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    Boston
    Boston
    Boston
    Ebook207 pages48 minutes

    Boston

    By William J. Pepe and Elaine A. Pepe

    ()

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    About this ebook

    From 1901 to 1960, the picture postcard recorded almost every aspect of life in the city of Boston. Through the vintage postcards in Boston, readers will tour the city s Emerald Necklace and green spaces, visit Boston s old waterfront, understand Boston s part in America s Revolutionary War, and see the diversity of the city s many museums, churches, libraries, colleges, and internationally famous hospitals. Postcard images depict the many events that have shaped the historic city of Boston.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateJun 29, 2009
    ISBN9781439622209
    Boston
    Author

    William J. Pepe

    William J. and Elaine A. Pepe have collected postcards for more than 40 years, and the majority of the images in Boston have come from their personal collection. They are currently active as officers of the South Shore Historical Society. Together they have authored two other postcard history volumes: Weymouth and Quincy.

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      Book preview

      Boston - William J. Pepe

      1901.

      One

      BOSTON COMMON AND THE PUBLIC GARDEN

      Boston Common is a fitting place to start an exploration of historic and beautiful Boston. The common was established around 1634 when the land was purchased from William Blackstone. The common is the start of Boston’s Emerald Necklace and the final stop on Boston’s Freedom Trail. The common contains one of Boston’s oldest graveyards, Central Burying Ground. The British soldiers who died at Bunker Hill are buried there.

      The Robert Gould Shaw Memorial, unveiled in 1897, memorializes Col. Robert Gould Shaw and the men of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, the first regiment of free slaves. The regiment had marched down Beacon Street on its way to combat in the South. During the Civil War, Shaw and many of his men died assaulting Fort Wagner in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The memorial is part of the Black Heritage Trail.

      Another view of the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial appears on this postcard. The memorial was sculpted by Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907). Saint-Gaudens’s Cornish, New Hampshire, home is preserved as a memorial by the National Park Service. The white space at the bottom of the postcard is for the message. As with most other pre-1907 postcards, the postage side carries the message This side for address only.

      After the Civil War, many statues and memorials honoring those who gave their lives were erected on town commons. In 1877, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dedicated a memorial on Flagstaff Hill in Boston Common. It was created by Martin Milmore (1844–1883), an Ireland native who was raised in Boston. At its peak, the soldier and sailor monument has a representation of liberty. At the base of the column are four allegoric figures representing north, south, east, and west. Standing on the pedestals at the base of the memorial are four bronze figures representing peace, a Civil War sailor, history, and a federal soldier of the Civil War period. Four bas-reliefs depict Fort Sumter where the Civil War started, men leaving for the war, men returning from the war, and Boston’s sanitation commission, which worked throughout the Civil War to reduce deaths due to illnesses. Flagstaff Hill was the site of the British troop encampment during the occupation of Boston, 1768–1776.

      In October 1848, water from Cochituate Reservoir, 15 miles outside Boston, first arrived in Boston. During the celebration of that event, the water was allowed to flow to Frog Pond. The pond had been a natural pond noted for its frogs, a delicacy to the French immigrants of the time, hence the pond’s name. Sixty-five years later, children interpose themselves in the photographer’s scene. This card is postmarked 1913.

      A flotilla of toy boats sails gracefully across Frog Pond in this c. 1910 postcard. In its earlier history, when the pond was a natural pond, frogs and fish populated it, and the public was allowed to catch them. As knowledge of health practices increased, reasonably strict restrictions were applied to public use of the Frog Pond. In recent years, ice-skating has been encouraged at Frog Pond.

      This colorful postcard shows Frog Pond’s water spray helping to cool young, energetic swimmers. In an effort to reduce the cost of making postcards, manufacturers resorted to the use of a lower-quality paper, which had a linen appearance. These postcards became known as linens and were made from the 1930s to the 1950s. This particular card is postmarked 1954.

      Another colorful linen postcard shows a predominantly adult population enjoying the cooling effects of sitting next to the Frog Pond. The water spray is putting on an entertaining exhibit. In addition to using a lower-quality paper, manufacturers of postcards also included white borders on their cards to save printing ink. After World War II, postcards—as an instant communication medium—succumbed to the competition of telephones.

      Brewer Fountain was first installed on Boston Common in 1868. The figures on the fountain represent figures from mythology that relate to water. It was the gift of Gardner Brewer, is named in his honor, and is a bronze replica of a French fountain. It was the first piece of public art installed on Boston Common. The current Massachusetts State House is in the background.

      This c. 1910 full-photo postcard shows one of the walkways through Boston Common. Even today, a century later, the common is a popular place for visitors, residents, and workers to unwind from the hectic pace of city life. In many instances, the same trees illustrated on this postcard, their trunks a bit more thick, are still shading the walkways of Boston Common.

      Crispus Attucks was the first man felled by British soldiers on that March evening of 1770 when British troops fired upon the colonist demonstration. Attucks is buried in the Granary (see page 16), but this monument to him and the other four men that died that tragic evening is located in Boston Common. The event was embellished by John Adams and Paul Revere and

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