Did you pass this building in the last week? Were you inside it? It was a stable when this photo from the Boston Public Library Collection was created sometime between 1893 and 1895.
Designed by renounded architects Peabody & Stearns, this was a proud and needed addition to the Back Bay in its day. Stables were necessary, but no one wanted them too close to their home because of the danger of fire.
Here is the spot on an 1889 Atlas. At the wonderfully informative site Good Old Boston, the reason for those X marks across buidlings is explained. "These maps were created by the fire insurance industry, as an aid for determining the risk, and coverage cost, of each property. The 'X' drawn from corner to corner of a building was used to signify the storage of hay for horses, and thus a high fire risk." Click over to learn more.
The Charlesgate Stables also served area hotels. Here's a bill for services rendered in 1902. This is from the John J. Burns Library, Boston College.
Update: 03/05/14 thanks to www.backbayhouses.org and the hardworking research team over there.
As a matter of trivia, Charles Kenny one of the owners of the stables lived in the Back Bay, first at 381 Beacon Street and later at 213 Beacon Street.
From reading building permits and violations, I've learned that the horses were often led up ramps to second floor stables leaving the first floor for carriage storage. This made it very difficult to save horses when fires occured.
Today, you'll see retail on the corner of Newbury Street and Massachusetts Avenue. Many features of the original building remain.
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Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2014 Penny Cherubino; Boston Public Library photo; document from the John J. Burns Library, Boston College; and map from the Massachusetts State Library used under this creative commons license.
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