," he said, "habituated to regard its public affairs from an independent point of view, and sometimes in spirit of competition and jealousy toward the others."
To this, he added, he had called attention of the park commissioners in a communication. The site of the West Roxbury Park offered special qualities that could not "be gained in a tenth part of that measure at ten times the cost" on some other sites for parks that might be named. That park should be looked upon as one of the parks of the city of Boston, and not especially for the residents of the city in which it is located. The distinctive qualities of the park might, he said, be summarized as follows, to quote from the communication referred to: Complete escape from the town; open country; pastoral scenery; a lovely dale, gently winding between low wooded slopes, giving a broad expanse of unbroken turf, lost in the distance under scattered trees."
The plans for the laying out will be prepared during the winter. Mr Olmsetd expects that the work itself will be commenced in earnest in the spring.
The Battle for West Roxbury Park
Another Globe article advocating for the proposed West Robury park that would later be renamed for Benjamin Franklin. This article gives us some small insight into the political battle that went on over the funding of the park. We get a one-sided argument, but the position of the other side can be seen in reflection. Clearly the Back Bay wards were against the proposal, perhaps both because the park would be too far from them to enjoy, and, as a district of high property values, they would have to shoulder an inordinate burden of paying for the far-off park.
Boston Daily Globe October 10, 1880
The West Roxbury Park
At its last meeting the common council took well-considered action toward carrying out the scheme of public parks for which Boston has waited so long in adopting the order for the purchase of lands at City Point for a marine park. But the council did not go far enough in the good work to satisfy the public. The great park of the city, which the people most earnestly demand as fulfilling in the best manner the requirements of this community, is that which the park commissioners have located at West Roxbury. In giving this order such a large majority, however, coming within a very few votes of the requisite two-thirds of the full council, it was rendered probable that on the reconsideration, one week from next Thursday, the order will pass, as it ought, in the interests of the city and its inhabitants.
It is curious and somewhat significant fact that not a Democrat in the council - with the single exception of Mr W.H. Whitmore - was found voting against this park for the people, for it is most emphatially a people's park, and it will be especially beneficial to those of our citizens who do not ride in carriages, and who are forced, on their rare holidays, to seek recreation for themselves and their families in such places as can be reached at the cost of a horse-car fare. If it is to be a party issue, as we devoutly hope such a scheme for the public benefit may now become, the party which opposes it will make for itself a record that will return to plague its representatives. .
Opposition to this scheme can only be honestly based upon the belief that it is extravagant, or upon the prejudice of locality, which latter motive was unfortunately apparent last Thursday in the votes of the representatives of the Back Bay wards. It is useless to attempt to argue against this prejudice; for one who does not see, in our own experience as well as in that of any other city with a large public park, that all sections are benefited and enriched by the expenditure which beautifies one, cannot be convinced by any presentation of the case. Neither is it possible to add much, if anything, to what has been already said on the question of economy and of the present ability of the city to take and pay for the lands required, as set forth in the reports of the park commissioners and the finance committee of the city council.
But it is still competent to show to what a remarkable extent this park scheme is sustained by the people, and how largely the citizens who pay the direct taxes which support the government are in favor of it.
To go back to the very beginning of the record of the expression of popular opinion on this subject, in 1870, just ten years ago, we find that when the question of the acceptance of the park act was put to a test of a popular vote, sixty-three per cent of the voters of Boston favored the plan, and only thirty-seven per cent opposed it. This was the expression of the wish of the people. How did the property of the city vote? Even more unanimously in favor of the parks. For the valuation of the wards in which a majority was given for the park act was ninety per cent of the whole valuation of the city, and only ten per cent of the property was found in the wards voting against the parks.
This we can justly claim to be decisive, both as to the feeling among the people and among the large tax-payers. But five year later there was another test vote, taken upon the acceptance of the act under which the present park commission was appointed and the plans carried to their present development. This vote was taken in the very depth of financial depression; and yet we find that sixty-two per cent of the voters still favored the park scheme, and only thirty-eight per cent opposed it. Moreover, although the tax-rate that year was $15 60 on a thousand, and lavish expenditure was dreaded, the wards voting in favor of the parks showed a taxable valuation of 715,854,600, and those opposed to it represented only $81,000,000 of taxable property.
It will not be believed that public opinion has entirely reversed since that time, or that property holders have suddenly become converted to the belief that what was for their interests in 1875 is not for their interests in 1880. Why, there are now before the city council two petitions asking the purchase of this very West Roxbury location, whose signers represent in the aggregate more than $30,000,000 of assessed taxable property in the city of Boston. It is beyond a doubt that if this plan was now put to the test of a popular vote the result would be an endorsement as emphatic as that which was given the general scheme in 1870 and 1875. The people know what they want, and the owners of tax-paying property know what their interests demand as well now as they did then.
It is from a consideration of these facts that, as we believe, the common council will, at its next meeting, join the West Roxbury park order to that for the purchase of the City Point lands, and thus give the city what it wants and what it has long asked.
Boston Daily Globe October 10, 1880
The West Roxbury Park
At its last meeting the common council took well-considered action toward carrying out the scheme of public parks for which Boston has waited so long in adopting the order for the purchase of lands at City Point for a marine park. But the council did not go far enough in the good work to satisfy the public. The great park of the city, which the people most earnestly demand as fulfilling in the best manner the requirements of this community, is that which the park commissioners have located at West Roxbury. In giving this order such a large majority, however, coming within a very few votes of the requisite two-thirds of the full council, it was rendered probable that on the reconsideration, one week from next Thursday, the order will pass, as it ought, in the interests of the city and its inhabitants.
It is curious and somewhat significant fact that not a Democrat in the council - with the single exception of Mr W.H. Whitmore - was found voting against this park for the people, for it is most emphatially a people's park, and it will be especially beneficial to those of our citizens who do not ride in carriages, and who are forced, on their rare holidays, to seek recreation for themselves and their families in such places as can be reached at the cost of a horse-car fare. If it is to be a party issue, as we devoutly hope such a scheme for the public benefit may now become, the party which opposes it will make for itself a record that will return to plague its representatives. .
Opposition to this scheme can only be honestly based upon the belief that it is extravagant, or upon the prejudice of locality, which latter motive was unfortunately apparent last Thursday in the votes of the representatives of the Back Bay wards. It is useless to attempt to argue against this prejudice; for one who does not see, in our own experience as well as in that of any other city with a large public park, that all sections are benefited and enriched by the expenditure which beautifies one, cannot be convinced by any presentation of the case. Neither is it possible to add much, if anything, to what has been already said on the question of economy and of the present ability of the city to take and pay for the lands required, as set forth in the reports of the park commissioners and the finance committee of the city council.
But it is still competent to show to what a remarkable extent this park scheme is sustained by the people, and how largely the citizens who pay the direct taxes which support the government are in favor of it.
To go back to the very beginning of the record of the expression of popular opinion on this subject, in 1870, just ten years ago, we find that when the question of the acceptance of the park act was put to a test of a popular vote, sixty-three per cent of the voters of Boston favored the plan, and only thirty-seven per cent opposed it. This was the expression of the wish of the people. How did the property of the city vote? Even more unanimously in favor of the parks. For the valuation of the wards in which a majority was given for the park act was ninety per cent of the whole valuation of the city, and only ten per cent of the property was found in the wards voting against the parks.
This we can justly claim to be decisive, both as to the feeling among the people and among the large tax-payers. But five year later there was another test vote, taken upon the acceptance of the act under which the present park commission was appointed and the plans carried to their present development. This vote was taken in the very depth of financial depression; and yet we find that sixty-two per cent of the voters still favored the park scheme, and only thirty-eight per cent opposed it. Moreover, although the tax-rate that year was $15 60 on a thousand, and lavish expenditure was dreaded, the wards voting in favor of the parks showed a taxable valuation of 715,854,600, and those opposed to it represented only $81,000,000 of taxable property.
It will not be believed that public opinion has entirely reversed since that time, or that property holders have suddenly become converted to the belief that what was for their interests in 1875 is not for their interests in 1880. Why, there are now before the city council two petitions asking the purchase of this very West Roxbury location, whose signers represent in the aggregate more than $30,000,000 of assessed taxable property in the city of Boston. It is beyond a doubt that if this plan was now put to the test of a popular vote the result would be an endorsement as emphatic as that which was given the general scheme in 1870 and 1875. The people know what they want, and the owners of tax-paying property know what their interests demand as well now as they did then.
It is from a consideration of these facts that, as we believe, the common council will, at its next meeting, join the West Roxbury park order to that for the purchase of the City Point lands, and thus give the city what it wants and what it has long asked.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The West Roxbury Park Scheme
When I was growing up, I was under the impression that Franklin Park was in Dorchester. At least I would have said that if asked. I really didn't know the city well enough to make such a judgement, so I must have been told that by someone. I assume it was because I considered Franklin Park to mean the Zoo, and the front entrance of the zoo was over on Blue Hill avenue. On the other hand, my mother tells me that she and her Jamaica Plain friends spent so much time at the zoo that they had names for the different animals. All this has made me do some thinking - just where is Franklin Park? When it was under consideration, as described below, it was referred to as the West Roxbury park. And in fact, the land under consideration sat at the northeast corner of the short-lived town of West Roxbury, on the borders of Roxbury to the north and Dorchester to the east. As such, if any community had a claim on the park it would be Jamaica Plain. Still, the entire area covered by the park was never really a part of Jamaica Plain. If streets had been laid out, and houses built east from Forest Hills street, Sigourney street and Walnut avenue, those streets might well have been claimed for Jamaica Plain. But the land was taken, the park built, and with no residents to decide, the park became more a separate buffer zone between communities than part of any one. So in the end, I would now argue that Franklin Park is not in any one district - it is shared by the bordering Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan. And since, under that assumption, it is as much a part of Jamaica Plain as it is of any other community, I've decided to add some entries about the history of the park. Jamaica Plain baseball teams played in the fields, Jamaica Plain bicycle clubs races on the roads, Jamaica Plain children filled the zoo. In lieu of legal borders, I'd say that use is nine tenths of possession, and for generations, Franklin Park - or West Roxbury Park - was as much a part of Jamaica Plain as the Arboretum or Jamaica Pond. We just shared it with others.
Here is an 1874 map of the area that would become the park, with the property lines and owners' names.
The following is an argument published in 1879 in favor of the creation of the park. By that time, it had been under discussion for many years.
Boston Daily Globe November 20, 1879
The Park Scheme
As business looks up and the market valuation of real estate increases, it becomes evident that if the city is to save for public use the lands included in the scheme for the West Roxbury section of the great park, they must be secured at once. This West Roxbury park is the second of the series proposed by the park commissioners, and is in many respects the most important.
In the report of the commissioners it is stated that this "would rank as the chief park of the city by reason of its extent, its fine landscapes and scenery, its supurb views and its central situation; it possesses every element of genuine park scenery within its limits, admirably disposed of in their relation to each other; broad, open copses, picturesque glens covered with tangled undergrowth, and an ample supply of water from springs and brooks for ornamental use. The landscape has for the most part a southerly aspect, with a wide horizon line cut by the Blue Hills of Milton. This reservation is worthy of the highest skill of the landscape gardener and engineer, under whose treatment it would become a park in the true sense of the word, and adequate to the enjoyment of the people of Boston for many years. Thousands can occupy its green hill-sides and glades with mutual pleasure, and find refreshment and relief from city sights and sounds which rural surroundings can only give.
At the time when the proposition to include these lands in the park was first made the cost was estimated at $1,387,100. It is now possible to secure them for considerably less than $1,000,000, and it is understood that the property, or nearly all of it, has been bonded on reasonable terms.
Prompt action on this matter is necessary, for the reason that the present low rates cannot be maintained under the influence of the general rise in real estate; and, especially in this section, the extention of horse-car lines will open it up for building and at once place it beyond the ability of the city to purchase at any acceptable price.
This is the most pressing of the several features of the park scheme, and it is urged as a matter of economy. The purchase of these lands, at present prices, would soon be offset by a return of money to the city through increased taxable valuation of adjoining property and betterments, as in the case of Back Bay park; while at the same time the great landscape park of the future Boston would be secured to the city. The scheme is one that we hope to see carried to completion at an early day.
Here is an 1874 map of the area that would become the park, with the property lines and owners' names.
The following is an argument published in 1879 in favor of the creation of the park. By that time, it had been under discussion for many years.
Boston Daily Globe November 20, 1879
The Park Scheme
As business looks up and the market valuation of real estate increases, it becomes evident that if the city is to save for public use the lands included in the scheme for the West Roxbury section of the great park, they must be secured at once. This West Roxbury park is the second of the series proposed by the park commissioners, and is in many respects the most important.
In the report of the commissioners it is stated that this "would rank as the chief park of the city by reason of its extent, its fine landscapes and scenery, its supurb views and its central situation; it possesses every element of genuine park scenery within its limits, admirably disposed of in their relation to each other; broad, open copses, picturesque glens covered with tangled undergrowth, and an ample supply of water from springs and brooks for ornamental use. The landscape has for the most part a southerly aspect, with a wide horizon line cut by the Blue Hills of Milton. This reservation is worthy of the highest skill of the landscape gardener and engineer, under whose treatment it would become a park in the true sense of the word, and adequate to the enjoyment of the people of Boston for many years. Thousands can occupy its green hill-sides and glades with mutual pleasure, and find refreshment and relief from city sights and sounds which rural surroundings can only give.
At the time when the proposition to include these lands in the park was first made the cost was estimated at $1,387,100. It is now possible to secure them for considerably less than $1,000,000, and it is understood that the property, or nearly all of it, has been bonded on reasonable terms.
Prompt action on this matter is necessary, for the reason that the present low rates cannot be maintained under the influence of the general rise in real estate; and, especially in this section, the extention of horse-car lines will open it up for building and at once place it beyond the ability of the city to purchase at any acceptable price.
This is the most pressing of the several features of the park scheme, and it is urged as a matter of economy. The purchase of these lands, at present prices, would soon be offset by a return of money to the city through increased taxable valuation of adjoining property and betterments, as in the case of Back Bay park; while at the same time the great landscape park of the future Boston would be secured to the city. The scheme is one that we hope to see carried to completion at an early day.
Boston School for the Deaf
In past entries, I've noted a number of institutions that have moved from Boston or Roxbury to Jamaica Plain. The Perkins Kindergarten, the Blind Babies home and the Rachel Allen Home for Colored Women all follow the pattern. In this case, we have an institution that began in Jamaica Plain and left for larger quarters elsewhere. The Boston School for the Deaf was founded by Reverend Monsignior Thomas Magennis at St Thomas Aquinas church in 1898. Rooms were set aside in the Leo XIII school, and members of the Sisters of St Joseph faculty were trained to work with deaf children. It was chartered by the state in May of 1899, and opened with four students the following October. By the end of the school year, they had 31 pupils, 28 of them being provided with room and board. The school was patterned on the Clark school, Northampton, Massachusetts. In 1905, the school was removed to North Main street in Randolph, where the Sisters of St Joseph continued to provide the faculty, and Mgr. Magennis remained the Superintendent until his death on February 24, 1912.
As a child, my parents would bring me to Abington to visit relatives, and we passed the School for the Deaf on our way through Randolph. I doubt my parents would have known the connection to St Thomas church and Jamaica Plain, as the JP connection was long before their time.
Sources: Boston Daily Globe, Jan. 14, 1906, Feb. 24, 1912.
As a child, my parents would bring me to Abington to visit relatives, and we passed the School for the Deaf on our way through Randolph. I doubt my parents would have known the connection to St Thomas church and Jamaica Plain, as the JP connection was long before their time.
Sources: Boston Daily Globe, Jan. 14, 1906, Feb. 24, 1912.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Home For Italian Children
Why the Roxbury home? I have no idea. As told here , the home was founded in the wake of the influenza epidemic of 1918. I always puzzled about this place. Why did there need to be a special home for Italian children? Now I know. I'll add Jamaica Plain to the entry here so that Internet searches will be more likely to pick it up.
Boston Daily Globe April 18, 1920
Roxbury Home For Italian Children.
The Home for Italian Children on the old Gahm estate, Centre st, opposite the Arnold Arboretum, will be ready for occupancy on June 1. A special campaign is to be made among the Italian churches and residents of the State during May to provide the funds to finance the purchase and alterations of the home and for its maintenance.
A drive, collections in churches and Italian organizations, and social affairs are among the features of the financial program. Attorney Felix Forte, Pres Thomas Nutile of the First State Bank and Dr Gaetano Praino head the committee. It is aimed to secure $100,000.
The home has been incorporated as the first distinctively Italian aid institution in this vicinity. The corporation has chosen the following as the board of directors to supervise all matters; Cardinal O'Connell, honorary president, Rev R.J. Haberlin, president, Thomas Nutile, treasurer Felix Forte, secretary; Vincent Brogna, Andrew Di Pietro, Rev Pasquale Di Milla, Rev V. Gregori, Rev Anthony Sousa, Ernest Martine and Miss Luisa DeFerrari. Caruso has agreed to sing for the cause. An office has been opened at 60 State st.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Stinky Stony Brook
This is the last of three articles relating to Stony brook between Green street and Forest Hills. By this time, the work of covering the brook between Green and Williams streets was finished, but the section between Williams street and Forest Hills was still exposed. I think we can assume that the same problem described below had also existed downstream before the conduit was built. In our ecologically conscious times, it's hard to imagine turning a brook into a sewer, but for the people living along Stony brook in Jamaica Plain, it must have been a great improvement. Maybe elderly residents remembered a clean stream flowing through the district, but the residents of Union and Brookside avenues and Amory street would have been happy to be rid of the stench of an open sewer.
Dr Gerry was active in Jamaica Plain community life, and lived at 2 Everett street.
The Jamaica Plain News June 6, 1908
Regarding Stony Brook
Dr E. Peabody Gerry Reports to Mayor Hibbard Its Sanitary Condition and Improvement Follows.
The following communications are largely self-explanatory and of much local interest, referring as they do to a matter of great importance in the West Roxbury District.
The conditions of portions of Stony Brook was brought to the attention of Mayor Hibbard by Dr. Gerry, as one result of his investigation of the sanitary conditions in the section in reference to the typhoid epidemic, and it will be gratifying to the local public to know that this investigation is resulting in improvement, even though the conditions were not, aside from this section of Stony Brook and certain unsprinkled streets, particularly bad.
The communications follow:
Jamaica Plain, May 21, 1908
Honorable George A. Hibbard:
Dear Sir: --
I would report, that I have twice visited Stony Brook from Williams street, to Forest Hills Station, and yesterday was along Meehan street. I find a good deal of odor coming from the brook which seems to me to be of a sewage origin. I would recommend that the brook at this point be cleaned as soon as possible before the hot weather comes, which makes it very disagreeable. This will make hot weather cleaning less objectionable. It should be done very soon as it is not as well to stir such things up in hot weather. The smell is especially pronounced at Williams street, where there is a sort of cascade. As Stony Brook flows through a valley whose watershed is such streets as Wenham, Morton, Rosemary, St Rose, Hall, and other streets, where typhoid has been and is still rife, it appears the part of prudence to have it cleaned, before the summer sun or drought renders it unhealthy to say the least. Uncovered Stony Brook is still more or less of an open sewer draining the land on both sides, which has not as yet the boon of a proper sewer. The cascade near Williams street, produces air currents which, coming from an unclean brook, diffuse the odors in greater numbers than do quieter waters. Major Horrocks of the English Army, has shows that Petri's plates suspended in the ventilating of an intercepting trap nine feet above the surface of soapy water containing the bacillus prodiglosus were infected readily, thus showing that currents of air passing up the vertical pipe could carry bacteria separated by the bursting of bubbles. Similarly, he found that bubbles rising naturally through stagnant water in a catchpit may eject bacteria, which will be carried away by currents of air passing over the surface of the fluid. That is what Stony Brook will be when it becomes drier. The odor from Stony Brook at this point suggests an analogy to the experiments of Major Horrocks that is not reassuring. They indicated that at least the cause for harm should be eradicated. The branch of the brook back of the engine house, Roslindale, also needs attention. The sewer through the old bed of the brook near Belgrade avenue, is progressing and dry, the brook having been turned, I understand, into the sewer. Stony Brook will continue a menace until it becomes a sewer instead of being a brook.
Respectfully
(Signed) E. Peabody Gerry.
To the above letter Dr Gerry received the following reply from acting deputy supt. of streets, C.R. Cutter, the communication bearing the approval of Supt. of Streets.
Dear Sir: --
I return herewith communication from Dr E. Peabody Gerry, in regard to the condition of Stony Brook, from Williams street to Forest Hills Station, West Roxbury District. I would state that the portion of Stony Brook south of Williams street to Forest Hills does need cleaning, and with your permission I will put six (6) of the suspended men from the West Roxbury yard to work here Monday morning, June 1, cleaning out this piece of the brook.
For 900 feet south of Williams street we are now drawing up a contract to construct the commissioners channel and the low level sewer. This will relieve all of the trouble that the doctor speaks of. It is the worst section for pollution there is on the brook at the present time. The other portion of the brook that he mentions - Roslindale branch in the rear of the engine house - I attended to last week. That portion of Roslindale Brook conduit to Belgrade avenue, of which Dr Gerry speaks, we are now constructing and will probably have it finished withing five or six weeks.
Respectfully
(Signed) C.R. Cutter
Acting Deputy Superintendent.
Dr Gerry was active in Jamaica Plain community life, and lived at 2 Everett street.
The Jamaica Plain News June 6, 1908
Regarding Stony Brook
Dr E. Peabody Gerry Reports to Mayor Hibbard Its Sanitary Condition and Improvement Follows.
The following communications are largely self-explanatory and of much local interest, referring as they do to a matter of great importance in the West Roxbury District.
The conditions of portions of Stony Brook was brought to the attention of Mayor Hibbard by Dr. Gerry, as one result of his investigation of the sanitary conditions in the section in reference to the typhoid epidemic, and it will be gratifying to the local public to know that this investigation is resulting in improvement, even though the conditions were not, aside from this section of Stony Brook and certain unsprinkled streets, particularly bad.
The communications follow:
Jamaica Plain, May 21, 1908
Honorable George A. Hibbard:
Dear Sir: --
I would report, that I have twice visited Stony Brook from Williams street, to Forest Hills Station, and yesterday was along Meehan street. I find a good deal of odor coming from the brook which seems to me to be of a sewage origin. I would recommend that the brook at this point be cleaned as soon as possible before the hot weather comes, which makes it very disagreeable. This will make hot weather cleaning less objectionable. It should be done very soon as it is not as well to stir such things up in hot weather. The smell is especially pronounced at Williams street, where there is a sort of cascade. As Stony Brook flows through a valley whose watershed is such streets as Wenham, Morton, Rosemary, St Rose, Hall, and other streets, where typhoid has been and is still rife, it appears the part of prudence to have it cleaned, before the summer sun or drought renders it unhealthy to say the least. Uncovered Stony Brook is still more or less of an open sewer draining the land on both sides, which has not as yet the boon of a proper sewer. The cascade near Williams street, produces air currents which, coming from an unclean brook, diffuse the odors in greater numbers than do quieter waters. Major Horrocks of the English Army, has shows that Petri's plates suspended in the ventilating of an intercepting trap nine feet above the surface of soapy water containing the bacillus prodiglosus were infected readily, thus showing that currents of air passing up the vertical pipe could carry bacteria separated by the bursting of bubbles. Similarly, he found that bubbles rising naturally through stagnant water in a catchpit may eject bacteria, which will be carried away by currents of air passing over the surface of the fluid. That is what Stony Brook will be when it becomes drier. The odor from Stony Brook at this point suggests an analogy to the experiments of Major Horrocks that is not reassuring. They indicated that at least the cause for harm should be eradicated. The branch of the brook back of the engine house, Roslindale, also needs attention. The sewer through the old bed of the brook near Belgrade avenue, is progressing and dry, the brook having been turned, I understand, into the sewer. Stony Brook will continue a menace until it becomes a sewer instead of being a brook.
Respectfully
(Signed) E. Peabody Gerry.
To the above letter Dr Gerry received the following reply from acting deputy supt. of streets, C.R. Cutter, the communication bearing the approval of Supt. of Streets.
Dear Sir: --
I return herewith communication from Dr E. Peabody Gerry, in regard to the condition of Stony Brook, from Williams street to Forest Hills Station, West Roxbury District. I would state that the portion of Stony Brook south of Williams street to Forest Hills does need cleaning, and with your permission I will put six (6) of the suspended men from the West Roxbury yard to work here Monday morning, June 1, cleaning out this piece of the brook.
For 900 feet south of Williams street we are now drawing up a contract to construct the commissioners channel and the low level sewer. This will relieve all of the trouble that the doctor speaks of. It is the worst section for pollution there is on the brook at the present time. The other portion of the brook that he mentions - Roslindale branch in the rear of the engine house - I attended to last week. That portion of Roslindale Brook conduit to Belgrade avenue, of which Dr Gerry speaks, we are now constructing and will probably have it finished withing five or six weeks.
Respectfully
(Signed) C.R. Cutter
Acting Deputy Superintendent.
Stony Brook Covered - Green to Williams Street
This is a nicely detailed article from the Jamaica Plain News, published just months after the previous entry posted here from the Boston Globe. If you've read a few of these articles describing the work of city police or local businessmen, you may recognize the standard sycophantic voice so common in those days. Every police captain is efficient and brave, every construction project is marvelous and efficiently managed. The journalism of the time seems to run from general civic boosterism to PR spin. From our more cynical time, we can let the propaganda pass, and enjoy the look into life as it was.
I still have to post something about the Napier auto works. Eventually...
Jamaica Plain News October 26, 1907
The Stony Brook Conduit Work.
Jamaica Plain Section of About 1600 Feet Nearly Done, Completing the Conduit to Williams Street -- Plans Being Drawn for Another Section.
Though many residents may not have been fully aware of the fact, so quietly has the work gone forward. Jamaica Plain has been a scene of a large and expensive and very important piece of city work the past summer, which is now rapidly nearing completion. This work has been the construction of the Stony Brook conduit from Green street to a point the other side of Washington street near Williams street, the last section of which will be completed by the middle of November, thus making a continuous completed section of this mammoth enterprise from the Back Bay Fens to the point on Washington street above. The completion of this section through Jamaica Plain marks the end of the construction of the large conduit through the thickly settled portion of the city and shortens the length of the underground waterway yet remaining to be built by a substantial distance.
The length of the piece of construction that is now being completed is 1555 feet, extending from Green street along the rear of the Napier automobile works and the large Sturtevant blower plant, across the open stretch of field to Washington street and to the further side of it a short distance. The work was divided into four sections and let out to contractors for construction. Section one, extending 460 feet from Green street toward the Napier factory, was built by the Metropolitan Construction Company, and was completed some time ago. Section two is some 367 feet in length and takes in the course along the rear of the blower works. This is the section that is now being finished and completes the entire piece of work, and the contractor is Alexander McGahey. Section three was built by Timothy J. O'Connell and was 385 feet in length, being completed during the summer. Section four was built by James D. Fallon and was 334 feet in length. This was also completed during the summer. The total cost of the four sections, making the 1555 feet constructed in the installment of work is about $230,000. The aggregate of the bids of the four contractors do not foot up to this figure, but the city pays for the cement, steel, chipped stone and some other material in addition to the work of the contractors, because it can buy in much larger quantities, purchasing at on time enough for the whole piece of work instead of for one section, as a contractor would have to do.
The section that is now being finished and which is the final link in the chain of four sections has been one of the most difficult to construct owing to its location between rows of brick buildings with only a narrow place to carry on the work, but is has been done very rapidly, and is an exceptionally fine piece of construction of its kind. The chief engineer, in speaking with a representative of the News, said it was one of the best pieces of work he had seen during his experience in sewer and conduit construction, and has been among the most rapidly built. Of the 376 feet in this section, built by contractor McGahey, only about 50 feet remain to be closed in, and a representative of the News paying a visit to the scene of construction this week found it a very interesting as well as stupendous piece of work.
An average of about 50 men is employed on the work, and they are under the personal direction of Superintendent George Phillips, ex-superintendent of sewers for Boston under the late Mayor Collins. The smoothness and precision and rapidity with which the work moved attested the able management of Superintendent Phillips, and his knowledge and skill also accounts in large measure, no doubt, for the fine quality and rapid progress of the construction.
The big "hole in the ground," more than 20 feet deep and equally wide, with its skeleton frames, timbers and stays, among which men who look no bigger than boys to one standing on the planks above, were busily digging and toiling, presented an animated and interesting sight to an observer; and as one watched the work, the wonder was not that such construction cost so much, but how it could be done for the price it is, on such a mammoth scale is material used and the work carried forward.
The conduit itself is twenty feet wide and sixteen feet high, and is made of reinforced concrete. The side walls are three feet and six inches thick, made of cement and reinforced at intervals of 12 or 14 inches with one inch wrought steel rods. The bottom consists of a layer of cement eighteen inches thick with two courses of cement on top and very skillfully joined to the side walls. The arch that covers the top is fourteen inches thick, built of brick and cement.
The dimensions of the conduit are easily described, but the actual work of constructing it is not so simple. In the first place a large temporary flume has to be built to carry the water of the brook by the section while the work of construction is going on. A dead drain of tile has to be laid in the bottom of the excavation through which, by a steam pump, the water that settles in the ditch is drawn out so as to leave the bottom dry for the laying of the cement that form the floor of the conduit. Sixteen foot planks have to be driven along the sides of the excavation to prevent them from caving in. Massive timbers have to be put in place as supports, and skeleton frames on which the arch of the brick and cement is laid have to be made and put in place and are moved along in the trench as the work of covering progresses by means of a single rail track on which they rest, this being supported by timbers from the bottom of the conduit. In the midst of all this the big iron scoop, which holds about a cartload of dirt, is being hoisted out as often as it can be filled by the shovellers and carried along an overhead wire cable to a distant place and dumped, and bricks, mortar, timber, tiles, crushed stone, etc, are being lowered into the trench as needed, making the scene one of great activity, and some danger to any who are careless and unobserving.
As fast as a section of the overhead arch is completed and the masonry dry, the skeleton wood frames are moved forward and the dirt that is excavated is thrown over the arch and the surface leveled down, hiding all trace of the waterway and engineering skill that is underneath.
In addition to the conduit that is to carry the water of Stony Brook, a brick sewer is being built at the same time for the sewerage of the district covered by the Stony Brook watershed. The conduit itself is for the brook and the surface water only, owing to the fact of the conduit emptying into the Charles river, where the sewerage, if carried with the water of the brook, would soon form a deposit at the mouth and have to be removed. This sewer runs along one of the horns of the arch of the conduit, its top rising almost to the level of the top of the arch.
The work on the last of the four sections of the present piece of construction will be finished by the middle of November, and will complete one of the largest and in some respects one of the most difficult divisions of the great enterprise. The construction of all four sections of which this division of the conduit is composed has been very successfully done and at as small a cost as was possible for such a big piece of work. It has been free from accidents of any serious nature, and has gone forward with very little to attract public attention, or even the attention of residents of Jamaica Plain, including those in the vicinity of the actual work. Its successful completion at this time gives encouragement to the people of the section for the steady pushing forward of the work till the conduit is completed its entire length.
The division now being finished has been under the charge of resident engineer Mr W.F. Maloney, who, with his draughtsmen and assistants has an office in Mr. Meehan's block on Green street. Mr. Maloney and his workers are now engaged in plans for another division of the conduit to be built next year. These plans provide for a section sixteen-hundred feet long, extending from the end of the present work just beyond Washington street to a point about 800 feet this side of Lotus place. This section the engineers say will be very difficult to construct and more expensive than most of the other sections owing to the presence of beds of quicksand in the section through which it must pass. The conduit having to go through these beds of quicksand presents a serious problem to the engineers. It will be necessary to drive five inch hard pine creased sheathing with a pile-driver along both sides of the trench while work is going on instead of using the three inch soft wood sheathing using a hand sledge ordinarily required. The extra work will require additional time and increase the expense of this section, but these additional difficulties will not be allowed to prevent the opening and carrying on of the work as rapidly as soon as the engineer's are completed and everything in readiness for operation. It is understood this next section will be constructed by contractors who will bid for the work in open competition.
I still have to post something about the Napier auto works. Eventually...
Jamaica Plain News October 26, 1907
The Stony Brook Conduit Work.
Jamaica Plain Section of About 1600 Feet Nearly Done, Completing the Conduit to Williams Street -- Plans Being Drawn for Another Section.
Though many residents may not have been fully aware of the fact, so quietly has the work gone forward. Jamaica Plain has been a scene of a large and expensive and very important piece of city work the past summer, which is now rapidly nearing completion. This work has been the construction of the Stony Brook conduit from Green street to a point the other side of Washington street near Williams street, the last section of which will be completed by the middle of November, thus making a continuous completed section of this mammoth enterprise from the Back Bay Fens to the point on Washington street above. The completion of this section through Jamaica Plain marks the end of the construction of the large conduit through the thickly settled portion of the city and shortens the length of the underground waterway yet remaining to be built by a substantial distance.
The length of the piece of construction that is now being completed is 1555 feet, extending from Green street along the rear of the Napier automobile works and the large Sturtevant blower plant, across the open stretch of field to Washington street and to the further side of it a short distance. The work was divided into four sections and let out to contractors for construction. Section one, extending 460 feet from Green street toward the Napier factory, was built by the Metropolitan Construction Company, and was completed some time ago. Section two is some 367 feet in length and takes in the course along the rear of the blower works. This is the section that is now being finished and completes the entire piece of work, and the contractor is Alexander McGahey. Section three was built by Timothy J. O'Connell and was 385 feet in length, being completed during the summer. Section four was built by James D. Fallon and was 334 feet in length. This was also completed during the summer. The total cost of the four sections, making the 1555 feet constructed in the installment of work is about $230,000. The aggregate of the bids of the four contractors do not foot up to this figure, but the city pays for the cement, steel, chipped stone and some other material in addition to the work of the contractors, because it can buy in much larger quantities, purchasing at on time enough for the whole piece of work instead of for one section, as a contractor would have to do.
The section that is now being finished and which is the final link in the chain of four sections has been one of the most difficult to construct owing to its location between rows of brick buildings with only a narrow place to carry on the work, but is has been done very rapidly, and is an exceptionally fine piece of construction of its kind. The chief engineer, in speaking with a representative of the News, said it was one of the best pieces of work he had seen during his experience in sewer and conduit construction, and has been among the most rapidly built. Of the 376 feet in this section, built by contractor McGahey, only about 50 feet remain to be closed in, and a representative of the News paying a visit to the scene of construction this week found it a very interesting as well as stupendous piece of work.
An average of about 50 men is employed on the work, and they are under the personal direction of Superintendent George Phillips, ex-superintendent of sewers for Boston under the late Mayor Collins. The smoothness and precision and rapidity with which the work moved attested the able management of Superintendent Phillips, and his knowledge and skill also accounts in large measure, no doubt, for the fine quality and rapid progress of the construction.
The big "hole in the ground," more than 20 feet deep and equally wide, with its skeleton frames, timbers and stays, among which men who look no bigger than boys to one standing on the planks above, were busily digging and toiling, presented an animated and interesting sight to an observer; and as one watched the work, the wonder was not that such construction cost so much, but how it could be done for the price it is, on such a mammoth scale is material used and the work carried forward.
The conduit itself is twenty feet wide and sixteen feet high, and is made of reinforced concrete. The side walls are three feet and six inches thick, made of cement and reinforced at intervals of 12 or 14 inches with one inch wrought steel rods. The bottom consists of a layer of cement eighteen inches thick with two courses of cement on top and very skillfully joined to the side walls. The arch that covers the top is fourteen inches thick, built of brick and cement.
The dimensions of the conduit are easily described, but the actual work of constructing it is not so simple. In the first place a large temporary flume has to be built to carry the water of the brook by the section while the work of construction is going on. A dead drain of tile has to be laid in the bottom of the excavation through which, by a steam pump, the water that settles in the ditch is drawn out so as to leave the bottom dry for the laying of the cement that form the floor of the conduit. Sixteen foot planks have to be driven along the sides of the excavation to prevent them from caving in. Massive timbers have to be put in place as supports, and skeleton frames on which the arch of the brick and cement is laid have to be made and put in place and are moved along in the trench as the work of covering progresses by means of a single rail track on which they rest, this being supported by timbers from the bottom of the conduit. In the midst of all this the big iron scoop, which holds about a cartload of dirt, is being hoisted out as often as it can be filled by the shovellers and carried along an overhead wire cable to a distant place and dumped, and bricks, mortar, timber, tiles, crushed stone, etc, are being lowered into the trench as needed, making the scene one of great activity, and some danger to any who are careless and unobserving.
As fast as a section of the overhead arch is completed and the masonry dry, the skeleton wood frames are moved forward and the dirt that is excavated is thrown over the arch and the surface leveled down, hiding all trace of the waterway and engineering skill that is underneath.
In addition to the conduit that is to carry the water of Stony Brook, a brick sewer is being built at the same time for the sewerage of the district covered by the Stony Brook watershed. The conduit itself is for the brook and the surface water only, owing to the fact of the conduit emptying into the Charles river, where the sewerage, if carried with the water of the brook, would soon form a deposit at the mouth and have to be removed. This sewer runs along one of the horns of the arch of the conduit, its top rising almost to the level of the top of the arch.
The work on the last of the four sections of the present piece of construction will be finished by the middle of November, and will complete one of the largest and in some respects one of the most difficult divisions of the great enterprise. The construction of all four sections of which this division of the conduit is composed has been very successfully done and at as small a cost as was possible for such a big piece of work. It has been free from accidents of any serious nature, and has gone forward with very little to attract public attention, or even the attention of residents of Jamaica Plain, including those in the vicinity of the actual work. Its successful completion at this time gives encouragement to the people of the section for the steady pushing forward of the work till the conduit is completed its entire length.
The division now being finished has been under the charge of resident engineer Mr W.F. Maloney, who, with his draughtsmen and assistants has an office in Mr. Meehan's block on Green street. Mr. Maloney and his workers are now engaged in plans for another division of the conduit to be built next year. These plans provide for a section sixteen-hundred feet long, extending from the end of the present work just beyond Washington street to a point about 800 feet this side of Lotus place. This section the engineers say will be very difficult to construct and more expensive than most of the other sections owing to the presence of beds of quicksand in the section through which it must pass. The conduit having to go through these beds of quicksand presents a serious problem to the engineers. It will be necessary to drive five inch hard pine creased sheathing with a pile-driver along both sides of the trench while work is going on instead of using the three inch soft wood sheathing using a hand sledge ordinarily required. The extra work will require additional time and increase the expense of this section, but these additional difficulties will not be allowed to prevent the opening and carrying on of the work as rapidly as soon as the engineer's are completed and everything in readiness for operation. It is understood this next section will be constructed by contractors who will bid for the work in open competition.
Stony Brook - Blue Laws Stop the Work
By the time I was growing up, blue laws were a matter of retail stores being shuttered on Sundays. I knew that things were different in Colonial times, but I didn't realize just how recent widespread work restrictions were.
Boston Daily Globe January 21, 1907
Obstacles In Sewer Work
Danger of Cave-In at Stony Brook.
Overflowing Waters May Mean Damage to L Structure.
Contractor Puts Blame on the Blue Laws.
Sunday blue laws and the elements have operated to the great disadvantage of contractor J.D. Fallon, who is constructing section 4 of the Stony brook sewer at Jamaica Plain. He estimates his loss thus far as $4000, as a result of the overflow of the waters of the brook into the trenches on Jan 1, which he says might have been prevented had he been permitted to work his men on Sunday, Dec 30.
The rain of Saturday and the melting snow yesterday caused an undermining of the flume through which the water flows at the side of the open trench, and the flume settled 3 1/2 feet, threatening at any moment to cave in and fill the open trench with water, gravel and quicksand, and destroy completed work on the sewer and adjacent property.
"Should such a thing happen," said Mr Fallon, "the elevated structure on Washington st, near Willaims st, would be in grave danger."
In consideration of these alarming conditions, a gang of workmen labored yesterday to prevent such a disaster, if possible. The names of workmen were taken by the local police for working Sunday.
The flume through which the water of the brook is diverted is within two feet of the sides of the excavation on section 4, near its head on Williams st. It is only 6x6 feet, built of two-inch plank, tongued and grooved, with one-inch timbers. For a considerable distance the flume, with its weight of water, has sunk 5 1/2 feet on account of the shifting quicksand under it.
"I am working today to concrete the bottom and sides of the sewer excavation, to secure the trench proper and the flume, as the water is causing the quicksands under the flume and the trench to shift," said contractor Fallon. "I got to work today to save the conduit already built. Had I been allowed to work three weeks ago today I could have saved the financial loss and trouble to me at that time, and the difficulty I am having today. If the sides of the trench, which is about 30 feet deep, should cave in, there is no knowing what would happen, but it would probably mean the destruction of that wooden building at the corner of Williams and Washington sts and possible damage to the elevated structure on Washington st. To get this trench covered down and weighted with concrete is the only way of saving the work already completed, and that is what I am trying to do by working night and day.
"Yesterday, engineer Mahoney, in charge of the work, ordered the dam of heavy timbers and bags of sand cut down, so that if the brook should rise to such a height the flume could not care for the water, it could pass over the dam and flood the excavation and pass out through the work. The height of the dam was lowered about 1 1/2 feet. I have had so much trouble with the job that I have got beyond the point of worrying about it, and I am going to to the best I can to finish the 120 feet more of conduit I am to build as quickly as I can, and be done with it."
Boston Daily Globe January 21, 1907
Obstacles In Sewer Work
Danger of Cave-In at Stony Brook.
Overflowing Waters May Mean Damage to L Structure.
Contractor Puts Blame on the Blue Laws.
Sunday blue laws and the elements have operated to the great disadvantage of contractor J.D. Fallon, who is constructing section 4 of the Stony brook sewer at Jamaica Plain. He estimates his loss thus far as $4000, as a result of the overflow of the waters of the brook into the trenches on Jan 1, which he says might have been prevented had he been permitted to work his men on Sunday, Dec 30.
The rain of Saturday and the melting snow yesterday caused an undermining of the flume through which the water flows at the side of the open trench, and the flume settled 3 1/2 feet, threatening at any moment to cave in and fill the open trench with water, gravel and quicksand, and destroy completed work on the sewer and adjacent property.
"Should such a thing happen," said Mr Fallon, "the elevated structure on Washington st, near Willaims st, would be in grave danger."
In consideration of these alarming conditions, a gang of workmen labored yesterday to prevent such a disaster, if possible. The names of workmen were taken by the local police for working Sunday.
The flume through which the water of the brook is diverted is within two feet of the sides of the excavation on section 4, near its head on Williams st. It is only 6x6 feet, built of two-inch plank, tongued and grooved, with one-inch timbers. For a considerable distance the flume, with its weight of water, has sunk 5 1/2 feet on account of the shifting quicksand under it.
"I am working today to concrete the bottom and sides of the sewer excavation, to secure the trench proper and the flume, as the water is causing the quicksands under the flume and the trench to shift," said contractor Fallon. "I got to work today to save the conduit already built. Had I been allowed to work three weeks ago today I could have saved the financial loss and trouble to me at that time, and the difficulty I am having today. If the sides of the trench, which is about 30 feet deep, should cave in, there is no knowing what would happen, but it would probably mean the destruction of that wooden building at the corner of Williams and Washington sts and possible damage to the elevated structure on Washington st. To get this trench covered down and weighted with concrete is the only way of saving the work already completed, and that is what I am trying to do by working night and day.
"Yesterday, engineer Mahoney, in charge of the work, ordered the dam of heavy timbers and bags of sand cut down, so that if the brook should rise to such a height the flume could not care for the water, it could pass over the dam and flood the excavation and pass out through the work. The height of the dam was lowered about 1 1/2 feet. I have had so much trouble with the job that I have got beyond the point of worrying about it, and I am going to to the best I can to finish the 120 feet more of conduit I am to build as quickly as I can, and be done with it."
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Longwood Hospital - I Found You!
The old Longwood Hospital, January, 2008I was born at the Longwood Hospital on South Huntington avenue, so part of my interest in the institutions of the area is personal. I knew that the Longwood had closed, but I didn't know exactly when, and I didn't know what happened to the property. A little more refined searching has given me an answer. Apparently, the Longwood was the renamed Vincent hospital, already discussed here. I was led to this knowledge by the minutes of a meeting of the Jamaica Pond Association shown here.
The new facility , under constructing as shown above, will host a home for cancer patients who come to Boston for treatment, under the auspices of the American Cancer Society.
Isn't the internet cool? Now I know, once more, exactly where I was born. Can you say you were actually born in JP?
Rachel Allen House for Colored Women - Update
I did a road trip to South Huntington avenue to get some pictures and refresh my memory. Refresh I did, when I saw the Sherrill House, which I had long forgotten. I passed it many times on the streetcar, but never paid enough attention for it to lock into my memory. Or else I'm just getting old. In any case.... a quick search to the Sherrill House online paid dividends. You can read about the history of the Sherrill House here. Sure enough, the Sherrill House began its life as the Trinity Church Home for the Aged (Rachel Allen Memorial). The original building was closed in 1966, and torn down in 1968, replaced by a new brick building in 1970. That building housed the merged Trinity Church house and the St Luke's Home for Convalescents, formerly of Roxbury in the new Sherrill House.
So now we know what happened to the Rachel Allen home. Except, what happened to the "Colored" part? Can I speculate that the word was removed - one might say whitewashed (pun intended) - from history out of some fear of giving offence? If so, the law of unintended consequences rears its ugly head, as the existence of an institution for the care of African-Americans in Jamaica Plain - and Boston - is removed from memory. I would have thought that the current institution would be proud to have descended from the impulse that led to the founding of the original Rachel Allen Home for Colored Women.
Am I making too much of this? Maybe... but I'd bet dollars to donuts that I'm more right than not.
So now we know what happened to the Rachel Allen home. Except, what happened to the "Colored" part? Can I speculate that the word was removed - one might say whitewashed (pun intended) - from history out of some fear of giving offence? If so, the law of unintended consequences rears its ugly head, as the existence of an institution for the care of African-Americans in Jamaica Plain - and Boston - is removed from memory. I would have thought that the current institution would be proud to have descended from the impulse that led to the founding of the original Rachel Allen Home for Colored Women.
Am I making too much of this? Maybe... but I'd bet dollars to donuts that I'm more right than not.
Boylston Congregational Church
January, 2008
Boston Daily Globe May 9, 1904
Boylston Congregational Church Begins Observance Of Its 25th Anniversary.
The Boylston Congregational church, corner of Boylston and Amory sts, began the observance of its 25th anniversary yesterday. Many past members of the society attended the services. The most interested one was Rev S. Sherborne Mathews of Dahleson, Conn, the first pastor.
He attended all the services and was highly pleased with the progress his old church has made since he left the pulpit.
The services opened with an organ prelude by R. Roscoe Steeves, followed by the opening sentences from the Psalms. After the congregational hymn, "O Worship the Kind," the invocation and Lord's prayer was given by the pastor, Rev Herbert A. Barker. The choir sang an anthem, Rev Mr Mathews conducted the responsive reading and Scripture lesson, Miss Lillian M. Lord gave a solo "The Plains of Peace," and Rev Mr Barker offered prayer. A thank offering for the work of the Boylston church was liberally responded to. The congregation than sang "O Where Are Kings and Empire Now?" Rev Mr Barker gave a historical address, and a memorial hymn, written by Warren S. Archibald, was sung.
Following the service, the Lord's supper was celebrated by Rev Mr Barker, assisted by Rev Mr Mathews.
In the afternoon the Sunday school held its 25th anniversary. It antedates the church, which in reality is an outgrowth of the Sunday school.
The services were opened with an organ prelude followed by responsive reading. They further consisted of prayer by Mr Barker, song by the choir, address, "The Early Days of Boylston Sunday School," by Deacon George W. Fowle, an original member; song by the infant department; address, "Recollections of Boylston Sunday School," by W.W. Baker; song, primarily department, historical sketch by Warren S. Archibald; song, primary and kindergarten departments; address, "The Boylston Sunday School of the Future," Rev William R. Campbell, pastor of the Highland Congregational church, Roxbury; singing of the memorial hymn by the congregation and benediction by the pastor.
At 6:30 o'clock the Christian Endeavor society held a reminiscence meeting.
The church was crowded in the evening, when the early days of Boylston church were interestingly told in addresses by Dr Henry W. Broughton, Rev Dr S. Sherborne Matthews, Nathan G. Nickerson and Lincoln F. Crowell.
The celebration will be continued this afternoon and evening.
The Boylston Sunday school began holding meetings in the old Boylston station of the Boston & Providence railroad in May, 1869. In the fall of that year George H. Williams gave 2000 feet of land on Danforth st, on which a chapel was erected. The property was put in charge of George W. Fowle, Robert W. Morville and Nicholas Broughton as trustees. These men purchased and gave 5000 feet of land adjoining the lot given by Mr Williams. The school was materially helped by the Central Congregational society at Jamaica Plain, which gave annual appropriations for its support.
It was not long before the need for a church organization was felt, and in the winter of 1877 arrangements were made for regular preaching. In March, 1878, the arrangements were completed. Rev George W. Blagden, pastor of the Old South church, preached the first sermon, and Rev S. Sherberne Matthews the second. Mr Matthews continued to preach at the gatherings until the formation of the church society and for eight years after.
The society was formed 10 years after the Sunday school, with 46 members, 33 by letters from other churches and 13 by confession of faith. The growth of the society was so great that larger accommodations were necessary and a large lot at the corner of Boylston and Amory sts was purchased. The corner stone of the present house of worship was laid June 9, 1884. The church was completed and dedicated on June 24, 1885.
In 1887 Rev Mr Matthwes resigned his pastorate and Rev Ellis Mendell was installed Dec 27, 1888. During Mr Mendell's pastorate of 15 years the society grew in strength. He died last May. Last December Rev Herbert A. Barker, the present pastor, was called, and the church work continues to flourish.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
The Western Hills of Jamaica Plain
Here's a nice history of the area between the Arborway and Allandale street. Note: "May lane" is May street.
Jamaica Plain News May 18, 1907
"Ye Olden Time" In Jamaica Plain.
Stories of the Life and Times in Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury in the Early Days.
The following very interesting article is a condensed summary of an address given before the Jamaica Plain Tuesday Club by Mr Frank E. Bradish. It is printed in the News, both because of its interest and value historically, and at the request of many members of the club who listened to it when Mr Bradish spoke before the club.
The article is appropriately called "Stories of Woodland and Pasture, and of Life in the Old Days on the Western Hills of Jamaica Plain."
This paper is the result of studies in the titles of the real estate around the site of the old "Peacock Tavern," which stood on Centre street, on the southerly corner of Allandale street, the southwesterly boundary of the property nearly coinciding with the southwesterly line of Mrs. Souther's place on Allandale street. The whole district from May's lane to West Roxbury village was originally divided as wood lots among the inhabitants of Roxbury who lived in the neighborhood of Dudley Street Terminal, and who visited this remote country only to cut their winter's fuel.
Near the top of the hill, including Butler's Pasture, was the lot of William Cheney, whose homestead was on Dudley street near warren street. His son and his grandson inherited this property, and the grandson sold it to Edward Bridge. Next below Cheney on the hillside was the lot of Deacon George Alcock, one of the founders of the town and church of Roxbury, and brother-in-law of Rev Thomas Hooker, who led the settlers from Cambridge to Hartford. The son of Deacon George was Doctor John Alcock, a famous physician, first in Roxbury and later in Boston, who married the daughter of Doctor Richard Palsgrave of Charlestown. He inherited his father's wood lot and left it to his son, Palsgrave Alcock, who sold it to Edward Bridge.
Between Alcock's land and Centre street lay five narrow lots which at the beginning of the eighteenth century belonged to Thomas Morey. Mr Morey was one of the first white men to build and live in this district; he bought numerous lots adjacent to each other, and his house is supposed to have stood near the brook which runs beside the house of Mrs. Cross, and thence under Centre street through Nervine grounds. Lowder's Lane was originally a "private town way" laid out across these lots to give access to the back land. The Moreys, father and son, never sold any land if they could help it, and it was by an exchange that Edward Bridge became possessed of the parcel between Alcock's lot and Centre street, and south to Green Lane. The Moreys were people of substance, having not only books and a little silver, but also what is an invariable mark of aristocracy - slaves. Thomas Morey and his son, and grandson owned a large tract of land on both sides of Centre street for nearly a century, and when they parted with it, just after the American Revolution, the larger part of it became the property of Gulliver Winchester, the great grandfather of Mr Artemas Winchester who still occupies some of his ancestral acres, in the one hundred and eleventh year of the family ownership.
While Edward Bridge was buying, one after another, the lots above described, he as also acquiring many other parcels, until finally he owned most of the land between Lowder's Land and West Roxbury village, Edward Bridge, his grandson, bought land on Bowditch's hill, and still father east, beyond May's Lane; he is supposed to have built the house in which Mr. Abijah Seaverns afterward lived on Centre street, where the parkway crossed it.
In the earliest days all of Roxbury, from the salt water to the old Dedham line, composed one parish, but when the settlers in the western hills became more numerous they found it too far for women and children to travel from May's Lane to Dr. De Normandie's meeting house, so they built a meeting house of their own early in the eighteenth century, on Walter street, which was then a part of "the country road to Dedham." The town and the General Court were slow to ratify this division of the old parish, but finally all the residents west of Eliot street were permitted to worship by themselves in their new meeting house, and were relieved from the obligation of supporting the minister of the old first parish.
The so-called "First Parish Church" at the corner of Centre and Eliot streets is comparatively new institution. The Second Parish has removed the place of worship from Walter street to Centre street at the corner of Church street in West Roxbury, where Theodore Parker preached seventy years ago to the descendants of the original settlers near Walter street. The salary of the minister in the olden days was not very liberal; he usually had all his firewood cut and hauled to his door, and was thus relieved of the most laborious of all tasks in the country; he had some small part of his stipend in coin, and as coin was then very scarce this gave him a considerable advantage in his purchases; but he was expected to understand something about farming, and especially about gardening, and in this way to supply his table. In fact the person usually lived as well as the prosperous farmers, but not quite so well as the merchants and sea captains. The principle return which the minister received from his profession was wholly intangible - it was the importance of his rank, and the great power which it yielded to his direct use - he did not request, he commanded - and the public sentiment of the community enforced his wishes.
No amount of wealth, no office however high, could give a layman precedence over the clergy, and much of this distinction descended to their families. The most powerful and the best trained minds of the time were thus attracted to theological studies. Long before any professionally educated lawyer sat on the bench of the Province every pulpit was occupied by a man having the best education of his day, and carefully trained to reason about theological problems. Edward Bridge, as has been said, possessed a handsome landed property, which might almost rival that of his neighbor Mr. Dudley, but his frontage on Centre street, except near May's Lane, was small - only about a thousand feet - and this whole front line with land in the rear sufficient to make about forty-seven acres, became the Peacock Tavern Estate. This included the Faulkner Hospital, Mr. Wallis' place, the soil of Allandale street, as far as the land being leveled by the stone crusher, and Mrs. Souther's place on Allandale street.
The Peacock was a very popular hostelry, and was surrounded by orchards and kitchen gardens; the outlook was extended and beautiful, and the climate was salubrious. For about thirty years it contributed to the comfort of travellers and to the gaiety of the towns of Roxbury and Boston, until in 1794 Governor Samuel Adams bought it for his summer residence. Jamaica Plain is an attractive locality for governors - Samuel Adams had been here before he became a resident, for he had visited Governor Bernard and Governor Hancock in their rural retirement, the one on Pond street and the other on Centre street at Aldworth street, but Adams held very different views of human society from Barnard and Hancock. They were aristocratic in opinion and in feeling as well as in taste; Adams was thoroughly democratic. Although he started in life with many advantages, Adams used them all for the benefit of his fellow citizens at large, not for the gratification of his own vanity and the advancement of his children. The desire for American independence, and the social as well as the political equality of all Americans was with Adams a consuming passion, which dominated all his conduct from his college days to the day of his death. After a life of turmoil and strife for these great objects, he spent a few quiet years, some of them in the retirement of Allandale, comforted by the assurance that all of the objects he had aimed at had been gained.
By the generosity of the partners and the son of Francis B. Balch, Esq, his title books have been the foundation upon which these antiquarian labors have been built, and thus the many kindnesses he extended in his lifetime have been perpetuated since his decease.
Jamaica Plain News May 18, 1907
"Ye Olden Time" In Jamaica Plain.
Stories of the Life and Times in Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury in the Early Days.
The following very interesting article is a condensed summary of an address given before the Jamaica Plain Tuesday Club by Mr Frank E. Bradish. It is printed in the News, both because of its interest and value historically, and at the request of many members of the club who listened to it when Mr Bradish spoke before the club.
The article is appropriately called "Stories of Woodland and Pasture, and of Life in the Old Days on the Western Hills of Jamaica Plain."
This paper is the result of studies in the titles of the real estate around the site of the old "Peacock Tavern," which stood on Centre street, on the southerly corner of Allandale street, the southwesterly boundary of the property nearly coinciding with the southwesterly line of Mrs. Souther's place on Allandale street. The whole district from May's lane to West Roxbury village was originally divided as wood lots among the inhabitants of Roxbury who lived in the neighborhood of Dudley Street Terminal, and who visited this remote country only to cut their winter's fuel.
Near the top of the hill, including Butler's Pasture, was the lot of William Cheney, whose homestead was on Dudley street near warren street. His son and his grandson inherited this property, and the grandson sold it to Edward Bridge. Next below Cheney on the hillside was the lot of Deacon George Alcock, one of the founders of the town and church of Roxbury, and brother-in-law of Rev Thomas Hooker, who led the settlers from Cambridge to Hartford. The son of Deacon George was Doctor John Alcock, a famous physician, first in Roxbury and later in Boston, who married the daughter of Doctor Richard Palsgrave of Charlestown. He inherited his father's wood lot and left it to his son, Palsgrave Alcock, who sold it to Edward Bridge.
Between Alcock's land and Centre street lay five narrow lots which at the beginning of the eighteenth century belonged to Thomas Morey. Mr Morey was one of the first white men to build and live in this district; he bought numerous lots adjacent to each other, and his house is supposed to have stood near the brook which runs beside the house of Mrs. Cross, and thence under Centre street through Nervine grounds. Lowder's Lane was originally a "private town way" laid out across these lots to give access to the back land. The Moreys, father and son, never sold any land if they could help it, and it was by an exchange that Edward Bridge became possessed of the parcel between Alcock's lot and Centre street, and south to Green Lane. The Moreys were people of substance, having not only books and a little silver, but also what is an invariable mark of aristocracy - slaves. Thomas Morey and his son, and grandson owned a large tract of land on both sides of Centre street for nearly a century, and when they parted with it, just after the American Revolution, the larger part of it became the property of Gulliver Winchester, the great grandfather of Mr Artemas Winchester who still occupies some of his ancestral acres, in the one hundred and eleventh year of the family ownership.
While Edward Bridge was buying, one after another, the lots above described, he as also acquiring many other parcels, until finally he owned most of the land between Lowder's Land and West Roxbury village, Edward Bridge, his grandson, bought land on Bowditch's hill, and still father east, beyond May's Lane; he is supposed to have built the house in which Mr. Abijah Seaverns afterward lived on Centre street, where the parkway crossed it.
In the earliest days all of Roxbury, from the salt water to the old Dedham line, composed one parish, but when the settlers in the western hills became more numerous they found it too far for women and children to travel from May's Lane to Dr. De Normandie's meeting house, so they built a meeting house of their own early in the eighteenth century, on Walter street, which was then a part of "the country road to Dedham." The town and the General Court were slow to ratify this division of the old parish, but finally all the residents west of Eliot street were permitted to worship by themselves in their new meeting house, and were relieved from the obligation of supporting the minister of the old first parish.
The so-called "First Parish Church" at the corner of Centre and Eliot streets is comparatively new institution. The Second Parish has removed the place of worship from Walter street to Centre street at the corner of Church street in West Roxbury, where Theodore Parker preached seventy years ago to the descendants of the original settlers near Walter street. The salary of the minister in the olden days was not very liberal; he usually had all his firewood cut and hauled to his door, and was thus relieved of the most laborious of all tasks in the country; he had some small part of his stipend in coin, and as coin was then very scarce this gave him a considerable advantage in his purchases; but he was expected to understand something about farming, and especially about gardening, and in this way to supply his table. In fact the person usually lived as well as the prosperous farmers, but not quite so well as the merchants and sea captains. The principle return which the minister received from his profession was wholly intangible - it was the importance of his rank, and the great power which it yielded to his direct use - he did not request, he commanded - and the public sentiment of the community enforced his wishes.
No amount of wealth, no office however high, could give a layman precedence over the clergy, and much of this distinction descended to their families. The most powerful and the best trained minds of the time were thus attracted to theological studies. Long before any professionally educated lawyer sat on the bench of the Province every pulpit was occupied by a man having the best education of his day, and carefully trained to reason about theological problems. Edward Bridge, as has been said, possessed a handsome landed property, which might almost rival that of his neighbor Mr. Dudley, but his frontage on Centre street, except near May's Lane, was small - only about a thousand feet - and this whole front line with land in the rear sufficient to make about forty-seven acres, became the Peacock Tavern Estate. This included the Faulkner Hospital, Mr. Wallis' place, the soil of Allandale street, as far as the land being leveled by the stone crusher, and Mrs. Souther's place on Allandale street.
The Peacock was a very popular hostelry, and was surrounded by orchards and kitchen gardens; the outlook was extended and beautiful, and the climate was salubrious. For about thirty years it contributed to the comfort of travellers and to the gaiety of the towns of Roxbury and Boston, until in 1794 Governor Samuel Adams bought it for his summer residence. Jamaica Plain is an attractive locality for governors - Samuel Adams had been here before he became a resident, for he had visited Governor Bernard and Governor Hancock in their rural retirement, the one on Pond street and the other on Centre street at Aldworth street, but Adams held very different views of human society from Barnard and Hancock. They were aristocratic in opinion and in feeling as well as in taste; Adams was thoroughly democratic. Although he started in life with many advantages, Adams used them all for the benefit of his fellow citizens at large, not for the gratification of his own vanity and the advancement of his children. The desire for American independence, and the social as well as the political equality of all Americans was with Adams a consuming passion, which dominated all his conduct from his college days to the day of his death. After a life of turmoil and strife for these great objects, he spent a few quiet years, some of them in the retirement of Allandale, comforted by the assurance that all of the objects he had aimed at had been gained.
By the generosity of the partners and the son of Francis B. Balch, Esq, his title books have been the foundation upon which these antiquarian labors have been built, and thus the many kindnesses he extended in his lifetime have been perpetuated since his decease.
A Dastardly Assault At Day Street
This is one of the earliest articles I've posted on the site. Although West Roxbury had just been annexed in 1874, Day street was already part of Boston, being just inside the border of old Roxbury. This would be why the police from Station 13 were not involved. Besides the dramatic nature of the crime, we also have interest in a few historical items. First, the area was considered, at least by the Globe, as the Highlands. Second, we have an appearance of Mr Hyde, who would later give his name to the square mentioned in the article. Third, there were still orchards nearby. We know from other sources that fruit was a favored crop in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain going back to pre-revolutionary times. Makes me wonder when the last fruit tree was cut down for a new street - a more pleasant topic to consider than attempted murder.
Boston Daily Globe September 30, 1874
A Startling Crime!
The Slung-Shot, The Gag and the Bullet.
Assault, Robbery and Attempted Murder of an Old and Respected Citizen of the Highlands at His Own Door-step - Full Account of the Affair - Another and Striking Evidence of the Lack of Sufficient Police Force at the Highlands.
The comparative peace and quiet which has rested upon this community for some time past was rudely broken, last evening, by one of the most bold and brutal acts of ruffianism which it has been the province of the newspapers to chronicle since the murder of Bridget Laudergin and the shooting of Mr. Lane on his doorstep. This time, it is an old and respected citizen of the Highlands, who, on returning to his home from the day's business in the city, is suddenly set upon by two ruffians as he is entering the gateway, knocked down by slung-shots, his mouth closed with an iron gag and his pockets rifled of their contents; the family, alarmed, rush to the rescue of their father, and are received by two bullets from the pistol of the villains, one of which enters the wrist of one of the sons; the would-be murderers then make their escape.
The details of the case are these, as narrated by the principal actors in the affair: At 7 o'clock, last evening, Mr Otis Gray Randall, sixty-five years of age, a respected citizen of the Highlands, where he has resided for many years and a banking and bond broker and notary, doing business at 16 State street, took the Jamaica Plain car on Tremont street for his house, at 65 Day street, Boston Highlands. He got out at the square from which Day street leads, and went into Mr Gibson's store on Centre street, where he brought some pepper. He then went on his way down Day street. The night was very dark, although it was then only about 8 o'clock in the evening and there was a thick mist. Mr Randall had an overcoat on his arm and an open umbrella in his hand. He had just reached the gateway of his residence, a dark and gloomy spot, shadowed by trees on each side, when he was set upon by two men who had been crouching, one behind the post and the other behind the gate; they attacked him from both sides at once with slung shots, striking him nine times over the head; they then gagged him with some sort of an iron instrument, threw him down and proceeded to search for the money, which they evidently knew he carried about him, and for which they had waylaid him. Meanwhile, the family, consisting of Mrs. Randall, two sons and a daughter, had become alarmed by the noise and the scuffle. One of the sons, Charles, who was in his chamber at the time, was the first to hear the disturbance; he immediately seized a loaded revolver, which, by good chance, he happened to have near him at the time, and, opening the window, fired in the direction of the noise.
Almost at the same time the rest of the family rushed out to the rescue of their father. The robbers stood their ground, and the other son, Walter, a young man about twenty-one or twenty-two years of age, seized an iron skillet, and rushing forward hurled it at one of the villains, who immediately raised his left arm and fired, the bullet taking effect in the young man's wrist; the other robber fired at the same time, but bullet narrowly missing the aged mother, who was standing near. The ruffians then ran down Day street towards Heath street, and the family carried the old gentleman into the house in an unconscious condition. The neighbors, who had been aroused by the disturbance, came in at once and rendered what assistance they could. The police were notified at the Tenth Station and word was dispatched from thence to the Central Station. Dr. Martin was called, who dressed Mr. Randall's wounds, and gave him some quieting mixture, and at a late hour, last evening, he was quite comfortable. The right side of his head about the temple is badly swollen and the marks of the slung-shot are distinctly seen; his mouth and throat were badly affected by the gag and he was unable to swallow; the robbers took an overcoat and two pocket-books from the inside pocket of his coat, one of which was of black and the other, a smaller one, of red leather, placed inside the larger. They contained photographs of different members of his family, fifty or sixty cents worth of car tickets, and notes and papers of no value save to their owner. A large sum of money which the assailants evidently expected to find in his pocket-book, but which Mr Randall carried in an inside vest pocket, fortunately escaped the hands of the robbers. However, they took the package of pepper.
The men are described as being stout, thick-set, about five feet eleven inches in height, and dressed in dark clothes. One of them, in his hurried flight, left behind his hat, which will, doubtless, afford a valuable clue to the discovery of the perpetrators of this bold robbery. It is a high crown, dark Mackinaw straw hat of six and seven eighths inches size. It afterwards appeared that a Mr Atwood, a gentleman residing close by, saw the assault committed, and instead of giving an outcry and rushing to the man's assistance ran in the opposite direction for help.
The murderous assault and robbery had evidently been long premeditated, and, from the statement of Mr Randall, it appears that the same men had laid in wait for him before and only by accident failed of success. About a week ago, as he was returning home in the evening, on passing through Day street, he saw two men crouching down by the fence near the house of Mr Hyde, and fearing some foul play he crossed over of the other side of the street and thus avoided them. He afterwards spoke to Mr Hyde and another gentleman of the occurrence, and they came to the conclusion that the men were endeavoring to steal fruit from some of the neighboring orchards. Mrs. Randall and others of the family state that several times during the past week they have heard footsteps on the piazza late in the evening, and felt that somebody was lurking around the house. Mr. Randall does not think that the men followed him out from the city in the horse-car, as he does not remember noticing any suspicious characters in the car on his way out; but, knowing that he frequently carried large sums home with him, they laid in wait for him in the manner described.
This police district is in certain places very lonely and deserted and the police force is far too small to cover it properly; it appears that no officer heard of this affair till long after its occurrence. The beat which includes the scene of the assault is said to be over a mile long and the officer last passed the spot at 7 o'clock. The police in the city proper were on the alert, last night, and one or two suspicious characters have been arrested. One rough-looking fellow was brought into the Second Station about 1 o'clock, who came in from the direction of the Highlands, but although he at first gave a very rambling and disconnected account of himself, he afterwards, as is believed, satisfied the officers of his innocence of any complicity in the affair.
A reward of $500 has been offered by the two sons of Mr Randall for the discovery of the villains who committed the dastardly assault.
Boston Daily Globe September 30, 1874
A Startling Crime!
The Slung-Shot, The Gag and the Bullet.
Assault, Robbery and Attempted Murder of an Old and Respected Citizen of the Highlands at His Own Door-step - Full Account of the Affair - Another and Striking Evidence of the Lack of Sufficient Police Force at the Highlands.
The comparative peace and quiet which has rested upon this community for some time past was rudely broken, last evening, by one of the most bold and brutal acts of ruffianism which it has been the province of the newspapers to chronicle since the murder of Bridget Laudergin and the shooting of Mr. Lane on his doorstep. This time, it is an old and respected citizen of the Highlands, who, on returning to his home from the day's business in the city, is suddenly set upon by two ruffians as he is entering the gateway, knocked down by slung-shots, his mouth closed with an iron gag and his pockets rifled of their contents; the family, alarmed, rush to the rescue of their father, and are received by two bullets from the pistol of the villains, one of which enters the wrist of one of the sons; the would-be murderers then make their escape.
The details of the case are these, as narrated by the principal actors in the affair: At 7 o'clock, last evening, Mr Otis Gray Randall, sixty-five years of age, a respected citizen of the Highlands, where he has resided for many years and a banking and bond broker and notary, doing business at 16 State street, took the Jamaica Plain car on Tremont street for his house, at 65 Day street, Boston Highlands. He got out at the square from which Day street leads, and went into Mr Gibson's store on Centre street, where he brought some pepper. He then went on his way down Day street. The night was very dark, although it was then only about 8 o'clock in the evening and there was a thick mist. Mr Randall had an overcoat on his arm and an open umbrella in his hand. He had just reached the gateway of his residence, a dark and gloomy spot, shadowed by trees on each side, when he was set upon by two men who had been crouching, one behind the post and the other behind the gate; they attacked him from both sides at once with slung shots, striking him nine times over the head; they then gagged him with some sort of an iron instrument, threw him down and proceeded to search for the money, which they evidently knew he carried about him, and for which they had waylaid him. Meanwhile, the family, consisting of Mrs. Randall, two sons and a daughter, had become alarmed by the noise and the scuffle. One of the sons, Charles, who was in his chamber at the time, was the first to hear the disturbance; he immediately seized a loaded revolver, which, by good chance, he happened to have near him at the time, and, opening the window, fired in the direction of the noise.
Almost at the same time the rest of the family rushed out to the rescue of their father. The robbers stood their ground, and the other son, Walter, a young man about twenty-one or twenty-two years of age, seized an iron skillet, and rushing forward hurled it at one of the villains, who immediately raised his left arm and fired, the bullet taking effect in the young man's wrist; the other robber fired at the same time, but bullet narrowly missing the aged mother, who was standing near. The ruffians then ran down Day street towards Heath street, and the family carried the old gentleman into the house in an unconscious condition. The neighbors, who had been aroused by the disturbance, came in at once and rendered what assistance they could. The police were notified at the Tenth Station and word was dispatched from thence to the Central Station. Dr. Martin was called, who dressed Mr. Randall's wounds, and gave him some quieting mixture, and at a late hour, last evening, he was quite comfortable. The right side of his head about the temple is badly swollen and the marks of the slung-shot are distinctly seen; his mouth and throat were badly affected by the gag and he was unable to swallow; the robbers took an overcoat and two pocket-books from the inside pocket of his coat, one of which was of black and the other, a smaller one, of red leather, placed inside the larger. They contained photographs of different members of his family, fifty or sixty cents worth of car tickets, and notes and papers of no value save to their owner. A large sum of money which the assailants evidently expected to find in his pocket-book, but which Mr Randall carried in an inside vest pocket, fortunately escaped the hands of the robbers. However, they took the package of pepper.
The men are described as being stout, thick-set, about five feet eleven inches in height, and dressed in dark clothes. One of them, in his hurried flight, left behind his hat, which will, doubtless, afford a valuable clue to the discovery of the perpetrators of this bold robbery. It is a high crown, dark Mackinaw straw hat of six and seven eighths inches size. It afterwards appeared that a Mr Atwood, a gentleman residing close by, saw the assault committed, and instead of giving an outcry and rushing to the man's assistance ran in the opposite direction for help.
The murderous assault and robbery had evidently been long premeditated, and, from the statement of Mr Randall, it appears that the same men had laid in wait for him before and only by accident failed of success. About a week ago, as he was returning home in the evening, on passing through Day street, he saw two men crouching down by the fence near the house of Mr Hyde, and fearing some foul play he crossed over of the other side of the street and thus avoided them. He afterwards spoke to Mr Hyde and another gentleman of the occurrence, and they came to the conclusion that the men were endeavoring to steal fruit from some of the neighboring orchards. Mrs. Randall and others of the family state that several times during the past week they have heard footsteps on the piazza late in the evening, and felt that somebody was lurking around the house. Mr. Randall does not think that the men followed him out from the city in the horse-car, as he does not remember noticing any suspicious characters in the car on his way out; but, knowing that he frequently carried large sums home with him, they laid in wait for him in the manner described.
This police district is in certain places very lonely and deserted and the police force is far too small to cover it properly; it appears that no officer heard of this affair till long after its occurrence. The beat which includes the scene of the assault is said to be over a mile long and the officer last passed the spot at 7 o'clock. The police in the city proper were on the alert, last night, and one or two suspicious characters have been arrested. One rough-looking fellow was brought into the Second Station about 1 o'clock, who came in from the direction of the Highlands, but although he at first gave a very rambling and disconnected account of himself, he afterwards, as is believed, satisfied the officers of his innocence of any complicity in the affair.
A reward of $500 has been offered by the two sons of Mr Randall for the discovery of the villains who committed the dastardly assault.
Monday, January 7, 2008
St Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church
I think this is the first church article that does not have a picture or description of the building with it. The map below shows the former location of the church on Centre street. Maybe some one will read this entry and send in an old photo of grandma's wedding.
Boston Daily Globe February 26, 1901
Children In Interesting Scenes. Little People of St Andrew's M.E. Church Sing and Act With Great Skill.
St Andrew's Methodist Episcopal church, Centre and Waldron sts, Heath station, was crowded last evening, the attraction being a children's concert under the direction of Mr and Mrs J.E. Hallowell. For a number of weeks the children have been hard at work training for the concert, and the success last evening amply repaid them for all their efforts.
It was one of the most successful affairs ever given by the society and the applause of the audience attested to the capability of those taking part.
The concert opened with a selection, "Monclair Galon," by Miss Caroline Besarick and Miss Ivaloo Wood with mandolins, accompanied by Mrs Hallowell at the piano. Miss Helen Stearns then gave a piano solo.
The next number was the one eagerly looked for by the parents of the children, the cantata "Market Day." As the little ones trooped on to the stage in their pretty gowns, with their baskets, singing their song in clear childish voices, a delightful scene was depicted and the applause was hearty. The solos were very well given by Miss Edith Wides, Miss Amy Blundell, orange girl; Miss Norma Ehrenzeller, tambourine girl, and Miss Edith Boynton, flower girl. A trio of merry maids, Misses Ethel Burbank, Jessie Allen and Mary Hobbs, sang a catchy song in a pleasing manner. Miss Ruth Lynch, the reader, took her part in an excellent manner.
Those in the chorus were Bertha Pflock, Alline Sheridan, Christina Heller, Jessie Lynch, Hazel Wildes, Florence Wildes, Muriel Sheridan, Annie Campbell, Mabel Hobbs and Annie Welch.
An amusing little pantomime was the "Seven Little Grandmothers," impersonated by Misses Hazel Wildes, Florence Wildes, Amy Blundell, Muriel Sheridan, Annie Campbell, Mabel Hobbs and Annie Welch. Dressed in old women's costumes and poke bonnets, with trembling limbs and cracked voices, they limped on the stage and singing their songs and presented a quaint picture.
There was a piano solo by Miss Rebecca Hinckley, violin solo, "The Fisher Maiden," by Master Bert Cronin, piano solo, "Romance Sans Parolis," by Miss Gracie Richards; piano solo, "Mayflower," by Miss Lillie Flowelling; mandolin solo, "La Petito Berceuse," by Miss Caroline Besarick; piano solo "La Norwegienne," by Master Fred Cronin.
The concert closed with the production of scarf fantistics by nine young misses of the Sunshine club. A number of tableaux were given and the girls in their costumes of pink and white presented very attractive pictures in their various postures. Among them were a cross, a ladder, circles, triangles and other settings. Those taking part were Misses Florence Tewkesbury, Addie Gibson, Edith Gibson, Isabel Coutts, Lillian Cochrane, Agnes Hobbs, Mary Anderson, Jeannie Coutts and Johannah Coutts.
Winter Sports: 1902-1903
Here are three short sports entries from the early years of the 20th century. The first has a high school hockey game played at Jamaica pond. Hockey, on the pond? Hmmm... It took me a while to sort this one out. I suspect that the game was played at the pond, not on the pond. At the time, the city would flood playgrounds and set up rinks for skating, as the second entry shows. I think we can assume that the hockey game was played on the field on Perkins street opposite Ward's pond, and not on the pond itself.
[Addendum: Apparently, hockey was played on Jamaica Pond. Here's an exerpt from from a book published in 1906.
"Jamaica Pond was, far and away, the favorite and fashionable skating ground. Here, almost any afternoon or evening, when the ice was good, could be seen hundreds of skaters. Skating parties of Boston's elite were formed for visiting the pond, both by day and on moonlight evenings, and this custom remained popular for years. Here also was the boy's paradise for ice hockey; the boys frequently lined up fifty or more strong on a side, and the constant "mix-ups" that occurred, in which a hundred or more hockeys were flying about in reckless confusion, gave onlookers the decided impression that "something was doing." Surely those of us now living who took part in them will feel our pulses beat a trifle quicker as we recall those hard fought contests on Jamaica Pond." Source: Old Boston Boys and the Games They Played. ]
The third entry shows that curling was being played locally one hundred years ago. There were many Canadian immigrants in Boston at the time, so it makes sense. Before the building of indoor rinks, the Globe reported on natural ice conditions through the winter, with news from Fresh pond, Scarboro, Jamaica, and the rest of the metropolitan Boston ponds. Winter weather was significantly colder at the time, and Boston seemed to be in love with skating and ice sports. Some ice was reserved for school hockey, some used by amateur club teams, and apparently the curling fans were able to reserve Scarboro pond for their special use.
Boston Daily Globe January 18, 1902
Brookline H.S. 2, Boston Latin 1.
One of the closest and most exciting hockey games played in this vicinity this season was that yesterday afternoon between Boston Latin and Brookline high schools in the Preparatory school league series at Jamaica pond, which was won by Brookline, 2 to 1.
[a short description of the game follows]
Local Skating Bulletin.
Skating in Boston and suburbs is generally good. The Boston park commissioners issue the following bulletin on the condition of the ice:
Jamaica Pond, good.
Charlesbank, fair.
Wood Island park, East Boston, good.
Billings field, good.
Columbus-av playground, good.
Roslindale playground, good.
First-st playground, South Boston, good.
Gibson playground, fair.
Nepoonset playground, fair.
Charlestown playground, good.
North Brighton playground, excellent.
Scarboro pond, Franklin park, good.
Franklin field, no skating.
December 3, 1903
Curling Matches.
Season Opened with Two Contests on Scarboro Pond, Franklin Park.
The Boston Curling club opened the season yesterday afternoon with two matches played on the ice at Scarboro pond, Franklin park. The rinks were skipped by Messers Renton, Weymss, McGaw and J.Cairns. Renton's team defeated Weymss' 21 to 11, and McGaw's quartet won from Cairns' 21 to 17.
[finished with scoring results]
[Addendum: Apparently, hockey was played on Jamaica Pond. Here's an exerpt from from a book published in 1906.
"Jamaica Pond was, far and away, the favorite and fashionable skating ground. Here, almost any afternoon or evening, when the ice was good, could be seen hundreds of skaters. Skating parties of Boston's elite were formed for visiting the pond, both by day and on moonlight evenings, and this custom remained popular for years. Here also was the boy's paradise for ice hockey; the boys frequently lined up fifty or more strong on a side, and the constant "mix-ups" that occurred, in which a hundred or more hockeys were flying about in reckless confusion, gave onlookers the decided impression that "something was doing." Surely those of us now living who took part in them will feel our pulses beat a trifle quicker as we recall those hard fought contests on Jamaica Pond." Source: Old Boston Boys and the Games They Played. ]
The third entry shows that curling was being played locally one hundred years ago. There were many Canadian immigrants in Boston at the time, so it makes sense. Before the building of indoor rinks, the Globe reported on natural ice conditions through the winter, with news from Fresh pond, Scarboro, Jamaica, and the rest of the metropolitan Boston ponds. Winter weather was significantly colder at the time, and Boston seemed to be in love with skating and ice sports. Some ice was reserved for school hockey, some used by amateur club teams, and apparently the curling fans were able to reserve Scarboro pond for their special use.
Boston Daily Globe January 18, 1902
Brookline H.S. 2, Boston Latin 1.
One of the closest and most exciting hockey games played in this vicinity this season was that yesterday afternoon between Boston Latin and Brookline high schools in the Preparatory school league series at Jamaica pond, which was won by Brookline, 2 to 1.
[a short description of the game follows]
Local Skating Bulletin.
Skating in Boston and suburbs is generally good. The Boston park commissioners issue the following bulletin on the condition of the ice:
Jamaica Pond, good.
Charlesbank, fair.
Wood Island park, East Boston, good.
Billings field, good.
Columbus-av playground, good.
Roslindale playground, good.
First-st playground, South Boston, good.
Gibson playground, fair.
Nepoonset playground, fair.
Charlestown playground, good.
North Brighton playground, excellent.
Scarboro pond, Franklin park, good.
Franklin field, no skating.
December 3, 1903
Curling Matches.
Season Opened with Two Contests on Scarboro Pond, Franklin Park.
The Boston Curling club opened the season yesterday afternoon with two matches played on the ice at Scarboro pond, Franklin park. The rinks were skipped by Messers Renton, Weymss, McGaw and J.Cairns. Renton's team defeated Weymss' 21 to 11, and McGaw's quartet won from Cairns' 21 to 17.
[finished with scoring results]
Sunday, January 6, 2008
South Huntington Avenue Grows
Bromley, 1931 (BPL)
This 1899 map shows Heath street circling around the south west side of Parker hill - South Huntington avenue would later take the same path, and extend to Centre street. This map
shows the empty land between Hyde square and Leverett park.
Considering its use as a main thoroughfare, South Huntington avenue is a relatively new street. In the 19th century, Heath street was the only way around the west side of Parker hill. The Jamaicaway added a route south from Brookline Village, but the land between Leveritt Pond and the Hyde square/Heath street area seems to have been undeveloped. The official Boston book of streets says that in 1896, the city of Boston gave authority to open a road from Heath street to Castleton street. In 1901, a street was opened from Heath to Centre street. That street was extended over Heath street to Huntington avenue in 1906. The Boston Globe reports a Jamaica Plain citizens reception for the city streets commissioner celebrating the extension of South Huntington avenue, and the first streetcar trip on the new South Huntington route in 1903.
South Huntington avenue quickly became an institutional district, and in the article below we meet still another entry - the Rachel Allen Home for Colored Women. The Home originated on Windsor street in Roxbury, with support from Trinity church.
Jamaica Plain News October 9, 1909
Development Of South Huntington Avenue. Erection of Vincent Memorial Hospital Followed the Year by Homes for Aged Women and Blind Babies Making Attractive Group of Buildings
--- Further Building and Improvements Likely in Near Future.
Much interest and some curiosity has no doubt been felt this summer by the people of the West Roxbury District who travel over South Huntington avenue, in the two new building that have been under construction since the early spring on that thoroughfare and Jamaica Way, near the Vincent Memorial hospital, and not far from the junction of Heath street. It is felt by many residents of Jamaica Plain that when the Vincent Memorial hospital was erected on South Huntington avenue two years ago and the lower end of that street was widened, that this was but the beginning of a movement that would eventually result in the vicinity becoming the location of numerous fine homes of institutions and philanthropies, and this thoroughfare one of the important and attractive ones of the city. The realization of this expectation or prophecy is now having its beginning in the group of buildings now drawing toward completion adjacent to the Vincent Hospital.
This group of buildings includes two handsome structures, and are the Rachel Allen Home for Aged Colored Women and the Home of the Boston Nursery for Blind Babies. The buildings are very similar in style and construction, and when completed will make two very attractive structures.
The Rachel Allen Home is the result of a Boston woman's means and philanthropic spirit. It stands nearest to the Vincent Hospital, fronting on South Huntington avenue, but with deep piazzas on the side looking east. The building is two and a half stories high, the ground floor being very low and the roof containing dormer windows, so that it has a strong bungalow appearance, the combination giving a pleasing effect architecturally. The building is of cement construction, the tile brick of the walls being faced throughout with white cement. It stands well back from the street, giving an ample yard, and will have accommodations for about 25 inmates. Ground was broken for the building about the middle of April, and construction begun the first of May. The interior finish is now being put on and the building will probably be ready for occupancy about Thanksgiving time.
The second building of the group is the home for blind babies, being built by the Boston Nursery for Blind Babies, which is now located at 66 Fort avenue, Roxbury. It stands still deeper in from the street than the home for aged women, though quite near to it, and overlooks Jamaica Way from which thoroughfare entrance to the Home is made.
This building is of the same general style of architecture and construction as the other, and of about equal size. It is constructed so as to give the maximum of light and with ample piazza space. These piazzas facing the parkway and the park system toward Jamaica Pond make the outlook from the building very attractive. While the blind babies will be unable to appreciate this advantage, it will add greatly to the attractiveness of the Home for the attendants.
The building is to have accommodations for 25 blind babies and will be the third Home of its kind in the country. The organization, which is one of three in the country, now has 19 blind babies in its care. They are taken at birth and kept until five years of age, when they are turned over to the Perkins Institution for the Blind.
These two new buildings, with the Vincent Hospital, make an attractive group and are no doubt but the first of numerous others that will in a few years make South Huntington avenue a prominent and well settled thoroughfare. One of the rumors that is now attracting attention in connection with this vicinity as an attractive building place is that the Institute for Technology is considering the purchase of the Perkins Institute property, when the kindergarten for the blind is removed to the Institute's new home in Watertown, as a site for a new home for this down town educational institution. Should this transaction take place, it would result in fine new buildings being erected on the avenue between Perkins and Bynner streets, and add greatly to the dignity of South Huntington avenue, as well as to the profit and attractiveness of this section of Jamaica Plain.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Toll Gate Footbridge
Tollgate Footbridge from the Tollgate cemetery, 2007
Richards, L.J. 1899 (copyright © 2000 by Cartography Associates)David Rumsey Collection
Washington street, Hyde Park avenue, Walk Hill and Patten streets. The footbridge was built from the edge of the cemetery to the edge of the school property.
After years of minor puzzlement over why the Tollgate Footbridge stood at the particular place it did, my discovery of fire insurance maps like the one above (thanks to the JPHS web site) led me to believe that the bridge may have been built to carry children over the railroad tracks from Hyde Park avenue to the long-gone Washington street primary school. A trip through the Jamaica Plain News archive has finally allowed me to support my speculation.
A 1909 article (I'll add the date later) told of the preference of the local people for a tunnel rather than a bridge at the site. After computing the number of stair steps required for the footbridge, the article states:
"A bridge of this character over the tracks would tend, the residents say, to defeat the very purpose for which a passage across the railroad tracks for pedestrians is desired. It would serve as an added inducement for children to climb the fences and go over the tracks up an embankment only 11 feet high rather than climb a flight of 64 and descend a flight of 24 steps, or vice versa, to get across."
So there you have it. Now I need to know why a similar footbridge still exists over the same tracks at Metropolitan avenue, apparently with a wheelchair ramp as well. Do people really need to get from the Roslindale side to the liquor store on Hyde Park avenue that often? In wheel chairs? It's a puzzlement.
Note: I spell both tollgate and toll gate for the Googlers out there - it's not a typo.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Jamaica Plain At The Wheel - 1909
This list of Jamaica Plain automobile owners comes from the 1909 Blue Book directory, by way of the Jamaica Plain News. I had to make the lists into graphics to fit them to the page, so you can click on them to get a full-sized image for easier reading. The Boston Blue Book at this time did include Jamaica Plain and Brookline, but they seem to only list residents from the "better" parts of the district, and that practice seems to hold here. No sign of Custer or Williams street - "No Irish Need Apply"? In spite of the fact that it's not a comprehensive list, it's still pretty cool.
Isn't the variety great? Maybe the best of all was the enterprising gentleman who built his own. By number, you get:
Acme (1), American (1), Atlas (1), Autocar (3), Bay State (1), Berkshire (1), Blomstrom (1), Buick (3), Cadillac (3), Cleveland (2), Corbin (1), Crest (1), Duryea (1), Ford (3), Franklin (1), Jeffery (4), Kissell (1), Knox (1),Locomobile (1), Louis (1), Matheson (1), Maxwell (1),Mitchell (2) Mora (1), Nordyke (2), Olds (6), Packard (6), Pierce (4), Pope (6), Prescott (1), Rainier (1), Reo (1), Speedwell (1), Stanley (6), Stearns (1) Stevens (10), Studebaker (1), Thomas (2), Triump (1), Walter (1), Wayne (1), White (2), Winston (3), one "own make" and 5 sadly unnamed electrics. I'm not sure what to make of the Triump - is it a typo? The links provided here may not go to the correct company - there's some confusion in the names. Names like Bay State and Berkshire make for a needle-in-a-haystack Google search. Many of the companies were regional, if not exactly local. Ahhh for the day any bicycle mechanic could start building automobiles.
Isn't the variety great? Maybe the best of all was the enterprising gentleman who built his own. By number, you get:
Acme (1), American (1), Atlas (1), Autocar (3), Bay State (1), Berkshire (1), Blomstrom (1), Buick (3), Cadillac (3), Cleveland (2), Corbin (1), Crest (1), Duryea (1), Ford (3), Franklin (1), Jeffery (4), Kissell (1), Knox (1),Locomobile (1), Louis (1), Matheson (1), Maxwell (1),Mitchell (2) Mora (1), Nordyke (2), Olds (6), Packard (6), Pierce (4), Pope (6), Prescott (1), Rainier (1), Reo (1), Speedwell (1), Stanley (6), Stearns (1) Stevens (10), Studebaker (1), Thomas (2), Triump (1), Walter (1), Wayne (1), White (2), Winston (3), one "own make" and 5 sadly unnamed electrics. I'm not sure what to make of the Triump - is it a typo? The links provided here may not go to the correct company - there's some confusion in the names. Names like Bay State and Berkshire make for a needle-in-a-haystack Google search. Many of the companies were regional, if not exactly local. Ahhh for the day any bicycle mechanic could start building automobiles.
Newspaper Advertising - 1909
The following advertisments were taken from 1909 issuses of the Jamaica Plain News. Businesses in Boston, Brookline, Roxbury and elsewhere also advertised in the JP News at the time, but I pulled out the Jamaica Plain businesses.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Historical Maps of Jamaica Plain - Online Resources
Here are some online maps that I've found useful. The titles in the links are not particularly useful, but when you follow the link you'll see what you get. I but them in order of age, with the first picture map being the exception. If you look through these you'll notice that some of them borrow from others. Whether it was plagiarism or authorized I don't know. You may also notice that the early maps are not perfect - the streets are represented, but not exactly following the correct paths. I think we have to be careful about relying too much on these documents for accuracy. They tell us a good deal, but we can't be sure that they get everything right.
The later ward maps were made for the fire insurance industry, and give every building and the owner of each - very cool.
Bird's Eye View - 1891
Boston and its vicinity - 1819
Map of Boston and its vicinity - 1829
Map of Boston and its vicinity - 1858
Map of Boston - 1860
Map of the city of Boston - 1866
Boston and its environs - 1867
Map of Boston - 1867
Map of the city of Boston - 1867
Map of Boston and the country adjacent - 1874
Boston - 1888
Boston sheet, Geological Survey - 1890
Wards 19, 22, Bromley Park - 1895
Wards 19, 22, Hyde Square-Heath - 1895
Ward 22, Amory street - 1895
West Roxbury, Dorchester, Brighton - 1899
Ward 23, south of Forest Hills - 1899
Wards 22, 23, north Jamaica Plain - 1899
Ward 23, Forest Hills & Arboretum - 1899
Wards 22, 23, south Jamaica Plain & Forest Hills
Boston and surroundings - 1927
And don't forget the map page on the Jamaica Plain Historical Society web site. They were able to take pictures of fire insurance maps that are not available online.
The later ward maps were made for the fire insurance industry, and give every building and the owner of each - very cool.
Bird's Eye View - 1891
Boston and its vicinity - 1819
Map of Boston and its vicinity - 1829
Map of Boston and its vicinity - 1858
Map of Boston - 1860
Map of the city of Boston - 1866
Boston and its environs - 1867
Map of Boston - 1867
Map of the city of Boston - 1867
Map of Boston and the country adjacent - 1874
Boston - 1888
Boston sheet, Geological Survey - 1890
Wards 19, 22, Bromley Park - 1895
Wards 19, 22, Hyde Square-Heath - 1895
Ward 22, Amory street - 1895
West Roxbury, Dorchester, Brighton - 1899
Ward 23, south of Forest Hills - 1899
Wards 22, 23, north Jamaica Plain - 1899
Ward 23, Forest Hills & Arboretum - 1899
Wards 22, 23, south Jamaica Plain & Forest Hills
Boston and surroundings - 1927
And don't forget the map page on the Jamaica Plain Historical Society web site. They were able to take pictures of fire insurance maps that are not available online.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Jamaica Plain Indian Association
The Protestant churches of Jamaica Plain were certainly busy with causes during the late 1900s. I don't think it is unfair to assume that groups such as this were less concerned about the bodies of the Indians than they were about their souls. In my mother's time at Central Congregational church, they were constantly raising money for the missions in China. In both cases, dreams of converting souls for Christ may have been a greater inspiration than secular altruism for their fellow man. Whatever the motive, the fact is that they did sympathize to some degree with the "less fortunate", and it's hard to criticize them for their efforts while others were doing their best to exterminate the Indians. Better Christian sympathy than no sympathy at all.
Well, it's a new year, and this is the 200th entry in this blog. It's a good deal more than I expected to produce when I started. There will be more entries, but they will be coming slower from now on. I've pretty well beaten the Boston Globe online archive to death, and new sources will require trips to the library. Wake up, people - it's time to get EVERYTHING online! Knowledge is power, and knowledge online saves gas and time.
Boston Daily Globe November 11, 1888
Friends of the Poor Indian.
The Jamaica Plain Indian Association will hold a public meeting in the Congregational church, Jamaica Plain, this evening at 7:30. The meeting will be addressed by Mrs A.S. Quinton, president of the Women's National Indian Association, and also by C.J. Eastman, a full-blooded Sioux, a graduate of Dartmouth, and a medical student in the Boston University.
November 23, 1888
Cottages for the Poor Indians.
The Jamaica Plain Indian Association fair in Curtis Hall was largely attended yesterday and evening. The articles offered for sale met with a ready acceptance, and the result at the close last evening will add materially to the fund for Indian cottages. Curtis Hall has never looked better than during this fair. The neat arrangements of the tables and decorations, together with the wigwams and bowers in the corners of the hall were pleasingly contrasted. An orchestra furnished catchy music during the evening.
October 20, 1897
Indian Sympathizers Meet.
Jamaica Plain Association Holds Its Annual Meeting.
Yesterday afternoon the Jamaica Plain Indian association held its annual meeting at the Jamaica Plain Methodist church. This society is composed of many of the leading people of the section. All the Protestant churches are represented in it. At present its membership is 159. Its object, as may be judged from its name, is pioneer work among the Indians of the west.
Rev Charles F. Dole, pastor of the Unitarian church, presided. After the secretary's report the treasurer stated that during the past year $560 had been received and $522.16 paid out. The largest amount paid out was the sum of $250 for the completion of the chapel for the Digger Indianns at Greenville Cali. Seventy dollars had been given for a scholarship at the Hampton Institute in Virginia. At Christmas time two barrels of various articles and one this summer, valued at $100 had been sent west.
The following officers were elected: Mrs A. Davis Weld, pres, Rev R.M. Hunt, Rev G.R. Grose, Rev C.F. Dole, S.B. Capen and E.W. Clark vice pres, Miss Clara Bell Gilman, sec, Miss Alelaide Howland assistant sec, Miss A.R. Manning treas. The executive committee is composed of the above officers and two delegates from the various Protestant churches.
The members from the churches are as follows: Mrs R.W. Wood and Mrs Charles G. Keyes from the Central Congregational, Mrs Macomber and Mrs J.H. Chalker from the St John Episcopal, Mrs E.N. Foss and Mrs Frank Gilson from the First Baptist, Miss A. Andrews and Mrs W.J. Day from the Universalist, Mrs H.L.Moulton and Mrs G.W. Flynn from the Methodist, and Miss E.C. Morac and Mrs Charles H. Cummings from the Unitarian.
The members are making arrangements for a fair to be given at the Unitarian parish house, corner of Centre and Eliot sts, Dec 9.
Well, it's a new year, and this is the 200th entry in this blog. It's a good deal more than I expected to produce when I started. There will be more entries, but they will be coming slower from now on. I've pretty well beaten the Boston Globe online archive to death, and new sources will require trips to the library. Wake up, people - it's time to get EVERYTHING online! Knowledge is power, and knowledge online saves gas and time.
Boston Daily Globe November 11, 1888
Friends of the Poor Indian.
The Jamaica Plain Indian Association will hold a public meeting in the Congregational church, Jamaica Plain, this evening at 7:30. The meeting will be addressed by Mrs A.S. Quinton, president of the Women's National Indian Association, and also by C.J. Eastman, a full-blooded Sioux, a graduate of Dartmouth, and a medical student in the Boston University.
November 23, 1888
Cottages for the Poor Indians.
The Jamaica Plain Indian Association fair in Curtis Hall was largely attended yesterday and evening. The articles offered for sale met with a ready acceptance, and the result at the close last evening will add materially to the fund for Indian cottages. Curtis Hall has never looked better than during this fair. The neat arrangements of the tables and decorations, together with the wigwams and bowers in the corners of the hall were pleasingly contrasted. An orchestra furnished catchy music during the evening.
October 20, 1897
Indian Sympathizers Meet.
Jamaica Plain Association Holds Its Annual Meeting.
Yesterday afternoon the Jamaica Plain Indian association held its annual meeting at the Jamaica Plain Methodist church. This society is composed of many of the leading people of the section. All the Protestant churches are represented in it. At present its membership is 159. Its object, as may be judged from its name, is pioneer work among the Indians of the west.
Rev Charles F. Dole, pastor of the Unitarian church, presided. After the secretary's report the treasurer stated that during the past year $560 had been received and $522.16 paid out. The largest amount paid out was the sum of $250 for the completion of the chapel for the Digger Indianns at Greenville Cali. Seventy dollars had been given for a scholarship at the Hampton Institute in Virginia. At Christmas time two barrels of various articles and one this summer, valued at $100 had been sent west.
The following officers were elected: Mrs A. Davis Weld, pres, Rev R.M. Hunt, Rev G.R. Grose, Rev C.F. Dole, S.B. Capen and E.W. Clark vice pres, Miss Clara Bell Gilman, sec, Miss Alelaide Howland assistant sec, Miss A.R. Manning treas. The executive committee is composed of the above officers and two delegates from the various Protestant churches.
The members from the churches are as follows: Mrs R.W. Wood and Mrs Charles G. Keyes from the Central Congregational, Mrs Macomber and Mrs J.H. Chalker from the St John Episcopal, Mrs E.N. Foss and Mrs Frank Gilson from the First Baptist, Miss A. Andrews and Mrs W.J. Day from the Universalist, Mrs H.L.Moulton and Mrs G.W. Flynn from the Methodist, and Miss E.C. Morac and Mrs Charles H. Cummings from the Unitarian.
The members are making arrangements for a fair to be given at the Unitarian parish house, corner of Centre and Eliot sts, Dec 9.
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