Fifty years ago, in February 1976, a suspicious fire consumed a massive old factory building at the corner of Centre and Bickford Streets in JP. Displacing roughly a hundred artists-in-residence, the old factory had once been home to the Thomas G. Plant Shoe Company, employing up to five thousand workers at its peak. This presentation explores the origins of the Plant shoe factory in 1896 and its mercurial French Canadian owner, Thomas Plant, known for his pioneering business and corporate welfare practices. It also discusses the thousands of immigrant workers who labored there and sometimes challenged Plant’s anti-union policies.

The following is an oral history about Alice, who will turn 101 years old in June 2026, and her family, including their experiences living in France during WWII and their memories of living in Jamaica Plain since 1957. Jenny Nathans interviewed Alice (Barro) Lieber and her daughters, Carole and Patty Lieber, on January 3rd and 13th, 2026, at Alice and Patty’s homes on Pond Street.

In December 2025, the property at 55 South Street, Jamaica Plain -- the home of Fiore’s Bakery -- was placed on the market. Anticipating that the multi-use building will take its next steps in the future, let's look into its past, particularly the history of the businesses that have operated in its storefront and the people who lived and worked there after it was first constructed. What follows is the history of 55 South Street in its early years.