I was out on assignment shooting photos in Beacon Hill when I spotted these lichens on the fence that runs around the Boston Public Garden. These tiny organisms have found a shady spot along Beacon Street where they are happily growing on the cast iron fence.
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2015 Penny & Ed Cherubino
This week's Friday Link is the Longfellow Bridge construction progress Flicker photostream created and curated by photographer Sarah Bourne.
Here's a Longfellow cover shot that Penny did for a Back Bay Sun assignment in 2011.
Sarah has reserved the copyright to her photos. Because we try to always honor a photographer's wishes, we can't use one of her photos here. But, be assured, this collection is a great record with wonderful photos showing the progress month-to-month.
A tip of the hat to Adam Gaffin over at Universal Hub (UH) for bringing this collection to the attention of his readers. Not only is UH the best place for breaking news, but it also shares some great Boston features that might be overlooked if not for this invaluable site.
Thanks to Sarah for her great work. Please take the time to click through the stages of construction and the seasonal changes along the river.
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2015 Penny & Ed Cherubino
This week's Friday Link is the Longfellow Bridge construction progress Flicker photostream created and curated by photographer Sarah Bourne.
Here's a Longfellow cover shot that Penny did for a Back Bay Sun assignment in 2011.
Sarah has reserved the copyright to her photos. Because we try to always honor a photographer's wishes, we can't use one of her photos here. But, be assured, this collection is a great record with wonderful photos showing the progress month-to-month.
A tip of the hat to Adam Gaffin over at Universal Hub (UH) for bringing this collection to the attention of his readers. Not only is UH the best place for breaking news, but it also shares some great Boston features that might be overlooked if not for this invaluable site.
Thanks to Sarah for her great work. Please take the time to click through the stages of construction and the seasonal changes along the river.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon
Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2015 Penny & Ed Cherubino
When we first linked our readers to the website Back Bay Houses, we honored the founders' wishes that we not identify them by name. Since then, the Boston Preservation Alliance put the spotlight on Tom and Nancy High by choosing them and the website they created after years of research for a 2014 Preservation Award.
That also means we can say a public thank you from all of us to the couple who love Back Bay history and architecture.
The site is an ongoing work. Since our original report: Genealogies of Back Bay Houses: Our Friday Link, the team has completed the residential district by adding the properties between Massachusetts Avenue and Charlesgate East.
They are also adding information, historic photos, updated photos, and illustrations as they find new material. And, they are happy to accept the assistance of their readers and fans. If you have information on a property, family photos, or illustrations, you can offer the details through the site's contact page.
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2015 Penny & Ed Cherubino
When we first linked our readers to the website Back Bay Houses, we honored the founders' wishes that we not identify them by name. Since then, the Boston Preservation Alliance put the spotlight on Tom and Nancy High by choosing them and the website they created after years of research for a 2014 Preservation Award.
That also means we can say a public thank you from all of us to the couple who love Back Bay history and architecture.
The site is an ongoing work. Since our original report: Genealogies of Back Bay Houses: Our Friday Link, the team has completed the residential district by adding the properties between Massachusetts Avenue and Charlesgate East.
They are also adding information, historic photos, updated photos, and illustrations as they find new material. And, they are happy to accept the assistance of their readers and fans. If you have information on a property, family photos, or illustrations, you can offer the details through the site's contact page.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon
Details:
Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2015 Penny & Ed Cherubino
Sometime around 1954, photographer Leslie Jones documented the holiday decorations on many of the major downtown Boston department stores. Here are two of his photos of the corner of the Filene's building.
This photo with the tree as the focal point can be found at this link.
Here's the same view earlier this month. The canopy that held the tree is being renovated.
In this shot (found at this link), the two bottom bells of the Filene's carillon can be seen.
Here's a similar view today. While many things have changed, the flag for E.B. Horn Jewelers (founded in 1839) can be seen across Washington Street in both.
Bostonian's have a habit of clinging to old descriptions of places so, for a few more years, this will be known as the Filene's Building. It recently reopened after being empty and under construction since 2006. The current owners are referring to it as the Burnham Building.
Edward Filene commissioned this building for his department store in 1911-1912. It was designed by architect Pierce Anderson of D.H. Burnham & Company, the firm named for the renowned Midwest architect Daniel Burnham.
For PBS Masterpiece fans, Burnham also designed Selfridge & Co. Department Store, in London.
And, for twitter followers of Max Grinnel (@theurbanologist), Anderson was the architect for the Marshall Field and Company building in Chicago. Thus, we have another Chicago/Boston connection.
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: Photo today, © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino. Historic photos: Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection. (Used under creative commons license.)
Today, the gateway to Primus Avenue off Phillips Street on Beacon Hill is locked with only residents and their guests allowed entry. In 1843, this path was called Wilberforce Place. Back then, the word "place" was used to identify a location as a square or short street.
Wilberforce Place is described in Boston Ways: High, By, and Folk by George Weston as “a dark, dirty, and dismal place it was then—truly a slum, with three cold-water tenements housing a horde of the city’s dregs.”
They also explain the name change, "We believe that sometime in the 1860's, Primus Avenue came into being, replacing the name of Wilberforce Place, in honor of Primus Hall who once lived on this alley." And, they give a nice history of the namesake the avenue honors.
This photo from the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection shows how the alley looked in the mid 1930s. Phtogapher Jones noted that the photo was, "…taken for Jack Frost sketch."
Jones also took the view from the Revere Street side or Sentry Hill Place with the title, "False front at Sentry Hill Place leads to Primus Ave. on Beacon Hill." Here's a map of the addresses.
In his book Built in Boston: City & Suburb, 1800-2000
Penny used it as the subject of one of her Attention to Detail columns for the Beacon Hill Times, a few years ago. In the process, she discovered some interesting tidbits about this place. But, she always loves learning more about the historic streets, buildings, and people of Boston. If you have a Primus Avenue story or tidbit to share, please add it in the comments below.
Three books with information about Primus Avenue are:
Built in Boston: City & Suburb, 1800-2000
Beacon Hill: The Life and Times of a Neighborhood
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: The two historic photos are Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection. The new one and The Attention to Detail piece are © 2011-2012 Penny Cherubino
Thumbing through our review copy of Dirty Old Boston: Four Decades of a City in Transition, one of the first photos I spotted was one we had used recently right here on BostonZest for our post: Where Is This Lion? Fun with Historic Photos!
If you love our posts that include photography from Boston's rich history, you could fill a rainy afternoon paging through Dirty Old Boston. We used this photo as a clue to one of our Attention to Detail searches were you have to try to remember where you saw an architectural detail.
Dirty Old Boston author Jim Botticelli used it as one example of the faces and places of Boston in the 1950s. His caption:
"All he wants are his two front teeth. Posing with the Stowe Lion on Columbus Avenue. South End, 1950s. Photos by Leslie Jones."
The book is divided by decades from the 1940s to the 1980s and is full of the people, places, events, and changes that left their mark on each era.
"Rich and compelling, Dirty Old Boston chronicles the people, streets, and buildings from the postwar years to 1987. From ball games to dive bars, and amidst an ever-changing skyline, Dirty Old Boston captures some of the city’s most dramatic and tumultuous events including the wholesale razing of neighborhoods, Boston’s busing crisis, and the continual fight for affordable housing.
Photographs—assembled from family albums, student projects, institutional archives, and professional collections—reveal Boston as seen from the streets. What emerges is a narrative of a city tearing down and rebuilding, protesting and celebrating, fading and thriving. Illuminating Boston’s singular tenacity and spirit, Dirty Old Boston presents our proud moments and doesn’t shy away from our growing pains. Raw and beautiful, this book is an important and evocative tribute to the city and its people."
The Hancock Tower is shown under construction on one page and after (photo above) with the caption,"Slabs of plywood already plague I.M. Pei's design. Back Bay, 1973. Courtesy National Archives"
My copy already has page after page tagged with Post-it flags
Sharing the fun of exploring this book with others who love this city and learning from some of the people who have lived here through these decades will be half the fun of having it. It contains many photos from private collections that even a historic photo geek like me has never had the opportunity to view.
Some pages will hit emotional hot buttons. I found myself running my finger across the photo of Max Kaiserman at his newsstand in Copley Square where I used to buy my morning papers. It's that kind of book – one that will bring back memories for some and show others what was here before they were.
Dirty Old Boston: Four Decades of a City in Transition will also make a wonderful holiday gift for any fan of this city and its history.
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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: Courtesy of Union Park Press and Dirty Old Boston: Four Decades of a City in Transition.
This lion lives on a fairly busy street in Boston. Do you know where you'll find him?
Photo credit and links are below.
Photo credit and links are below.
Clues:
Update: 10/25/14: We received a review copy of Dirty Old Boston: Four Decades of a City in Transition
Here's a photo of the lion, today:
Are you ready for an answer?
This lion lives at 511 Columbus Avenue at the corner of Greenwich Park.
Here are the historic photos with their titles.
Both are: Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection, and are used under this creative commons license.
"South End kids pose on stone lion"
"African-American boy with Stowe lion"
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino
The cloisters beside Marsh Chapel at Boston University are a great place for people watching.
There is a constant flow of people …
on their way to appointments, classes …
or exercise.
This space attracts such an interesting mix of people.
We've grown more attached to this clositer since discovering that it was designed and built by Raphael Guastavino.
We learned about this brilliant man and his famous arches when we wrote about the Boston Public Library's Exhibition, "Palaces for The People."
Do you have a favorite people watching place? Share in the comments and we might just share photos from your place with our readers.
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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny & Ed Cherubino
