"Dirty Old Boston"

[bobthebuilder]

Following the previous post by stick n move .... what intrigues me is the various modes of transportation, the rail fright in the upper right, the commuter rail heading into the garage, the trolleys which go everywhere and even the horse-and-buggy taxi service with a strategically placed water trough and not to forget the archway of the massive garage which is very impressive. It's a fascinating picture highlighting architecture and transportation during the late 1800s.


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Never knew this existed so I had to do some searching. Found some additonal photos I thought worth sharing, plus this document on the history of the station & railroads in the area.

Source: http://www.worcesterthen.com/Shorts/Arches/Arches.htm

Source: https://www.historicnewengland.org/explore/collections-access/gusn/197221/

 

[kz1000ps]

Slightly outside the usual DOB content, but I found this on a Tumblr

Fanieul Hall central information kiosk, 1989

Some hardcore "festival marketplace" vibes here.

 

[BeyondRevenue]

Slightly outside the usual DOB content, but I found this on a Tumblr

Fanieul Hall central information kiosk, 1989

Some hardcore "festival marketplace" vibes here.

Don’t let ska fans design your visitor kiosk

 

[Smuttynose]

Slightly outside the usual DOB content, but I found this on a Tumblr

Fanieul Hall central information kiosk, 1989

Some hardcore "festival marketplace" vibes here.

I grew up in Southern NH in the 80s and 90s and my parents took us to Boston pretty regularly for daytrips. The one constant of these trips was Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market. We would wind up at Faneuil Hall to eat, or shop, or just walk around. We might go to a museum, or the North End, or Cambridge, but we'd always spend some time at Faneuil Hall. When we'd visit other cities, my sisters and I would often ask, "Where is their Faneuil Hall?" It took us a while to catch on that not every city had a similar place.

Now that I live in the city, it's amazing how rarely I go to Faneuil Hall.

 

[DZH22]

https://www.reddit.com/r/OldPhotosInRealLife/comments/13m9iys

 

[Charlie_mta]

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https://www.reddit.com/r/OldPhotosInRealLife/comments/13m9iys

I've given up swearing, but if I still did, there would be some choice expletives over this loss.

 

[BeyondRevenue]

View attachment 38274
https://www.reddit.com/r/OldPhotosInRealLife/comments/13m9iys

 

[stick n move]

Boston. Post Office Square. Mutual Life Insurance Company Building (1874-1946)

Lost Buildings of the United States

Hello, I noticed that too many beautiful buildings were demolished in America. So I thought that we could collect some of these buildings. At first, the "Singer Building" (1908) in New York City: "Pennsylvania Station" (1910) in New York City:

www.skyscrapercity.com

 

[chrisbrat]

Boston. Post Office Square. Mutual Life Insurance Company Building (1874-1946)
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Lost Buildings of the United States

Hello, I noticed that too many beautiful buildings were demolished in America. So I thought that we could collect some of these buildings. At first, the "Singer Building" (1908) in New York City: "Pennsylvania Station" (1910) in New York City:

www.skyscrapercity.com

Damn, what a loss! Wish that had been spared.

 

[BeyondRevenue]

Damn, what a loss! Wish that had been spared.

Nope. No time. Rip it down. I need to park my giant Buick somewhere.
Cars! Cars! Cars! Cars!

“
Some of Boston’s most notable examples of Victorian architecture lined the triangular junction of Congress, Pearl and Milk Streets and surrounded the open areas of Post Office Square. The Mutual Life Insurance Company building combined with Arthur Gilman’s Equitable Building at Federal and Milk Streets, created an elegance of location unusual for the Boston of that period.

America’s mutual life insurance industry had its first home in Post Office Square. In 1835, the Governor of Massachusetts granted Judge Willard Phillips a charter founding the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company. In 1874, the majestic Mutual Life Insurance Company building, designed by Nathaniel Bradlee, opened on the site of the Norman B. Leventhal Park and Garage at Post Office Square, with its main entrance on Post Office Square. The building was demolished in 1945, making way for the first Post Office Square parking garage, which was completed in 1954.”

History of Post Office Square | Norman B. Leventhal Park

History of Boston’s Post Office Square Post Office Square, located in the heart of Boston’s Financial District, has had many faces throughout the years. Bordered by Milk, Congress, Franklin and Pearl Streets, Post Office Square has evolved from a maritime district amid swamp and marshlands to a...

www.normanbleventhalpark.org

 

[Java King]

The park is an amazing amenity now for the city, but this building loss is truly tragic!

 

[BeyondRevenue]

Parks not parking lots.
In many places, parking lots are still classified as a public good and taxed at a fraction of what they should be. Horrible land use continues apace.

 

[Smuttynose]

The park is an amazing amenity now for the city, but this building loss is truly tragic!

The loss of the Old Post Office, demolished in 1929, is also a bummer as well. According to the Wikipedia article, space needs and the fact that the building had "become an object of derision in the face of a modernist backlash against Second Empire architecture" led to the demolition. That latter part sounds like a stupid reason to demolish a building as ornate as this one. It would have made for a cool conversion to City Hall or some other municipal need.

United States Post Office and Sub-Treasury Building (Boston) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[DZH22]

North Station Boston Garden Elevated by clamshack, on Flickr

 

[Charlie_mta]

North Station Boston Garden Elevated by clamshack, on Flickr

Great shot of the Analex Building, which are not easy to find. It was demolished in the 1990s for the new Central Artery.

 

[Charlie_mta]

The Waldorf cafeteria in Harvard Square, back in the day:

 

[DZH22]

Pru Under Construction

https://www.bostonglobe.com/resizer/W6gGKzvM2QkwmLDujs2Mpn5M59k=/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-bostonglobe/public/ZLOIM2X3DZFAVF252QFLZ2OGXI.jpg