The City Record and Boston News-Letter

An Almanac for Bostonians 1939, 26 April

2008-04-26T11:19:16-04:00

The Federal Writer's Project created a Boston almanac for 1939. A mixture of history, gossip, and current events, it was, apparently, only done for one year. Today's post:

William and Mary proclaimed in Boston in 1689.*****It was noted with disgust at this time in 1852 that a new invention of the devil called "High, Low, Jack" was popular among the gaming gentry.****That there is nothing of any real value which cannot be found in Boston was once more demonstrated on this day in 1855 when workmen on Hanover Street found a large vein of real gold.****In 1933 the Sacred Cod as stolen from the State House. Oh horrible, horrible

Dot Ave Isn't For the Cows

2008-03-26T21:22:46-04:00

Today's Boston Globe, in an article about the rejuvenation of Dorchester Avenue, refers to Dot Ave as having "a centuries-old history as cowpath and trolleyway long before pedestrians had to tangle with buses and cars to cross the street". I hate to quibble, but the practice of labeling almost any historic street in the Boston area as a "cowpath" is misleading at best, and dead wrong at worst. Dorchester Avenue was built as a turnpike for wagon traffic--it is straight because that's the least expensive way to build a road, and investors in such projects prefer to keep costs down. The irony of course, is that people so often claim the crooked streets downtown were laid out on cowpaths. One of Dorchester's cow path was Adams Street, which led from the salt marshes along the Neponset where cows would graze. I know someone who remembers being told as a young boy how cattle would be driven over Meeting House Hill to the cattle markets in Brighton. In addition, if Dorchester Avenue were like many turnpikes, one would actually have to pay per head of cattle to drive them along the road. The last thing the turnpike proprietors wanted were traffic jams caused by herds of livestock. Adams Street is old enough to have previously been named the "Lower Road" in Dorchester, as opposed to the "Upper Road", which is present day Washington Street.

From 1910:

Dorchester Avenue, Boston, South Boston, and Dorchester, 1854; from 303 Congress Street to junction of Adams Street and 1172 Washington Street at Lower Mills; formerly from Federal Street Bridge to junction Adams Street and Washington Street at Lower Mills; shown as an unnamed avenue on plan dated 1811; formerly called Dorchester Turnpike and sometimes, though improperly, South Boston Turnpike, and the apart from dividing line between Boston and Dorchester to Federal Street Bridge called Turnpike Street; Turnpike Street from Federal State Bridge to dividing line between Boston and Dorchester named Dorchester Avenue, March 27, 1854; part in Dorchester laid out and located April, 1854; lines changed in neighborhoods of Crescent Avenue and Pond (now East Cottage) Street, September 8, 1865; name of part formerly Turnpike Street and Dorchester Avenue to dividing line between Boston and Dorchester changed to Federal Street in continuation of that street, February 13, 1866; same renamed Dorchester Avenue, March 1 1870; relocated from Commercial (now Freeport) Street to Adams Street, August 18, 1881; relocated from Field's Corner to the Lower Mills, May 12, 1884; extended over Federal Street Bridge and over a small portion of the former location of Federal Street (now in the grounds of the Boston Terminal Company along Fort Point Channel and over portions of the same to Summer Street, April 8, 1897, under chapter 516 of the Acts of 1896; portion between Summer Street and Congress Street laid out by decree of the Superior Court, filed March 19, 1897, under authority of Acts of 1896, chapter 535; named Dorchester Avenue, March 1, 1901; grade changed so that the way may be carried under the Shawmut Branch Railroad, Oct 12, 1907, be decree of the Superior Court, acting under authority of chapter 111 of the Revised Statutes and chapter 440, Acts of Legislature of 1902.

Allan Rohan Crite Memorial

2007-11-10T18:41:22-05:00

Noted Boston artist Allan Rohan Crite passed away in September at the age of 97. Crite, whose work focused primarily on the African-American experience in Boston over several decades, will be honored on Saturday, November 17 with joint memorial exhibitions and installations celebrating his life and art from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Boston Athenæum at 10 1/2 Beacon Street in Boston, the Boston Public Library Copley Branch Wiggin Gallery (McKim Building, third floor), and the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists at 300 Walnut Avenue in Roxbury. The celebrations have been coordinated by the Allan Rohan Crite Research Institute and Library. There will be a shuttle bus running between the sites. The event is complimentary and open to all, and no reservations are required. The Boston Athenaeum will also be showing some of their collection of Crite's work through January. If you haven't seen his paintings, I highly recommend a visit.

From Boston Collections at the Boston Athenaeum

2007-10-23T23:13:19-04:00

The final exhibition of the Boston Athenaeum's 200 year anniversary is up now and open to the public. From Boston Collections brings together artwork from private area collections selected by David Dearinger, the Susan Morse Hilles Curator of Paintings and Sculpture at the Boston Athenaeum. Visitors are greeted by an Allan Rohan Crite painting Harriet and Leon (1941) (not part of the exhibition, but no doubt a tribute to the late Boston artist whose work is an important part of the Athenaeum's own collection) which shows two well dressed Bostonians strolling through the South End and who appear to be heading into the Calderwood Gallery to view the exhibition.

Since the overarching theme is simply 19th and 20th century American art from Boston area collectors, Curator David Dearinger had wide latitude in choosing and hanging the show. Dearinger has sought out interesting juxtapositions often relying on tonality rather than subject matter or chronology. Other contrasts are literal: one can imagine Edward Henry Potthast's seaside scene Beach at Ogunquit (1900-1927) being painted simultaneously with Maurice Prendergast's Charles Street, Boston (ca. 1895) the high summer sun illuminating both. As a historical footnote, be sure to see the traffic coming the opposite direction past the Common and Public Garden.

While there is no particular "Boston school" of collecting, it is hard not to think that some of the works have been in families for decades and were bought because of geographical associations: William Haseltine's A View from Mt. Desert (1861) brings us to Maine as does Beach at Ogunquit, while Martin Johnson Heade's Sunny Day on the Marsh (Newburyport Meadows) (c. 1871-1875), along with works by Boston artists like Polly Thayer represent the Bay State. Since these paintings are from private collections, it helped to think of them in domestic contexts rather than as museum pieces--most are quite small--and the intimacy of the Norma Jean Calderwood gallery helps set a proper mood for viewing.

I enjoyed seeing Wayne Thiebaud's Pies (Pie Table) (1962) up close, which gives the viewer a new appreciation of Thiebaud's technique, with the thick single strokes of white paint simulating whipped cream, meringue, and frosting giving it an almost sculptural quality. Learning that Maurice Prendergast worked as a commercial artist before moving to France in the early 1890s helps explain his Lady with a Red Sash (c. 1900) where a dancing woman wearing a white dress set against what appear to be Back Bay row houses is accented with a red sash that could have come straight from Tolouse-Lautrec's Ambassadeurs poster. One unexpected treat was the inclusion of Claes Oldenburg's R. Caruso, Umbrella (1977) a watercolor study for a sculpture which sits outside of the Civic Center in my hometown and mimics the Traveler's Insurance umbrella, a neon fixture in Des Moines' skyline.

All in all, the exhibition should provide something to delight, entertain, or provoke any visitor. As an added bonus, the art on the first floor of the Athenaeum has been rehung as well and a self-guided tour is available by request). Works on display include Polly Thayer’s self-portrait (in the Long Room) and portrait of the man who became her husband, Donald Starr and four other works by Allan Rohan Crite (in the hall opposite the lavatories) so think of it as getting two exhibitions for the price of none. The exhibition runs through 10 December 2007 and is free and open to the public.

Gallery Hours:
Monday: 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday - Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

The Boston Athenaeum is located at 10 1/2 Beacon Street, steps from the State House and Park Street Station.

Civil War Panel Discussion at the Boston Public Library

2007-10-01T18:44:54-04:00

An event notice which was sent to me and I happy to pass along to my readers:

Civil War Panel Discussion -- Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m. in Rabb Hall (ext. 2212) A panel discussion titled The Civil War Remembered: Union, Confederate, and African American Perspectives with Professors David Blight, Fitz Brundage and Nina Silber. Closing remarks will be made by historian John McCardell. Boston Athenaeum, in conjunction with the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar, The Boston Public Library and the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Massachusetts Archaeology Month Event at the Blake House

2007-10-01T07:44:44-04:00

October is Archaeology Month throughout the Commonwealth, with numerous events geared to explorers of all ages. You can visit the official website, but here is one event coming up this weekend that you won't want to miss:

Family Archaeology Day Day at the James Blake House

Date and time: Saturday 6 October, 10 AM to 4 PM (the rain date is Sunday, 7 October)

Location: The James Blake House, 735 Columbia Road, Dorchester

Information: Ellen Berkland, 617-474-9307

Sponsor: Dorchester Historical Society

Admission: Free

Become an archaeologist for the day at the oldest house in Boston, the James Blake House, built ca. 1650. Excavate, screen, document, wash, and study artifacts recovered from the Blake House yard. Drop by for an hour or stay the whole day! All ages are welcome. Wear appropriate clothing and bring work gloves. Guided tours of the Blake House will be given on the hour starting at noon.

Stony Brook History Website

2007-09-19T07:59:40-04:00

I've written previously about the Stony Brook, which runs through Jamaica Plain, but now there is a website devoted to its history. Stony Brook: Gone But Not Forgotten is a fascinating look at one waterway throughout Boston's history. As I wrote in a earlier post, "when we envision what Boston looked like one hundred or two hundred years ago, we generally neglect to add in the topographical features that have been obscured by development. Numerous waterways, some large, some small, drained into Boston Harbor, or the Neponset and Charles Rivers. For the most part, these waterways have been filled in, paved over, or diverted into sewers. Being diverted into a sewer was the fate of the Stony Brook." Stony Brook: Gone But Not Forgotten helps uncover that history and is well worth visting.

Historic House Museum Conference at the Boston Athenaeum

2007-09-09T21:11:58-04:00

Some of my readers might be interested in the upcoming conference at the Boston Athenaeum:

New Audiences for Old Houses: Building a Future with the Past"

The symposium addresses audience cultivation and development in historic house museums. Guest speakers look to both the past and present in their assessment of the changing audiences of historic houses. Topics of discussion include the history of house museum interpretation and audience experience, the institutional developments that affect and are affected by changing audiences and societal demands, and the current and prospective audiences of historic house museums in contemporary society.

Date: September 28, 2007 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Location: The Boston Athenaeum 10 ½ Beacon Street, Boston, MA

Sponsors: The Nichols House Museum
                  The Boston University Art History Department and Preservation Studies Program
                  The Boston Athenaeum

Speakers & Lecture Titles:

Cary Carson Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, (ret.)
"The End of History Museums: What's Plan B?"

Reena Suleman Curator of Collections and Research, Leighton House Museum, London, England
"Leighton House Museum and the New Connoisseurship"

John Walton Professor, Humanities Department, University of Central Lancashire, England
"Recovering the Popular Past: The Beamish Open-Air Museum in its British Context"

Giles Waterfield Director, Royal Collection Studies, Attingham Trust, England
"The Country House in Britain - Yesterday and Tomorrow"

Patricia West Curator, National Park Service, USA
"A Thing of the Past: The Beginning of History Museums"

Registration Fee $100

REGISTRATION FORM - Registration instructions included on form.

This event is sponsored in part by grants from The Humanities Foundation at Boston University and The National Trust for Historic Preservation.

For more information, please contact The Nichols House Museum 617.227.6993, nhm@earthlink.net

Political Places of Boston on the Road

2007-08-26T12:41:36-04:00

Clint Richmond, author of Political Places of Boston, sent me notice of the following events:

1) Sep. 15 (Sat.), 10:30 am, Walk Boston tour of the South End starting at the Mass Ave. T station. "Political Places of Boston: South End Tour - from Boston Arena to City Hospital". $10 for non-members. For more information visit www.walkboston.org or call 617-367-9255 to register.

2) Sep. 18 (Tue.), 6 pm. "Political Places of Boston: Municipal sites -famous and overlooked". Sponsored by the Friends of the City Archives, at Doyle's, 3484 Washington Street, Jamaica Plain. Free. For information, visit the Friends at www.orgsites.com/ma/boston-friends

These should be fun and informative events and I hope City Record readers will find time to attend.

Charter Day 2007

2007-08-23T11:31:51-04:00

Boston Founding Memorial, Boston Common, 23 August 2007.

September 7th marks another Charter Day in Boston and the Partnership of Historic Bostons has announced the 2007 Charter Day celebration schedule which begins on September 6th with the opening of the exhibition "Boston, Lincolnshire Comes to Masschusetts Bay, 1630-1710" and a panel discussion to follow at the Rabb Lecture Hall. I am particularly looking forward to hear John Winthrop scholar Francis Bremer speak on the subject "The Community Vision of Boston's Founders: An Unburied Treasure" at First Church in Boston on Sunday, September 9th from 11 AM to Noon. For those of you who can't attend, the service is also broadcast on WERS, 88.9 FM. I hope to see some of my readers at the events!