Jamaica Plain Historical Society Photo Gallery

The Woolsey Block in 1895 was an impressive four-story commercial block with Nelson's Grocery Store, the Jamaica Plain News Depot, and the West Roxbury Co-operative Bank. On the left, a carriage waits outside the Jamaica Plain train station. Photograph courtesy of William Dillon

Students in Miss Roeske's music appreciation class at the Perkins Institution for the Blind. Located at the corner of Pekins and Day Streets in Hyde Square, the school was founded in 1887 and served children through age nine. For general instruction, students were segregated by sex. As you can see in the photograph, African-American children were welcomed. The school was an outgrowth of the Perkins Institution for the Blind in South Boston, founded by Samuel Gridley Howe.

Looking south on Hyde Park Ave at Forest Hills. The Minton Block is shown on the left and the Morton Block is shown on the right. Thomas F. Minton was a successful contractor and land developer who laid out Skinner Hill in Roslindale, Forest Grove (Peter Parley Road, Park Lane), and the Weld Estate (Tower, Woodlawn, and Weld Hill Streets) in Jamaica Plain. He later developed the Parker Estate and laid out Brookside Avenue, Cable, Marmion, and Minton Streets. Photogaph courtesy of David Rooney.

In 1915, a group of boys from a geology class at the Children's Museum get ready for a Saturday morning field trip led by Robert W. Sayles. Photograph courtesy of the West Roxbury Historical Society.

Shown here is the Morton Block built in 1881 at the corner of Hyde Park Ave and Washington Street in Forest Hills. A large grocery store occupied the ground floor while apartments were built on the second and third floors. Micahel S. Morton was a sucessful grocer and an active member of the Jamaica Plain Citizens Association. He lived at 75 Morton Street. Photogaph courtesy of the West Roxbury Historical Society.

Parishioners leave Saint Thomas Aquinas Church after Sunday mass during World War II. The church was built in 1873 at the corner of South and Saint Joseph Streets and was designed by architect Patrick J. Keeley. The sign on the front lawn lists parishioners serving in the armed forces during the war. Photograph from the Jamaica Plain Historical Society archives.

Members of the Class of 1892 at the Jamacia Plain High School (formerly West Roxbury High) pose on the front steps of the school. Above the door is inscribed, "Eliot High School" and the dates 1689, the year the school was endowed by John Eliot, and 1867, the year the school was built. Photograph courtesy of the West Roxbury Historical Society.

1893 view of the Lyman House (Moreland Cottage) taken by the Olmsted Brothers. Courtesy of the Frances Loeb Library, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University.

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One of the Adams Nervine Asylum buildings.

Automobiles line the Arborway in front of the Arnold Arboretum. Circa 1939. Courtesty of Boston Public Library, Jamaica Plain branch.

Workers at the Arnold Arboretum visitor's center at the turn of the century. Photograph courtesy of Boston Public Library.

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Visitors enjoy a springtime stroll through the Arnold Arboretum. Courtesy of Boston Public Library, Jamaica Plain branch.

Blessed Sacrament Rectory

Blessed Sacrament Rectory. From a photo postcard showing a cancelation date of August 23, 1906. Original postcard is held in the archives of the Jamaica Plain Historical Society.

Boylston Station

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In this view of breweries and factories along the Stony Brook Valley, a portion of Mission Hill can be seen in the background. Courtesty of Boston Public Library, Jamaica Plain branch.

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A city bus operated by the Boston Elevated Railway sits outside the Forest Hills station in 1930. Courtesy Anthony Sammarco

701 and 703 Centre St. at the corner with Burroughs St. At the turn of the century this building housed C.B. Rogers & Company pharmacy and it remained in that use through the mid-1970s. The last proprietor was Jamaica Plain resident John Donovan and the assisting pharmacist was Bill Sullivan of West Roxbury. John would keep the store open late for a customer when an urgent prescription needed filling. Janice O'Hara Murray, who worked at the counter during her high school years, recalls the 1967 Mustang that her brother-in-law Gerry used to make home deliveries. She also recalls the beautiful carved oak Victorian woodwork and tin ceilings with ceiling fans that were eventually sold at auction. In this view, the corner is occupied by Today's Bread, a popular institution in Jamaica Plain for two decades. Teresa Bruce closed Today's Bread in 1998 and Amrik Pabla began operation of Burkhara's, an Indian restaurant, in the space soon thereafter. Today the building is occupied on the lower floors by Burkhara's Indian Bistro and Cobwebs Antiques. The upper floors, once home to Hanlon's shoe store, now house a rare book dealer and other offices. A turn of the century view of this corner can be see here.

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This 1920s view looks north on Centre St. from Burroughs St. towards Seaverns Ave. The corner building on the left is a hardware store while a sign for a shoe store can be seen on the right. Courtesy of Boston Public Library, Jamaica Plain branch.

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This 1980s view of Centre St. looks south from Seaverns Ave. towards Burroughs St. Greater Boston Bank and Bank of Boston are seen on the right while a Green Line trolley heads towards downtown Boston on the left. Courtesy of Fran Perkins.

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A view of Centre St. looking north towards Seaverns Ave. A plumbing and gas fitting service is seen on the right. The streets are surprising empty in this photograh taken in the late afternoon. The date is difficult to determine; it could possibly be in the period 1900-1920. Courtesy of Boston Public Library, Jamaica Plain branch.

A streetcar travels north on Centre Street in 1912. On the right is the tower of the Burrough's Building. This view is an enlargement of a portion of another photograph appearing here. Note the Mr. Fowler Real Estate sign on the left. Mr. Fowler remains in business but has moved to the other side of the street. A Store 24 currently occupies this Mr. Fowler location at 684 Centre St. Beyond Mr. Fowler is the current location of the Citizen's Bank, Yumont True Value, and CVS Pharmacy. Photograph from the Jamaica Plain Historical Society archives.

This image is an enlarged portion of another photograph appearing here. Two men are shown unloading a horse-drawn wagon on Centre St. at the corner with Burroughs St. The store in the foreground is F.A. Keazer Groceries and Provisions, seller of fruits, vegetables, other foods, and supplies. The storefront with the prominent sign next to F.A. Keazer is the C.B. Rogers & Co. The F. A. Keazer building was demolished and the property remained undeveloped for many years. A new building was built at the location, 697 Centre St., in 1998 and the Wonder Spice Restaurant has occupied it since April 1999. The C.B. Rogers & Company building is currently occupied by Bukhara (an Indian restaurant), a rare book dealer, and other offices. Today's Bread, a cafe, preceeded Bukara from the early 1980s to the late 1990s. Before Today's Bread, the building was home to Hanlon's Shoes. The four-story brick building seen to the far left of the photograph, on the opposite side of the street is the apartment building at 745 Centre St. at the corner with Greenough St.

A streetcar travels north on Centre Street in 1912. On the right is the tower of the Burrough's Building. The two men on the right are walking towards Keazer's Fruit Store. On the left is White's Block. Two other images on this page provide enlargements from this image. Note the Mr. Fowler Real Estate sign on the left. Photograph from the Jamaica Plain Historical Society archives.

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Oakes Provisions stood at the corner of Thomas and Centre Streets on the current site of the donut shop. Courtesy of Florence Oakes.

Cheerleaders of the Jamaica Plain High School in 1956 were, from left to right: Barbara Spinney, Catherine Gotovitch, Mary Parlon, Claire Boyce, Lorraine Dustin, Ann Kearns, Ann Litch, Beatrice Canny, Betty Ann Fetler, Joyce Mutlow, Gwenneth Edwards, Mary Jo McLaughlin, and Marilyn Guiva (kneeling in the center). Photograph courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

MacArthur's motorcade in 1951 on Columbus Avenue approaching Whittier Street. Photograph by Edwina Schoen courtesy of Chuck Schoen.

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The Congregational Church at the corner of Seaverns and Elm.

Guests at a "Hoeing Surprise Party" pose at the Curtis Farm on June 4, 1873 before setting out for work in the field. A small brass band can be seen at the right. Photograph courtesy of Martha Tyer Curtis and the late Nelson Curtis Jr.

This view is an enlargment from a portion of another photograph shown on this site. Guests at a "Hoeing Surprise Party" pose at the Curtis Farm on June 4, 1873 before setting out for work in the field. Photograph courtesy of Martha Tyer Curtis and the late Nelson Curtis Jr.

Jamaica Pond had been used for harvesting ice since the eighteenth century. By the 1850s, icehouses were built along the shoreline to house ice prior to shipment. Men stand with horse-drawn sleds used to move the ice to the icehouses. Photograph courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

A billboard at Green and Washington Streets. At the center is a campaign poster for Andrew J. Peters for Congress. To the right is an advertisement for Sterling Ale. This photograph is an enlarged view of a portion of another photograph appearing on this site. Photograph courtesy of David Rooney.

A 1906 view looking down Green St. towards Amory St. Washington St. crosses in the foreground. Current addresses shown in this view run from 171 to 209 Green St. Businesses currently occupying this block include the Somali Development Centre, Union Green Realty, a laundry, a church, a beauty shop, and apartments. Note the horse-drawn wagon on the right and the early motorcar on the left. Trolley tracks can be seen in the foreground running down Washington St. The Elevated Railway (the old Orange line) was being built over Washington St. at this time.

By 1906, the Elevated Railway (the old Orange line) had reached Green and Washington Streets. It was later extended to Forest Hills. The Elevated Railway was demolished in 1987 and replaced by the new Orange line. Two enlargments from this photograph appear on the thumbnails page to the left of the thumbail of this image. Photograph courtesy of David Rooney.

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The Eliot School is one of the oldest, continuously running, educational institutions in the United States. It is located at 24 Eliot Street in Jamaica Plain. Reverend John Eliot, who came to Boston from England in 1633, made the first contribution to the school’s endowment fund In 1676. In 1701, thirty-eight of the inhabitants of Jamaica or Pond Plain gave various sums from two shillings to a pound, 14 pounds 1s. in all, to be paid annually for twelve years for the support of a school. Payments were made in grain, half Indian (corn) and half English (wheat) at the price of the day. The first school was built on the land given by John Ruggles in 1676 and was located where the Soldiers Monument now stands in the middle of Centre St.

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Eliot St. looking from Centre St. towards Hagar St. The Footlight Club is shown on the right and the parish hall of the First Church on the left.

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Firemen outside of Engine Company 28 on Centre Street. This building currently houses J.P. Licks. Courtesy of Boston Public Library, Jamaica Plain branch.

A ticket for the 100th performance at the Footlight Club on Eliot Street. The Footlight Club is America's oldest community theatre and has performed every year since 1877. Founded by young socialites, the Footlight Club has evolved along with its neighborhood. Once, wealthy aristocrats arrived in coaches to enjoy the society of their own kind in an atmosphere of gentility and wealth. The performances sometimes seemed secondary to the social function. Today the Footlight Club draws its membership from Jamaica Plain, other Boston neighborhoods and surrounding communities. Between 1929 and 1939, the Footlight Club presented 15 Boston theatrical premieres, three of which were American premieres. This 1906 ticket requests that, "Ladies will please remove their bonnets."

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Morton St. overpass and the old Forest Hills Station. Late 1980s.

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The overpass and station at Forest Hills.

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The Forest Hills Orange Line station in 1980s shortly before it was torn down to make way for the new Orange Line.

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An elevated train leaves the newly completed Forest Hills station in 1908.

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Construction work nears completion on the Forest Hills Orange Line station in 1908. The Boston & Providence Railroad station is seen on the left.

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This photograph captures early morning activity inside the Forest Hills Orange Line station in 1960. Courtesy of Anthony Sammarco.

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Buses unload passengers on the lower level of the Forest Hills Orange Line station in 1960. Courtesy of Anthony Sammarco.

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The newly opened Forest Hills Orange Line station is shown on the left in this 1987 photograph while the old station, being readied for demolition, is seen on the right.

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Open trolley cars, used exclusively during the summer months, fill a siding along Washington St. at Forest Hills circa 1900.

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The Forest Hills station of the Boston & Providence Railroad.

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The Jamaica Plain New Haven Railroad line depot at Green Street, the current site of the Green Street T station, brought commuters to Boston prior to the Civil War. The area around the depot developed due to the proximity of the railroad and the accessability to Boston. Photograph courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

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Workers at the Haffenreffer brewery pose outside the plant along with some of their children and a pet in this 1891 photograph. Courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

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This early 1980s photograph shows building "P" at the Haffenreffer brewery complex just before renovations on the building began. Courtesy of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation

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This early 1980s photograph shows the main building the Haffenreffer brewery complex just before renovations on the building began. Courtesy of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation

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Healing Spring, Franklin Park. From Jamaica Plain Historical Society archives.

Prior to the introduction of home refrigerators in 1916, ice was commonly used to keep food fresh. The Jamaica Pond Ice Company delivered ice to residences for use in iceboxes that were wood chests lined with zinc. This photograph shows two delivery men using ice tongs to hold blocks of ice cut to the proper size to fit into iceboxes. Iceboxes didn't disappear from U.S. homes entirely until after World War II when mass production made refrigerators affordable for most families. Photograph courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

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This is a 1960s view of Jackson Square. The white building at the top left of the photograph is at the corner of Lamartine and Centre Streets. The Bromley-Heath housing complex can be seen on the right. The Boston and Providence railroad bridge was later torn down to make way for the depressed railroad bed that now carries the MBTA Orange line as well as Amtrak and commuter rail trains. Courtesy of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation

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The Jamaica Club built this clubhouse in 1889. Club members were predominantly middle-class and upper middle-class men who gathered on Saturday evenings to dine and enjoy card and other indoor games. The Jamaica Club was located on the northwest corner of Green Street and Rockview Street, where residential units for wheelchair accessible living are now located. It was later purchased by the Knights of Columbus and used by that organization as a meeting hall.

In the 1950s and 1960s the Knights of Columbus sponsored a catholic girls social group, the Squirettes, that met in this building as well a group called the Squires for boys. These groups were considered the “Junior Members” of the Knights of Columbus and were run by Mr. Paul F. Barrett, a school teacher. Activities inluded dances, variety shows, an annual retreat, and trips to West Point and Washington, DC. They also organized a Christmas party over many years at the Franciscan Children’s Home in Fort Hill, Roxbury, as well as other social services.

While the clubhouse is gone, the retaining wall shown in this photo can still be seen today. The Club is shown here from the Rockview side.

Visitors to the Arnold Arboretum at the turn of the century pass by a display of mountain laurel.

This photograph is an enlarged portion of another photograph appearing on this site. Visitors to the Arnold Arboretum at the turn of the century pass by a display of mountain laurel.

The Jamaica Plain High School at 76 Elm Street was built in 1900. The impressive building is designed in Tudor Revival style. An addition was built in 1925. The school was one of the first in the school system equipped with electric clocks manufactured by the Blodgett Clock Company. No longer used as a school, the building has been converted to apartment units. Photograph courtesy of David Rooney.

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Jamaica Plain High School, 76 Elm St. 1910.

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Donald McCarrick, Albert Coggins, Frank McFarlan and Robert Krusz pose in this photograph from the Jamaica Plain High School 1951 yearbook.

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Jamaica Plain High School students pose at the corner of Elm and Greenough Streets in this photograph from the 1952 Jamaica Plain High School yearbook.

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Once a fixture on Centre St. located near the corner of Seaverns Ave, Kennedy's Butter and Eggs shut its doors at the end of January 2000. Joining Hailer's Drug and a list of other similar establishments, Kennedy's is recalled as a community-spirited place, the kind of store where the proprietor knew your name and even extended credit. The Kennedy's chain once had more than 100 stores across New England.

This hook and ladder wagon was photographed in 1885 at the corner of Centre and Burroughs Streets. John Lynch is the driver of Ladder 10. Mark Davis is the call captain standing at the center of the truck. The Seaverns House is visible to the left.

Lakeview Place at Centre Street

Lakeview Place at Centre Street (close-up)

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U.S. Postal Service employees pose outside the post office bulding in Woolsey Square near the current location of the Green St. Orange Line station.

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In this photograph taken at Seaverns and Centre, the Masonic Temple occupies the second floor while a dry goods store does business on the ground level.

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This view of Monument square about 1905 shows men in bowler hats, a street car, the Loring-Greenough House, a watering trough, and the apartment building at the corner of Greenough Avenue. Note the unpaved streets.

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As a train travels towards downtown Boston along the Boston Elevated Railway at Forest Hills, a portion of the new Monsignor William J. Casey Overpass (Morton St.) is being constructed above. A commuter train on the former Boston & Providence Railroad route can be seen between the columns at the lower left. Notice the Metropolitan Police traffic booth on the sidewalk to the right. The booth was used by police who directed traffic during the morning and evening rush hours. Courtesy of Anthony Sammarco.

This 1885 photograph shows Centre Steet between Thomas and Green Streets. The old firehouse can be seen on the left which houses JP Licks today. Note the hose and bell tower on the firehouse. This tower has been significantly modified in modern history. The building beyond the firehouse bears signs for a hardware store and M.T. Wallace Groceries. The building to the left of the firehouse displays a sign, "Quincy." Note the overhead catenary wires for the approaching electric trolley car. Photograph courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

This image is an enlarged portion of another photograph appearing here. A horse and buggy is shown at the corner of Centre and Myrtle Streets. The corner building, site of the current day post office building, 655 Centre St., displays signs for a hardware store and M.T. Wallace Groceries. The firehouse, at 659 Centre St., at the far left, looks much like it does today. The firehouse is the current home of J.P. Licks. The Baptist Church on the far side of Myrtle St. is out of view but the house at 629 Centre can be seen beyond it.

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Our Lady of Lourdes Hall

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The Parkman School circa 1907.

Pinebank I was built in 1802 by China trade merchant James Perkins (1761-1822) as a Federal country house on the banks of Jamaica Pond. Photograph courtesy of Anthony Mitchell Sammarco.

Pinebank II was built in 1848 on the site of the original house by Edward Newton Perkins. Photograph courtesy of Anthony Mitchell Sammarco.

Pinebank III

Pinebank III, built when Pinebank II burned out in 1868. Designed by Sturgis & Brigham in Gothic style with red brick and imported English tan terracotta. The driveway entrance was made to commemorate all the Perkins homes with the dates they were built worked into the terracotta over the door, while the Pond entrance retained the prior balcony porch concept. Pinebank III seems not as elegant as its predecessor, but life there must have been pleasant. To the east the family had easy access to the Pond via their cove in the adjacent vale later filled in by the Park Commissioners. To the west, easy access was had to the Pond via a set of sandstone steps installed in 1864 and purchased from the auction of the former John Hancock Mansion on Beacon Hill. Notable also were the giant cottonwood trees on either side of the house and its ivy, brought from England.

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This image, taken from a postcard, shows the boat landing at Jamaica Pond before the construction of the brick boat house.

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A view along the eastern shore of Jamaica Pond, taken from a postcard published in 1914.

Firemen outside of Engine Company 28 on Centre Street, near Myrtle Street in 1904. Photograph courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

Two firemen pose with a horse drawn chemical fire engine in this 1880 photograph taken at Centre and Burroughs Streets. These engines used chemicals rather than water to fight fires.

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A view of Centre St. looking north towards Eliot St. in 1965. Courtesy of Frank Norton.

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This view at Forest Hills looks north on South Street while Morton Street crosses from left to right.

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A 1965 view of South St. looking south from Centre St. The entrance to Curtis Hall is seen on the left. Courtesy of Frank Norton.

St. Peter's Church

St. Peter’s Church, once located on Paul Gore Street. Taken from a photographic postcard in the historical society archive. Photograph taken circa 1908.

The Sturtevant manufacturing plant.

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The Sturtevant manufacturing plant on Amory St. between Williams and Green Streets. From the 1919 Aircraft Year Book, Aircraft Manufacturers Association Inc. Courtesy of Vincent Tocco.

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Workers assemble wooden wings for military aircraft in the Sturtevant manufacturing plant on Amory St. between Williams and Green Streets. From the 1919 Aircraft Year Book, Aircraft Manufacturers Association Inc. Courtesy of Vincent Tocco.

Photograph of children feeding the swans at Jamaica Pond taken from a period postcard (circa 1900). A high resolution version of this photograph can be downloaded here.

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Perkins' Cove was once located on Jamaica Pond below Pinebank. It was filled in before World War I.

Car 5195, an Arborway subway car, loads passengers on Centre Street ca. 1912. This Type 4 car had a new design with an enclosed cab and a fare collection station right inside the front door. Before the collection stations were installed in cars, conductors would roam from seat to seat collecting fares. This type car had another new feature; it was designed with the controls and power to pull non-powered cars as a trailer. Previously, all cars were self-contained with their own traction motors and ability to draw power from the overhead catenary. In the background a twelve bench open summer car can be seen.

Trolley, Centre and South Huntington

Looking southwest in 1906 down Washington Street from Green Street. Excavations are under way for the construction of the elevated railway (the old Orange line) that will run down Washington Street. This is an enlargement of a portion of another image that also appears in this collection. The elevated tracks were torn down in 1987 and replaced with the new Orange Line subway. Photograph courtesy of David Rooney.

Looking southwest in 1906 down Washington Street from Green Street. Excavations are under way for the construction of the elevated railway (the old Orange line) that will run down Washington Street. An enlargement from this image also appears on this page. The elevated tracks were torn down in 1987 and replaced with the new Orange Line subway. Photograph courtesy of David Rooney.

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Boys mastering woodworking skills, 1919. Photograph by Lewis W. Hine. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

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The F.W. Woolworth store at the corner of Centre St. and Seaverns Ave. circa 1950.

Guests help with hoeing on the Curtis farm.

Enlargement. Guests help with hoeing on the Curtis farm.

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Workmen using a pneumatic impact wrench dismantle open air trolley cars at the Forest Hills yard in 1919. Courtesy of Anthony Sammarco.

Civil War cadets from Roxbury. Photograph from Jamaica Plain Historical Society archives.

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This is a 1938 view of Centre St. looking south towards Greenough Ave. Next to the large brick apartment building on the right is a series of small shops including Mullen's Bakery.

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This picture of Jimmy Durante and his entourage at Hanlon’s Shoe Store in Jamaica Plain was taken in 1958. Durante was a regular at Blinstub’s in South Boston and was in town for a performance. Myles McCabe (Alice Hanlon McCabe’s husband) was friendly with a Boston Herald photographer who took the picture of Durante’s visit to the Jamaica Plain store. The photograph now hangs in the Hanover Hanlon store. The photograph shows Edward E. Hanlon fitting Mr. Durante. In the background, Mr. Hanlon’s son, Edward, is finding shoes for other members of the band. Durante was a frequent vistor to Boston where he would perform in downtown clubs. During one visit, Durante asked where the best place was to buy shoes in Boston and was directed to Hanlon’s Shoes on Centre St. in Jamaica Plain. Mr. Durante purchased five pairs of shoes on that first visit to Hanlon’s and returned on a number of occasions to make additional purchases.

Edward E. Hanlon was a lawyer married to Mary (Becherer) Hanlon living on Lochstead Ave. in Jamaica Plain and eventually Wren St. in West Roxbury with his seven children – Mary (Shannon), Alice (McCabe), Joan (Walsh), Edward, Thomas, George, and Jack. He started in the shoe business by opening a store at South Station called Colt Shoe Company with two partners. The Depression forced the closing of the store. In the early 1930s, Mr. Hanlon opened a mail order shoe business on the corner of Centre St. and Seaverns Ave. in Jamaica Plain. The store was called Edwards after his first son.

Customers of the mail order business would outline their foot on a piece of cardboard and send it to the store allowing Hanlon to determine the size and fulfill the order. The reputation for quality and comfort of the shoes Mr. Hanlon sold garnered orders from across the country. Among his most loyal customers were United States Postal Service letter carriers.

In the mid-1940s, the store moved across the street to the corner of Centre St. and Burroughs St. over C.B. Roger’s Pharmacy and the name of the store was changed to Hanlon’s. Six of the seven Hanlon children operated successful shoe businesses under the Hanlon name. At one time Hanlon stores operated in Braintree, Burlington, Cambridge, Falmouth, Hyannis, Jamaica Plain, Lexington, Malden, Norwell, Norwood, Quincy, Saugus, Sudbury, Waltham, West Roxbury, and Worcester. Stores operated under the Hanlon’s name continue to operate as of 2007 in Hyannis, Hanover, and Braintree. Over the years, most of the Hanlon stores have closed due to the challenge posed by lower-priced imports. Many of the forty-three Hanlon grandchildren have worked in the business throughout their lives. In 2004, the Hyannis Hanlon’s Shoe Store was sold to the store manager which marks the first time that a Hanlon’s store was not owned by a relative of Mr. Hanlon himself.

This view is outside the Mary E. Curley school in November of 1963. Photograph courtesy of Paul Gill.

A class gathers on the steps of the Margaret Fuller School in Jamaica Plain in 1943 or 1944. In the top row (left to right) are Frankie Finn, Michael Scipione, and Paul Andrews. Jimmy Talaniari is third from the right in the top row. In the bottom row (from left to right) are Nancy Malloy, Marilyn ???, Paula Dorion, and Marilyn Heisman. Photograph courtesy of Cathy Andrews.

This group of gentlemen are enjoying a beer or two at Kilgariff’s Tavern at 131 Green Street. Date is unknown. Photograph courtesy of Cathy Andrews.

Construction begins on the Jamaicaway Towers in 1965. Photograph courtesy of Paul Gill.

Fire station at Egleston Square circa 1940s.

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The Weld House on South Street. No longer standing.

The birth of commerical development across from what is now Forest Hills Station on Washington Street. In this small strip of stores can be seen a lunch counter, a chocolate shop, and other small businesses. Click on the photo for a larger view.

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A trolley heads down Centre Street towards Jackson Square in this view of Hyde Square circa 1940. A coal and ice truck can be seen on the left side of the photograph, a barber shop towards the center, and a liquor store and a department store on the right. Note the building on the grounds of what is now Angel Animal Hospital. Click on the photo for a larger view.

A view of the Stony Brook culvert near Washington and Williams Streets.

U.S. Post Office letter carriers, clerks, and other staff pose in front of the post office at the corner of Cheshire and Green Streets. The building still stands today. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library Print Department.

This Bob Cratchet and Tiny Tim display was featured prominently in the window of Jones’ Camera shop on Centre Street each Christmas in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Courtesy of Peter Cook.

The Jamaica Plain Baptist Church at the corner of Centre and Myrtle Streets. Taken from a stereographic card. Courtesy of Greg French.

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An image of the Jamaica Plain Station before the Boston & Providence Railroad embankment was constructed. Gordon Street can be seen to the right rear of the station. The new incarnation of this stop is Green Street MBTA station on the Orange Line. Courtesy of Greg French.

A cyanotype showing two horse-drawn oil sprinkler carts at the corner of the Jamaicaway and Perkins Streets. Oil was spread on the dirt streets to suppress dust. September 26, 1906. Courtesy of Greg French.

An outstanding view of the first significant dwelling in Jamaica Plain, the Curtis House. This was the homestead of the earliest European settlers of Jamaica Plain, William and Sally Curtis who arrived in 1638. It stood just a short distance from where the Stony Brook T stop is currently located. Courtesy of Greg French.

The First Church of Jamaica Plain located at the corner of Eliot and Centre Streets. In this image the church tower is sporting a wooden cupola that was subsequently removed. Taken from a stereographic card. Courtesy of Greg French.

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Members of a fraternal organization parade through the Arnold Arboretum on horseback. July 4, 1898. Courtesy of Greg French.

A cyanotype image that shows draft horses being used to transport trees by sled for planting. Possibly Franklin Park or Arnold Arboretum. Courtesy of Greg French.

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The former Methodist Church at the corner of Elm and Newbern Street, currently the Jamaica Plain Spanish Seventh Day Adventist Church. Taken from a stereographic card. Courtesy of Greg French.

Paul Gore Street as seen from the corner of Centre Street. The building in the left foreground occupies the current site of the El Oriental de Cuba restaurant. Courtesy of Greg French.

Sheridan Street as viewed from Centre Street. Note the horse drawn wagon, children and gas lights. Courtesy of Greg French.

The small Roessle Brewery was operated by John Roessle and stood at 1250 Columbus Avenue, the current site of Roxbury Community College. It was active from 1846 to 1918 and from 1933 to 1951. In this photograph, circa 1905, workers pose with family members and display bottles of Rossle’s Lager. Click on the photograph to see a larger view of it. Photograph provided courtesy of Greg French.

Eliot Hall on Eliot Street. Home of the Footlight Club. This photograph was taken on August 8, 1948 by John J. Sheehan. Provided courtesy of Kathy Hourihan. Click on the photograph to see a larger view of it.

16 Sheridan Street was built for and Inspected by Michael W. Fitzsimmons and his wife Sarah. Fitzsimmons was the keeper of the plans for the Boston Building Department and described as a trained architect. He also had 18 Sheridan Street built. The photograph was taken by the Holmes Brothers of Needham, Mass about 1886 around the time the house was completed. Photograph provided courtesy of Michele Clark. Click on the photograph to see a larger view of it.

Show here is 11 Evergreen Street in Jamaica Plain. Photograph taken between 1931 and 1933. This was the home of Charles and Josephine Dunlap from 1930 to 1937 and has been provided courtesy of their son, Jim Dunlap. Click on the photograph to see a larger view of it.

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Frederick Morlock (1850-1906), born in Germany and naturalized in 1881, owned the large building at 416 Centre Street and the smaller house next to it at 408 Centre Street. He owned and operated the bakery in the corner store pictured here where El Oriental de Cuba is currently located. The photograph was taken around 1905. The woman in the doorway is believed to be Margaretha (Gretchen) Maylandt Morlock (1877-1914). Photograph provided courtesy of Kathy Griffin.

Jamaica Plain residents begin to venture out of their homes after a single lane of traffic is cleared of snow in February, 1978. This view is from Green Steet looking towards Boston. Photograph taken by and provided courtesy of Mark Hoffman.

This row of buildings at Paul Gore and Lamartine Streets was once known as Jacob’s Block. The corner building was a pharmacy with a soda stand. Older Jamaica Plain residents recall pharmacists Mr. Wholley and Charlie Tuite. A bar stood on the corner across from the pharmacy and featured entertainers on Saturday nights. This property later became the center of a battle waged between the landlord George Carroll and a group of residents supported by community activists and organizations.

Carroll bought this rundown property from the City of Boston at auction for a few thousand dollars, hoping to cash in as values soared. His treatment of the tenants caused him to be sentenced by a housing court judge to live in the building himself. After 11 years of being thwarted from cashing in by local affordable housing activists, Carroll was finally forced to sell the building to Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation to be developed as the Nate Smith House, units of affordable housing for families and frail elders.

Photograph taken by and provided courtesy of Mark Hoffman.

1101 Centre Street at the corner with Louders Lane. Click on the photograph to see a larger view.

Boston Talitha Cumi Maternity Hospital operated at 215 Forest Hills Street by the New England Moral Reform Society. Representing an extreme wing of the American Protestant movement known as the Second Great Awakening, members of the Moral Reform Society believed in social action as a moral imperative and, in particular, conducted a vigorous crusade against the double standards of a male-dominated society.

Centre and Hollbrook Streets.

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Jamaica Plain’s original branch library, known as a deposit station since books were placed there on deposit for the public to borrow, is shown in this undated photograph. The branch opened at the corner of Lamartine and Paul Gore Streets in 1897. Photograph and caption information courtesy of Jane Bickford, Boston Public Library, Connolly Branch.

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White’s Pharmacy on Paul Gore Street. Courtesy of Jane Bickford, Boston Public Library, Connolly Branch.

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The Boston Public Library opened this Boylston Station Reading Room for the convenience of railroad travelers in 1905. The facility occupied a portion of the ground floor of the railroad station. The reading room was enhanced in 1927 and became known as the Boylston Branch. In 1935 the current Connolly Branch Library on Centre Steet was opened. The entrance to the station and the reading room was by a walkway at the same location as a currently existing sidewalk that runs down the right side of the current Boylston Street MBTA Orange Line station. Caption information and photograph courtesy of Jane Bickford, Boston Public Library, Connolly Branch.

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A view just outside of Egleston Square Station, at the corner of Washington and School Streets. Photograph courtesy of Chris Lovett, Neighborhood Network News. circa 1987.

Green Street Station. “Waiting for the last train”. April, 1987. Photograph courtesy of Chris Lovett, Neighborhood Network News. circa 1987.

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An Orange line trains travels down Washington Street in Jamaica Plain, March 1987. Photograph courtesy of Chris Lovett, Neighborhood Network News.

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Green Street Station. April 1987. Photograph courtesy of Chris Lovett, Neighborhood Network News.

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A portion of the system of tunnels that carry the Stony Brook from its origin in the Stonybrook Reservation in West Roxbury to the point where it empties into the Charles River. This undated photograph was taken under Amory Street in Jamaica Plain and is provided courtesy of the Boston Water and Sewer Commission.

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View of Forest Hills. Scanned from a postcard donated by Annie Finnegan, November 2007.

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View of Forest Hills. Scanned from a postcard donated by Annie Finnegan, November 2007.

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The Parkman School with Upham Memorial Church in the background. Scanned from a postcard donated by Annie Finnegan, November 2007.

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Jonathan Ingersoll Bowditch (1806-1889), second son of Nathaniel Bowditch, writer of the famous book on navigation. Jonathan Ingersoll Bowditch moved from Canton to Jamaica Plain about 1859 and purchased most of the land known as Moss Hill. Courtesty of George Wardle, Historian, First Church Jamaica Plain.

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Lucy Orne Nichols, wife of Jonathan Ingersoll Bowditch, and descendant of Col. Timothy Pickering, an aide on Gen. Washington’s staff during the American Revolution. Courtesty of George Wardle, Historian, First Church Jamaica Plain.

Soldier’s monument and First Congregational Church Society, Eliot Street and South Street. Courtesy of the Boston Public Library per this license.

Accession No.: 08_01_000783
Source: 11x14 glass negative
Date: May 1920
Photographer: Abdalian, Leon H.

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Intersection of Centre Street, May Street, and Arborway
Source: 8x10 glass negative
Date: Apr. 16, 1949
Photographer: Abdalian, Leon H.

Courtesy of the Boston Public Library per this license.

Accession No.: 08_01_000240

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Title: Church of the Blessed Sacrament at Centre Street and Creighton Street, Roxbury, Mass.
Format: photograph
Source: gelatin silver print
Date: ca. 1930
Accession No.: 08_01_000758
Identifier: 721-A-2021
Photographer: Abdalian, Leon H.

Courtesy of the Boston Public Library per this license.

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Title: First Baptist Church at Myrtle Street and Centre Street, Jamaica Plain
Format: photograph
Source: 8x10 glass negative
Date: June 1920
Accession No.: 08_01_000328
Identifier: 2035
Photographer: Abdalian, Leon H.

Courtesy of the Boston Public Library per this license.

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Title: St. John Church, Jamaica Plain
Format: photograph
Source: 8x10 glass negative
Date: June 1920
Accession No.: 08_01_000327
Identifier: 2034
Photographer: Abdalian, Leon H.

Courtesy of the Boston Public Library per this license.

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Second place medal awarded to A.J. Hankey of Jamaica Plain by the City of Boston for swimming race that took place at Jamaica Pond on July 4, 1891. Hankey also served as a course clerk for the races. Photograph courtesy of Jack Wentworth. If you have any additional information on these medals, please use the “Contact Us” link on this page.

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First place medal awarded to A.J. Hankey of Jamaica Plain by the City of Boston for a 1/4 mile swimming race that took place at Jamaica Pond on July 4, 1899. Hankey also served as a course clerk for the races. Photograph courtesy of Jack Wentworth. If you have any additional information on these medals, please use the “Contact Us” link on this page.

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St. Thomas Aquinas Church at 97 South Street.

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This photograph of an open air classroom in Jamaica Plain was published in the book Community Civics in 1921. This type of classroom was thought to protect children from tuberculosis infection and was part of an open air classroom movement in Europe and the United States. The name and location of this school in Jamaica Plain is not known.

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In this 1940s photo, we see Jones Card Shop on Centre Street. Photograph provided courtesy of Peter Cook.

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This 1945 view of Jamaica Plain was taken most likely on Bromley St. facing New Heath St. Dmitri Kessel/LIFE Magazine.

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James Michael Curley. Photograph taken in 1951 by Yale Joel/LIFE Magazine.

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James Michael Curley. Photograph taken in 1951 by Yale Joel/LIFE Magazine.

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James Michael Curley. Photograph taken in 1951 by Yale Joel/LIFE Magazine.

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James Michael Curley. Photograph taken in 1949 by Yale Joel/LIFE Magazine.

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A campaign sign for James Michael Curley. Photograph taken in 1949 by Yale Joel/LIFE Magazine.

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A 1945 Jamaica Plain street view possibly Lamartine Street. Photograph by Walter Sanders/LIFE Magazine.

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George Oakes, candidate for Boston Mayor campaigns in Jamaica Plain. Oakes was an officer at R.M. Bradley, one of Boston’s leading real estate firms. To the right of the candidate is a Clearwater Laundry delivery truck. The laundry stood on Brookside Ave. near Green St. Photograph by Yale Joel/LIFE Magazine. We extend our appreciation to Frank Norton for bringing this photograph to our attention.

A higher resolution version of this photograph can be downloaded here.

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The West Roxbury High School class of 1921. West Roxbury High School was located at 76 Elm St. in present day Jamaica Plain. You may also download a high resolution version of this photograph.

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The Coffee Tree Inn stood at 14 Keyes Street (now renamed to McBride St.) and closed in 1920 as a result of Prohibition. The Boston Globe reported on the opening on June 20, 1898. The full text of that article can be read here. A high resolution copy of this photo can be downloaded here. Photograph from JPHS archives.

This family photograph taken in front of the Loring-Greenough house in 1939 shows members of the Tracy family who lived at the house from 1935 to 1939 while their father was caretaker. While there were six siblings in the family there are five shown here from left to right: Gladys, Dorrie, Ruth, Laura, and Walter (known then as Buddy). Dorrie died shortly after the photo was taken. Photograph courtesy of Rebecca Chaney.

Tracy Family Remembrances
October 1996

[Laura Frances (Tracy) Luders made telephone contact with Katherine Cipolla, Tuesday Club member and chairman of the Loring Greenough House committee. They agreed that knowledge of the tenants who lived there during the years that the Tuesday Club has owned the house would be a valuable addition to its history. Laura, therefore, contacted her brother and sisters and asked them each to commit some of their remembrances of the house to paper. Their efforts follow.]

Introduction
Our immediate predecessors, as tenants, were Clifford Samuelson, his wife, Rosamond, and for a very short time, their adopted daughter Tamar. The Samuelsons lived in the house for two or three years according to our remembrance. During that time, Ruth lived with them as a household helper to Rosamond. When Clifford, assistant rector at St. John’s Episcopal Church, was transferred to a church in Longview, Washington, he asked that our newly-motherless family be allowed to tenant the house. We moved from 30 Kenton Road, in time for the start of the 1934 school year.

At the time these were the members of our family:

Walter Stanley Tracy, aged 44 years, our father.

Gladys Demmon Tracy, aged eighteen years. She traveled to the West Coast with the Samuelsons to help with the care of the infant Tamar, and was away for about nine months.

Ruth Nolden Tracy, aged seventeen years, who became mother to us all.

Dorothy Allen Tracy (Dorry), aged fifteen, and the third of the three “big kids.”

To Ruth and Dorry fell the immediate care of the family. The three “little kids” were:

Priscilla Tracy (Prissy) aged twelve.

Walter Stanley Tracy Jr. (Buddy) was nine.

Laura Frances Tracy was five.

Our sister Dorry died after we left the house, when she was twenty. Our father died of old age. As of this writing, the remaining five of us are all residents of the West Coast. In California, Gladys Olson and Laura Luders live in Santa Cruz; Ruth Christian lives in Gilroy; Walter lives in the San Diego area. Priscilla Moyer lives in Everett, Washington. Our ages now range between 67 and 80 years.

Remembrances of Laura Frances (Tracy) Luders
At age five, I could not understand why my brothers and sisters cried when our mother died. Assured she had gone to heaven and would have no more pain, this seemed reason enough for happy rejoicing to me. She had been ill so much of my life, I have little recollection beyond making jig-saw puzzles with her in the afternoons after kindergarten, and visiting her in the hospital.

My childhood seems most defined by the years from the ages of five to ten, when I lived in the Loring-Greenough house. Many of my values and most of my aesthetic appreciation come from those years. Of values that spring from that time, most important is loyalty to family. I marvel, now, at what I took for granted then: the care and responsibility that my older sisters took for us little ones, when they themselves were hardly more than children.

At that time the Loring-Greenough house was in good repair. The paint, both inside and out, was clean. The rooms were carefully and tastefully arranged, and remain so in my memory. The house was, of course, at least twice the size that it appears to be now. My brother and I lived in the gardens and they are what I remember best. Buddy was my soul mate and mentor. A dreamer, a failure in school because he did not conform to the regimen and was bored by the slow pace, he brought home to me the wonders that he learned there.

As the littlest, I was sent up the dark back stairs to my attic bedroom. I ran past the George Washington bedroom, frightened of ghosts that loomed there. I hid under the covers from the old elm tree that peered into my bedroom window. Men with guns lurked in those waving branches. When I finally fell asleep, Buddy arrived for bed and shook me awake. We gazed beyond leafless winter branches at stars that twinkled between branches, and he told me wonders of unimaginable distances that he had learned in school. Our whispering might be ended by a spanking with a hairbrush after Gladys had come back from Washington, and Ruth had moved to Fitchburg to be Christ Church secretary. On summer mornings, Buddy shook me awake at dawn to run barefoot on the dewy lawn under the elm. In daylight the tree was transformed from threat to lovely protector and friend.

Seasons were defined by changes under the copper beach tree that still stands. Though it was forbidden, that was our climbing tree. In spring we watched a succession of blooms. First came snowdrops poking their way through the last of the dirty snow, edging the far side of the driveway under the beech tree and continuing toward the old barn that stood where, today, is a young children’s playground. Snowdrops were followed by crocus, and in summer, mounds of lily-of-the-valley. In autumn we raked piles of leaves to jump in. No boardwalks were laid there, so in winter this area became out-of-bounds. White-painted rocks edged the house side of the drive. A summer occupation for Buddy was to roll one of these aside so that he and I could watch the ants underneath scurry to carry their eggs to a safer lower level.

Other than the attic, our indoor, and more lived-in home, was the kitchen, and because it was close to the kitchen, under the elm tree was our principal play yard. That was where Buddy and I had contests, tying each other with clothesline ropes to see who could escape more quickly. He always won. Only in one of his plans did I prevail. I don’t know which tree he chose, but he tied a rope from a branch, slipped a noose around his neck, stood on a box, and begged me to take the box away so he could see what it was like to be hung. For once I refused to follow his direction.

Around the corner, beyond the end of the carriage house and clothes lines, were pear trees. Others of my family remember the better fruit of apple trees. I remember the biting acid flavor of one- or two-inch pears, hard and unchewable, which because they might give us belly aches, were forbidden fruit. They always turned to rotting mush, because no one knew to pick them while still green to ripen off the tree. In late summer Buddy and I spent happy hours watching bees, drunk on fermented pear juice, reel through the air, finally dropping to the ground where they struggled to get airborne again. Continuing to circle the house, we came to the rose arbor, now gone, which straddled the garden path that still leads from the drawing room door to the side street corner. Here we watched Rita Souther spend many hours tending her beloved flowers. She trimmed spent roses, keeping the arbors in bloom all summer long. In spring the iris bloomed, followed by mounds of phlox and hollyhock. I made hollyhock dolls of the wilting blossoms. One summer Miss Souther set Buddy and me the task of gathering hollyhock seed. I loved pulling apart the tiny multi-toned seeds, stacked like miniature doll plates. At the end of the day our skin was full of invisible hollyhock prickles and we itched for hours.

The house was edged with lilacs and great bouquets were gathered for the Tuesday Club’s summer garden party. Between those and the street were a fire tree or burning bush and a smoke bush. The smoke bush is much bigger now and I’m not sure if our “fire” remains. There were Japanese lanterns, too, blooming in wonderful orange globes that decorated the house through all seasons in dried flower arrangements. At the fence Buddy and I had the job of “picking up papers” from candy and gum wrappers thrown over the fence by streetcar waiters.

These were the grounds that have stayed in memory for over half a century and that colored my perception of beauty for a lifetime. The Loring-Greenough house was my most important home for it gave underpinning to the rest of my life.

Gladys Olson, oldest of the six Tracy children, remembers the Loring-Greenough House
The Rev. Clifford L. Samuelson had come to Jamaica Plain, together with his wife, to assist the Rev. Thomas C. Campbell, rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church. They had lived at the Loring-Greenough House as caretakers and were now leaving for the west coast. Through their kindly influence, the Jamaica Plain Tuesday Club permitted the Tracy children and their father to move in. What a wonderful experience that was for the children, ages five to eighteen!

I am Gladys, the eldest, and here are a few little asides I remember. There were so many kindnesses shown by so many lovely members of the club. Marguerite Souther, chairman of the board of trustees, was a “maiden lady” and unique. She conducted a prestigious dancing school and sort of “finishing” school for selected young gentlemen and debutantes. At one time she was seen up on the roof to examine the cause of a leak! One day she announced to me that she would be coming for dinner!! What could I serve to such an illustrious guest when we were constantly suffering from a scarcity of food? We managed. She said if we ate that well every night, she wouldn’t worry! Miss Souther was instrumental in sending me to Katherine Shepard School of Nursing, then called Household Nursing Association. It proved to be a great blessing in
my life.

Dr. and Mrs. Howell were so loving — wonderful. Their daughters were Hope and Haffie (Martha). I broke out with hives one day and Dr. Howell came running over from Eliot Street over and over again with a “magic” shot. The hives would go away and then come back. After I phoned the third time, I decided I couldn’t bother him anymore so I sat in the window of our third-story living room all night to keep the hives “cool” and ended up with laryngitis instead. Dr. and Mrs. Ohler were a beautiful family too. I was honored to be asked to take their youngest, David, to Boston to see “Captains Courageous.” We had a free time.

I enjoyed taking a turn at the lending library and then being invited to the scrumptious luncheon for the librarians. Hope Howell, a Smith College music major,played piano for us: “Jesus, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”

Winifred and Ned Anderson bought their little adopted son, Tad, a dog. He was a bit apprehensive and said, “might bite.” So that became the dog’s name.

We lost a beautiful sister, Dorothy (number three of us Tracys), of chronic nephritis, a souvenir of scarlet fever. Several members of the Tuesday Club, including Mrs. Howell and Mrs. Ohler, came to Fitchburg for Dorothy’s funeral.

Memories of the Loring-Greenough House by Ruth Tracy Christian, second-oldest of the six Tracy children (Oct. 3, 1996)
Living in the beautiful Georgian mansion is still, six decades later, one of the most poignantly memorable experiences of my life. Having lived for the sixteen previous years of my life in such modest quarters as “three deckers”, on small, weed-covered lots, I was thrilled with the elegance of the place, the formal dignity of the architecture and the antique furnishings, the lovely garden, trees, and shrubs. It was like a dream fulfilled then and has remained into the present the setting of nostalgic sleeping dreams.

The scent of iris and peonies has always evoked the memory of the garden walk in spring and summer sunshine and in soft moonlight. The garden was magical after a snowstorm, too.

Impoverished children of the Depression that we were, we were tickled when the two youngest, after playing in the garden one day, reported that children passing by had pressed their faces against the iron fence and said, “Look at the rich kids!”

The kitchen was a favorite place. Our family, that is we six children, ranging from five years old to eighteen, spent many of our at-home hours there. The kitchen’s progression of cook-stoves was intriguing. The original fireplace and chimney had been succeeded by a back-breakingly low iron range. As I recall it, a more up-to-date coal range stood in front of these. Strangely, I don’t remember the appearance of the gas range that must have replaced the coal ranges. Since I spent many hours preparing meals for the family, often with disastrous results, it seems odd not to remember the gas stove vividly. But maybe those memories have been suppressed because of the humiliation I frequently suffered. The youngest children used to request in all sincerity, “Ruthie, please make the oatmeal lumpy” or “I hope you burn the chocolate cake; we like it best that way.” All too often, I complied, willy-nilly.

It was sad to hear of the death of the grand old elm tree that had provided a cool refuge on hot summer days. I hope the copper beach still stands. Another happily remembered tree was a little peach tree that produced delicious, juicy white peaches. One day a young man came by to see this tree. He had lived at the house for a while when he was a child. One day, after eating a peach from the grocery, he had planted the pit on a bank by the driveway. It had produced a little tree while he lived there, and he came by to see if it was still there. Although it no longer exists, at that time it was thriving and fruitful, much to his delight.

The memories keep tumbling out of long hiding places. I can relate only a few that I think may not be mentioned by my sisters. The formidable (to me) “spinster,” Rita Souther, was a colorful, not-to-be forgotten, personage. Her energetic gardening was a throw-back to her self-proclaimed former incarnation as a farmer. I was fascinated by the elderly, rather formal but graciously kindly “blue bloods” among the Tuesday Club members. Next door lived Mrs. White, who was quite scandalized that I planned to work “in the trades” – I think that’s how she expressed it. She said I must find work in the household of a cultured family. And when she learned Gladys was going into nursing, she was truly shocked. I felt as though I had stepped into one of the Victorian novels I was so fond of reading. The younger, mostly professional members of the Tuesday Club were mostly fun, friendly, and helpful.

One of my worst memories of life at the Loring-Greenough House is of the day three men came banging with the big, brass knocker to announce that they had come to pick up the fire extinguishers and re-charge them, to return them the following day. With no qualms, I watched them gather the several extinguishers and load them into their truck. The next day they were not returned. I had been the victim of a scam that was popular at that time. It was an expensive mistake and could have been disastrous, but not one member of the club rebuked me.

Thinking of fire reminds me of the custom in those days of placing lighted candles in all the windows of the first and second floors on Christmas Eve. The effect was truly lovely, both from the inside of the otherwise dark rooms, and from the outside. I remember patrolling the rooms, from dusk until midnight, I think, with a very deep feeling of responsibility. It was a moving experience.

Our own rooms were, of course, under the eaves. I loved it up there. To me it was as romantic in its own way as the rest of the house. The windows of the room where I slept looked out on lilac bushes. The fragrance on summer nights was heavenly. But the summer nights under the roof could be cruelly hot and humid. At such times, I moved the younger children’s beds downstairs into the airy meeting-room on the second floor. This room was not used by the Club in the summer, when the monthly meetings were not held, and the folding chairs were put away. As for my younger sister, Dorothy, and me – in the hot summer we slept in the four-poster in George Washington’s bedroom! Although we made up the bed very carefully and left none of our personal possessions around, I think we must have been discovered, but nobody said a word. Bless them all.

One last, much-appreciated memory. Once a month, the Tuesday Club held a tea. Everything was cleaned and polished, and the house bloomed with spectacular flower arrangements, lovingly created by talented members from their own gardens. Mrs. ——-spent hours preparing the most delicious treats. There were many little decorated petit-fours, but I remember best the great platters of a variety of open-faced sandwiches of several shapes, garnished with thin slices of pickles, olives, and pimientos. Mrs. ——- covered the platters with dish-towels wrung out in cold water, and the sandwiches stayed wonderfully moist and fresh. There were always many goodies remaining when the ladies departed, and they were all left for our enjoyment. What a treat! To this day, little fancy sandwiches, kept moist in the same way, have been my favorite party offerings.

Thank you, Loring-Greenough House and Tuesday Club members for sheltering a struggling family of motherless kids. We’ll never forget you!

October 5, 1996

Dear Laura,

I’ll dictate this letter to Jean, and she will type it. Writing is difficult for fingers that tire easily.

Do you remember the teas that the Tuesday Club had with the wonderful leftovers? – all kinds of delicious sandwiches and fancy little tea cakes and sometimes whole 5-gallon cans of ice cream. I remember Mrs. Ganter, the cateress. She used to slip me little treats when I walked through the kitchen up to our living quarters while the teas were being held. I used to find all kinds of excuses to go through that kitchen.

I remember the carnivals, where they had all kinds of games – exhibition wrestling, and pet-show contests. I remember the stray cat who had five kittens. We entered the cat family and got a blue ribbon. Those were the only cats in the show!

When we were back there – Jean, David, and I – I was a little sad to see the Civil War Memorial, a statue of a Union soldier, looking about ready to fall apart. I would think that the history-minded people in the area would do something to restore it. Maybe they have by now.

I remember parades on the Fourth of July with GAR members – the Civil War vets of the Union army.

Do you remember the job of picking up papers along the fence? Sometimes I talked you into helping me. I remember one time some kids looked through the fence and said, “Look at those rich kids.” We were quite amused!

I was surprised how small the Loring-Greenough House looked compared to other old mansions. The grounds were huge to me as a young boy when I had to help with the mowing and weeding.

I remember when the chimes in the tower of the old Unitarian Church, across the street, used to ring up to as many as a hundred times or more on the hour, especially after a storm with high winds. I thought this was great! I lay abed at night counting. It was great fun. Some old spoilsports in the neighborhood complained, and the chimes were disconnected. I also remember the beautiful Christmas music programs at that church.

You spoke of the barn being gone. Do you remember the stories of an escape tunnel that supposedly ran from the house to the barn, where people could hide from Indian raids? I knew at the time it was nonsense, but I wanted to believe it. You and I even went into the barn and tried to find evidence of an old entry way.

Do you remember Rita Souther? On the surface, she was an old battle-ax, but underneath she was very kind and loving, and she treated the Tracys very kindly. Several times, we were invited to her home to pick currants to take home and make into delicious jelly. I remember how beautiful the currants were on the bushes – like bright red jewels. Miss Souther had a delightful little Irish maid with a thick brogue and a lovely, jolly personality. All these things made our visits a real treat.

When we were back last, we went to the Greenough House and were disappointed to find no one there. We were peering in windows, when a voice said, “May I help you folks?” I turned and looked, and there was a pleasant-looking friendly man. We explained who we were, and he said, “Oh yes, I remember the Tracys. I’m Hollis Blue.” He told us he was presently the president of the Tennis Club.

Do you remember the small room off of the kitchen that we used as a sitting room and, sometimes, a dining room on special occasions? Outside was a small porch with a sign-up sheet for tennis court use. Sometimes, tennis players would look at the sheet and be disappointed. Not knowing we were just inside, they would use some very colorful language to express their frustration.

I’m sure you and the other sisters will remember more interesting experiences at the Greenough House. This is all I can think of at this time. I hope you and Mark have a marvelous trip and visit. I’m sure you will.
Love,
Walt

P.S. Do you remember the candles in the windows at Christmas Eve? I loved my job going through the house for a safety check every few minutes.

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Emerson Hospital, a 42-bed institution, once stood at 118 Forest Hills St. The hospital was founded and operated by noted Homeopathic physician Nathaniel W. Emerson. The hospital was established before 1907 and appears on maps as late as 1924. A higher resolution copy of this image can be downloaded here. Thanks to the Boston Public Library and Mark Bulger for the 1924 Bromley map.

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A view of Westerly Street. Courtesy of Anthony Sammarco.

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Woodlawn Street, circa 1900.

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11 Belmore Terrace at the corner of Oakview Terrace. circa 1900. Photograph courtesy of Jon Truslow. Download a higher resolution verison of this photograph here.

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Bob’s Spa, 128 South Street. circa 1912. Download high resolution tif file.

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Bob Ristuccia (left) stands in front of Bob’s Spa, 128 South Street, circa 1912. Download high resolution .tif file.

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Bob’s Spa, 128 South Street. Undated. Download high resolution .tif file.

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Bob’s Spa, 128 South Street, 1947. Download higher resolution image.

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Bob’s Spa, 128 South Street, 1987. Download high resolution .tif file.

View of boat house at Jamaica Pond sometime before 1911. Image from photo postcard. No high resolution version available.

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Home at the corner of Enfield and Hazel Streets (Hazel was later renamed to Robinwood Ave.) Photograph provided courtesy of Katie Knostman whose great-great grandparents (Epaminondas Wilson and Sarah Crowell Wilson) owned and lived in the home from at least 1880-1915. Dated possibly 1880s to 1890s. A higher resolution version of this photograph may be downloaded here.

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Photograph courtesy of Sarah Ratta, who writes, “This photo was taken circa 1954-1955 when my father Frank Ratta (the dark haired gentleman) returned from military service in Korea and Germany. He is standing on the corner of Hall and South Streets with a fellow serviceman and childhood friend, who grew up on Jamaica Street. I grew up at #24 Hall St, which is the fifth building down on the left.”

Peter O’Brien writes, “Thanks for sharing the photo of your dad and (Red Foley?) at Hall and South Streets. About the time this was taken my mother lived at #54 Hall - and I was in the Army in Japan. We had lived at #76 McBride Street before that. I knew your dad for many years, even set up pins for him (an outstanding bowler and generous tipper) in the bowling alley at Boynton and South Streets. We met years later at Boston Blueprint and even later when he worked with my brother Dave at the State Highway Department in Park Square. We often met by chance on Boston’s downtown streets. When this was taken, the First National Market on the corner was, I believe, managed by Steve Slyne. Frank and I were in rival, but friendly, gangs (‘crowds’ would be a better word) and thus share many mutual friends.”

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One of five mile markers that remain in the early Roxbury town limits (including West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain until 1851), untouched for the most part by politics, urban redevelopment, and other forms of change and still performing their original function. These milestones show the distance to the Boston Town House (now the Old State House). Pictured here is the five mile marker installed in 1735 and located by the monument at Centre and South Streets in Jamaica Plain. While this marker currently stands closer to the monument, it is shown here as previously located on the opposite side of street from the monument.

These milestones have a common name associated with them. Dudley, a family that lived in the town of Roxbury in colonial times and which served prominently in the colony’s politics and acted generously toward the town’s Latin school and the local college, Harvard.

Paul Dudley (1673-1750) was born in Roxbury and educated at Roxbury Latin (Class of 1686) and later at Harvard (Class of 1690). He studied law in London, and he returned home to become a successful attorney general of his colony. Dudley was appointed Justice of the Supreme Court and elected Chief Justice in 1745.

He left a permanent legacy by erecting milestones. From 1729 onwards Dudley erected several granite milestones showing the distance to the Boston Town House (now the Old State House) with the judge’s initials usually added. All distances assume a route along Washington Street to Eliot Square in the heart of Roxbury, where, as a crowning touch in 1744, Dudley had a Parting Stone carved. The stone still remains and can be seen at the junction of Centre and Roxbury Streets. A high resolution version of this image can be downloaded here.

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First Congregational Society (Unitarian church), corner of Centre Street and Eliot Street. ca. 1930. Photograph by Leon H. Abdalian, courtesty Boston Public Library.

Soldier’s monument and First Congregational Church Society, Eliot Street and South Street. May, 1920. Photograph by Leon H. Abdalian, courtesty Boston Public Library.

A view of Doyle’s Cafe looking down Meehan St. towards William’s St. and Washington St. Photograph copyright Ellen X. Silverberg. Used by permission. No use without written permission.

A view down Williams Street from Call St. looking towards Washington St. The old elevated Orange Line T can be seen overhead. The green building is Doyle’s Cafe. Photograph copyright Ellen X. Silverberg. Used by permission. No use without written permission.

Looking down Lamartine St. towards Green. Photograph courtesy of Brian Frost.

Looking across the Johnson playground towards Lamartine. Photograph courtesy of Brian Frost.

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View of the Johnson playground looking towards Washington St. Photograph courtesy of Brian Frost.

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Looking across Lamartine and down Green St. towards Washington. Photograph courtesy of Brian Frost.

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1966 view of Buff and Buff parking lot off Lamartine. Photograph courtesy of Brian Frost.

A view across the Johnson playground down Green St. towards Washington St. Photograph courtesy of Brian Frost.

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A vew down Lamartine Street towards Green St. Photograph courtesy of Brian Frost.

View down Lamartine St. towards Green St. Note Fredericks Cleaners, Bates Sign Company, and John Nappy Nolan’s Store. Mid-1960s. Photoraph courtesy of Brian Frost.

Williams Corner Market at Washington and Williams Sreet across from Doyle’s. Note the sign advertizing cigarettes for 55 cents. circa 1975. Photograph courtesy of Gary Graham.

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A group of men enjoy a game of curling on Jamaica Pond circa 1900. Curling is thought to have been invented in late medieval Scotland and uses a rounded, flat-bottomed granite stone that is slid across the ice towards a target area. The broom is used to sweep the ice surface in the path of the stone to make the stone travel farther or alter course. Curling was a very popular sport on Jamaica Pond during the winter months. Photograph furnished courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

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A view of Boylston Station on Boylston St. between Lamartine and Amory Streets. The building to the left housed one of the early branches of the Boston Public Library along with shops and railroad offices.

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Two women walk down Centre St. near the intersection with Boylston St. circa 1910. Image taken from a picture postcard in the archives of the Jamaica Plain Historical Society. This image is a portion of a larger image, see next photograph in this gallery.

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Two women walk down Centre St. near the intersection with Boylston St. circa 1910. Image taken from a picture postcard in the archives of the Jamaica Plain Historical Society. A high resolution version of this photograph can be downloaded here.

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Joseph A. Patterson (middle) poses circa 1912 with two employees of Patterson’s Market in the rear of 128 South St. Photograph provided courtesy of John Patterson. Thanks also to Peter O’Brien for arranging the donation of this image. A higher resolution version of this image is available for download.

High level sewer, Centre St., Jamaica Plain. Workers are engaged in the construction of a circular tunnel using compressed air tools and a metal shield. From Metropolitan Water and Sewage Board First Annual Report. January 1, 1902. This is a close-up view of the original photograph, a full frame view may be seen here.

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High level sewer construction in sand at Forest Hills, Jamaica Plain. Note bin suspended from overhead crane with trolley used to remove excavated dirt from tunnel. Due to the sandy nature of the soil in this area, wooden beams resting on a foundation provide support for the roadway above. From Metropolitan Water and Sewage Board First Annual Report. January 1, 1902. This is a close-up view of the original photograph, a full frame view may be seen here.