^2-^
From a print
In the-
Street Trust Company
WASHINGTON' STREET AT THE HEAD OF STATE STREET ABOUT 1835
Showing the end of the Old State House when it was used as a post-office.
The building on the right is the site of the proposed new main office
of the State Street Trust Company.
BOSTON
ONE HUNDRED YEARS
A CITY y
^ colleEiion of vie-ws made from
Rare Prints and Old Photographs
showing the changes which have
occurred in Boston during
the One Hundred Years
of its existence as
^ City
^1822 - 1922 ^
T'reseiited by the
State Street Trust Company
In commemoration of the
One Hundredth Anniversary of the
Incorporation as a City of 'Boston
Massachusetts
(UrX-^
2.
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Copyright, 1922,
BY the
\1PANY ^
State
Street Trust Co
^Edited, arranged and pritiud by^direclion of
y Walton Advertising y Printing Co. "^
Boston, Mass.
APR -3 m2
0)CI.A6o9446 ^
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
Washington Street at the head of State Street about 1835 ii
The United States Agricultural Society Exhibition in 1855 . vii
Exterior of Faneuil Hall about 1826 ix
Charles River embankment before construction of Esplanade xi
The silver casket which contains the original charter of the
City of Boston xii
Plan of Boston 1822 2
Plan of Boston 1922 3
High Street in 1822 4
The old City Hall of Boston 5
Old Norfolk House in Eliot Square, Roxbury, about 1828 . 6
The residence of Samuel Whitwell on Winthrop Place ... 7
View of Boston and the South Boston Bridge 8
The Bradlee-Doggett House 9
Temple Place, looking toward the Common lo
Braman's Baths on Chestnut Street 11
The old Bromfield House in 1858 12
A bird's-eye view of Boston and its surroundings in 1850 . 13
View of the Back Bay, Charles Street and the Common in
1823 14
The old Sheafe House 14
Scollay Square, looking toward Pemberton Square .... 15
Cathedral of the Holy Cross 16
Tremont Street, showing Winter Street and the Masonic
Temple 17
Tremont Street in 1843 18
North side of Court Street 19
The State House, as it appeared in 1835 20
The original location of S. S. Pierce Company 21
Site of the old Hotel Dartmouth 22
Bunker Hill Monument, Charlestown 23
View of Summer Street 23
Chauncy Hall School and First Church, as they appeared in
1828 24
The Samuel N. Brown House 25
North side of State Street from Washington Street .... 25
Pemberton Square about i860 26
PAGE
State Street, showing the ■Merchants Exchange as it appeared
in i860 27
National Horse & Carriage Mart on Portland Street ... 28
Commonwealth Avenue at the corner of Dartmouth Street 28
View of Boston Harbor from East Boston about i860 ... 29
Summer Street, showing the South Boston horse railway
depot at Church Green 30
Park Street from Tremont Street 30
V'iew of the Back Bay about 1857 before the process of filling
in was started 31
View of Boston and Charlestown 32
Looking down Congress Street 33
The old Hotel Boylston at the corner of Tremont and Boyls-
ton Streets 34
A view of the Public Garden and Boston Common about 1870 35
Quincy Hall Market about 1830 36
The old Boston Public Library on Boylston Street 37
View of Boston and East Boston about 1859 38
Park Square in 1870 39
Washington Square, Fort Hill about 1870 40
South Boston with Boston in the distance 41
How the Back Bay looked in 1872 42
Trinity Church in Copley Square about 1877 43
The Custom House of Boston 43
The Franklin Hotel in 1829 44
The second Exchange Coffee House 45
Post Office Square in 1878 46
The Blake-Shaw Houses in Bowdoin Square 46
Haymarket Square 47
The old Hancock House 48
Boylston Street 49
w(m4
From a print In the collection of the State Street Trust Company
THE UNITED STATES AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
View of the grounds and structures at its third exhibition in Boston in 1855.
FOREWORD
jLS with the individual, so with the community, a birthday is
/ % an interesting occasion. The State Street Trust Company,
A m. in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of
the incorporation of Boston as a city, issues as its annual brochure
a series of views showing some of the many changes which have
taken place in the city during the past century.
Before the town became a city, a form of government was
submitted to the people of Boston together with an inquiry as to
whether the name "the Town of Boston" should be changed to
"the City of Boston." Two thousand, seven hundred and twenty-
seven voted in the affirmative and 2,087 in the negative, so that a
small matter of 640 votes decided that Boston should become a
city, and on February 23, 1822, the Governor approved the
act establishing "the City of Boston." The new charter was
drafted by Lemuel Shaw, later Justice of the Supreme Court, and
in it the principal head was named "Mayor," the "Board of Alder-
men" was fixed at eight members, and a "Common Council"
of forty-eight persons was created, four from each of the twelve
wards into which the city was divided.
It was not, however, until March 4, 1822, that the charter incor-
porating the city was accepted by the town, the vote then being
2,797 iri favor and 1,881 against, a majority of 916, showing a
slight increase in the number of those who favored the change.
Accordingly a city government was organized, and on May I,
1822, John Phillips was chosen mayor. The term of office was
one year until the statute of 1895 made it two years. The two-year
term began with the election of Josiah Quincy in 1896, but in
1909, in accordance with the statute then passed, a four-year
term of office was established. It is interesting, however, to note
in detail the steps which made Boston a city.
For many years after the beginning of the settlement, the form
of government was that of the old-fashioned town meeting, in
which each freeman had a voice and in which town affairs were
regulated by the whole body of freemen represented at the meet-
ing. Finally town affairs became so unwieldy that certain persons
were delegated to conduct them. At first these were chosen for
six months, then for a year, and finally they came to be called the
Board of Selectmen.
The town grew rapidly. Its activities became larger than even
the Selectmen could regulate. Accordingly officials were chosen
to look after special departments of public service, such as con-
stables, surveyors of highway, clerks of market, sealers of leather,
packers of fish and meat, and hog reeves. Even with these changes
the town form of government had become unwieldy by 1708,
and attempts were made to incorporate the town, but these
failed. In 1784 a number of influential citizens petitioned for
the appointment of a committee, which in due course reported
two plans for the better government for Boston. One made the
body politic consist of a Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council;
the other suggested a President and Board of Selectmen; but the
residents were not ready for the adoption of either plan, and it
was decided, when put up to the voters, inexpedient to make the
alterations suggested. Again in 1 791 and 1804 futile efforts
were made to secure the consent of the voters that Boston might
become a city. When, however, the time had arrived for this
important step, it was discovered that no provision existed in
the State Constitution which gave authority to the General Court
to erect a city government, and this necessarily led to a move-
ment which on April 9, 1821, culminated in the passage of such
an amendment to the constitution.
In 1820 the population of Boston was 43,298, and the town
meeting had become a farce. It was attended by less than fifty
voters, save when questions of great interest came up, and was
quite dominated by the public officials who always turned out.
Yet every step in the direction of a change of government was
opposed by a conservative element, one of the most strenuous
objectors being Josiah Quincy, who afterwards became the second
mayor of the city.
Matters came to such a pass that a special meeting was called
in Faneuil Hall in January, 1822, and a committee reported in
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/?i /Ac collection of the Stale Street Trust Compan
EXTERIOR OF FANEUIL HALL ABOUT 1826
It was here that the people of Boston voted to change the name "the Town
of Boston" to "the City of Boston" and later accepted the charter
incorporating the City, March 4, 1822.
favor of a chief executive to be called the Intendant. He was to
be elected by the Selectmen. An executive board of seven persons
called Selectmen was to be elected by the inhabitants on a general
ticket, and a body with mixed legislative and executive powers,
called the Board of Assistants, was to be composed of four persons
chosen from each of the twelve wards. The report was amended
by changing the name "Intendant," taken from the French, to
the name "Mayor," "Selectmen" to "Aldermen," and "Board
of Assistants" to "Common Council." It was upon the adoption
of this report that the people of Boston finally passed favorably.
A comparison of the Boston of 1822 with that of the present
may be made by means of the statistics which exist in the statis-
tician's office of the city. While those of 1822 are quite meager
as compared with those of today, nevertheless one may, by a com-
parison, gain some interesting facts as to the changes and expan-
sions that have taken place in the city. The area of the city in
1822 was 4.7 square miles. In 1922 it covers 47.81 square miles,
of which 43.55 are land area. Its population has multiplied sixteen
times in a hundred years. The approximate population of the city
in 1822 was 46,226, while the United States census, which some
claim underestimated the actual figures, gives the population in
1920 as 748,060. When Boston became a city it had 7,705 homes
and in 1922 it has 164,785. The debt which the city carried over
from the town government was $100,000, being the cost of a jail
and court-house on Leverett Street. In 1922, the net city debt
's ^79»379?925, or $99.10 approximate net debt per capita.
The cost of running the city in 1822 was $249,000. For the
fiscal year of 1920-21 the expenses, ordinary and extraordinary,
were $57,477,910. The following figures show the valuation of
property at the two periods. In 1822, the total valuation was
$42,140,200 divided as follows — $23,364,400 real estate and
$18,775,800 personal. The rate of taxation was $7.30 per thousand,
and 8,800 persons were then taxable. This included every male
over sixteen years old. In 1920 the valuation of property in the
city was $1,572,458,780 divided into real estate $1,396,073,300
and personal estate $176,385,480, the rate of taxation being
$24.10 per thousand, and 195,795 individuals appear as taxable.
On its school department the city spent in the fiscal year of
1820-21 a total of $45,045. In 1920-21 the amount expended for
education was a total of $10,808,753. I'^ 1822 there were 29
elementary schools containing 3,827 pupils. The English High
School for boys started in 1821 with George B. Emerson, a
Harvard graduate, as headmaster, and had 6 teachers and 207
pupils. In 1921 there were 279 public schools, 3,422 teachers, and
126,507 pupils. In addition, there were 13,631 students in the
evening schools. Private schools of Boston, whose pupils come
not alone from Boston, but from the outlying districts, have a
registration of 32,132 between the ages of 5 and 16.
In 1822 the only theatre in Boston was the Boston Theatre on
Federal and Franklin Streets, which had been remodeled in
1798 and was considered one of the best in the country. The
performance began at six o'clock in the winter and half-past six
in the spring. Today there are 40 theatres in Boston, 36 motion-
picture houses, 80 halls which seat four hundred or more, and
62 halls seating less than four hundred.
There was no organized fire department in 1822. In 1922 Boston
has a highly organized fire force comprising 1,170 men, with 62
fire stations and 1,205 alarm boxes. In 1822 the men who worked
the engines received a small compensation and were exempt from
militia duty. In 1920 the cost of the fire department was
$3,223,133 including pensions.
The "Constables" who kept the Bostonians of 1822 in order are
now replaced by 1,846 policemen. In the city today there are
135 hotels, 33 incorporated hospitals, and 3,077 manufacturing
plants. The largest number of establishments in any one industry
is in the book and job printing business — 311 individual enter-
prises. The confectionery and ice-cream trades employ the
largest number of workers.
It is fitting that we should here acknowledge our indebtedness
to the following who have assisted in the preparation of this
brochure by permitting us to use photographs and prints: the
directors of the Boston Real Estate Exchange, the members of
the House Committee of the Exchange Club, the Bostonian
Society, the officers of the New England Mutual Life Insurance
Company, J. Sumner Draper and Mark Temple Dowling, Claude
Fisher, Herman Parker of Macullar Parker Company, and Henry
Penn of Penn the Florist. We desire especially to mention the
cordial co-operation given to us by Walter K. Watkins, Charles
F. Read and William B. Clarke of the Bostonian Society.
Thanks are also due to the Hon. Andrew J. Peters, Ex-Mayor
of Boston, to the late Dr. Edward M. Hartwell, City Statistician,
and Horace R. Keay and William T. Seeger of his office, Irwin
C. Cromack, assistant chief City Engineer, and James Donovan,
City Clerk, for their help in preparing this brochure.
CHARLES RIVER EMBANKMENT BEFORE CONSTRUCTION
OF ESPLANADE
From a photograph
Kindness of the City of Boston
THE SILVER CASKET WHICH CONTAINS THE ORIGINAL
CHARTER OF THE CITY OF BOSTON
The engraving shows the names of the mayors who were elected under
this charter and served the city from 1822 to 1854.
VIEWS OF BOSTON
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Courtesy of The Heliotype Company of Boston
PLAN OF BOSTON 192:
The section enclosed and marked No. i shows the size of Boston in 1822, which is
shown in detail on the opposite page. Boston in 1822 was bounded roughly
on the west by Charles Street and the South Boston Bridge.
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From a photograph
Kindness of Messrs. Draper &■ Doicting
THE OLD CITY HALL OF BOSTON ON SCHOOL STREET
Before the erection of the present building it was here that the city officials,
under the charter of 1822, first had their offices. To the left of the
picture can be seen the former Registry of Deeds and to the right, the
Niles Building.
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From a photograph Kindness of the Boston Real Estate Exchange
THE RESIDENCE OF SAMUEL WHITWELL
Built by him in 1822, on Winthrop Place, now Winthrop Square.
From a photograph
THE BRADLEE-DOGGETT HOUSE
Club
Formerly on the corner of Tremont and Hollis Streets, where some of the Boston
Tea Party assembled. On the left of the picture can be seen the Hollis
Street Church, later altered as the Hollis Street Theatre.
From a photograph Kindness of the /,.v./(i;;ii:i' Club
TEMPLE PLACE
Looking toward Tremont Street and the Common.
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from a lithograph Kindness of Messrs. Draper &" Dowling
BRAMAN'S BATHS ON CHESTNUT STREET
From a photograph Kindness 0/ the Exchange Club
THE OLD BROMFIELD HOUSE ON BROMFIELD STREET IN 1858
With the Bromfield Street Methodist Church on the extreme right. The
archway shown in the center of the picture, still in existence, was then
the entrance to the stable in the rear of the hotel.
13
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From a drawing Kindness oj the Bostonian Society
VIEW OF THE BACK BAY, CHARLES STREET AND THE COMMON IN 1823
The building shown is the gun house of the Sea Fencibles, an independent
company of maritime men. Sketch from the balcony of
61 Beacon Street.
From a photograph Kindness oj the Exchange Club
THE OLD SHEAFE HOUSE
On the corner of Columbia and Essex Streets, which was Earl Percy's head-
quarters during the siege of Boston.
14
From a photograph Kindness of the Boston Real Estate Exchange
SCOLLAY SQUARE
Looking toward Pemberton Square. On the left is the site of the Suffolk
Savings Bank and on the right, the Scollay Building. The dwellings
seen in the background are now on the site of the present Court House.
IS
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DtDICiTtD SEPT.?9:" 1803.
From a print Kindntss of Messrs. Draper &• Dozvling
CATHEDRAL OF THE HOLY CROSS
On Franklin Street near the corner of Devonshire Street.
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Kindness of the Bostonian Society
TREMONT STREET IN 1843
Showing on the left the old Tremont House, and on the right, Tremont Theatre,
later Tremont Temple, since burned and rebuilt. King's Chapel and
burial-ground are seen beyond.
18
From a photograph Kindness of the Exchange Club
NORTH SIDE OF COURT STREET
The present site of the Ames Building on the corner of Washington Street.
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From a photograph Kindness oj the Boston Real Estate Exchange
THE ORIGINAL LOCATION OF S. S. PIERCE COMPANY
On Court Street. Showing Tremont Street on the right. George Washington
lodged in this building in 1789.
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BUNKER HILL MONUMENT, CHARLESTOWN
The earliest view, showing the restricted style of residences.
From a print Kindness of the Bostonian Society
VIEW OF SUMMER STREET
Showing the Meeting-house of the New South Society, designed by Bulfinch,
on Church Green at the junction of Bedford and Summer Streets.
23
From a photograph
Kuulne<i III the Boston Real Estate Exchan
THE SAMUEL N. BROWN HOUSE
On Dartmouth Street at the corner of Blagden Street, the site of the Boston
Public Library in Copley Square. On the right is the unfinished tower
of the New Old South Church on Bovlston Street.
Frotn a painting Kindness of the Boslonian Society
NORTH SIDE OF STATE STREET FROM WASHINGTON STREET
As it appeared in 1825. On the left is the site of the first shop in Boston and
of the present Devonshire Building and on the right is the Old State House.
25
From a photograph
Kindness oj J. Murray Forbes
PEMBERTON SQUARE ABOUT i860
On the left is the present site of the Suffolk County Court House, in the center
background, Police Headquarters, and on the right. Barristers Hall, and
the extreme right, the Pemberton Building.
Among the residents of this locality were the following: Dr. George C.
Shattuck, Mrs. John Mackay, Samuel R. Putnam, Joseph Coolidge, F. B.
Crowninshield, Robert M. Mason, Nathaniel I. Bowditch, John A. Lowell,
Peter C. Brooks, Jr., P. S. Shelton, Josiah Bardwell, Mark Healey, R. C.
Winthrop, and Mrs. Henry Sigourney.
16
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From a photograph
Kindness oj the Exchange Club
STATE STREET
Showing the Merchants Exchange as it appeared in i860. These buildings
are now replaced by the Exchange Building, number 53 State Street.
27
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From a lithograph ki^^-n.r i M, r liraptr L- Dir.vling
NATIONAL HORSE & CARRIAGE MART ON PORTLAND STREET
This street has been since 1875 — about the time of this print — the center of
auction sales of horses, carriages, etc., and the above ilhistration shows
the form of advertising used in early days.
From a photograph Kindness of the Boston Real Estale ExJuiin,-
COMMONWEALTH AVENUE AT THE CORNER OF DARTMOUTH STREET
Showing the Hotel Vendome before the addition was built.
28
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From a print Kindness oj Messrs. Draper b" Douiing
SUMMER STREET
Showing the South Boston horse railway depot at Church Green.
From a painting Kindness of Henry Penn
PARK STREET FROM TREMONT STREET
Showing the Common on the left, the State House on Beacon Hill in the
center, and the Park Street Church and Burying Ground on the right.
The original is in the possession of Bostonian Society.
30
31
32
From a photograph Kindness of the Boston Real Estate Exchange
LOOKING DOWN CONGRESS STREET
Showing the old Traveller Building at the corner of State Street, now the site
of the main office of the State Street Trust Company.
33
From a photograph
Kuuhu-^
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THE OLD HOTEL BOYLSTON AT THE CORNER OF TREMONT AND
BOYLSTON STREETS
Now the site of the Hotel Touraine. On the right of the picture can be seen
the Hotel Pelham, now replaced by the Little Building.
34
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rrom a photograph Kindness oj the Boston Real Estate Exchange
THE OLD BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY ON BOYLSTON STREET
Later used as a zoo for animals and now the site of the Colonial Building.
The fence in the foreground was used to surround the Deer Park on
Boston Common.
37
From a photograph Kindness of the Boston Real Estate Exchange
PARK SQUARE IN 1870
Looking toward the second Boston and Providence Railroad Station from
Boston Common.
39
From photographs Kindness of Macullar Parker Company
WASHINGTON SQUARE, FORT HILL ABOUT 1870
Showing (above) Fort Hill before and (below) Fort Hill during the process
of demolition. The dirt removed was used in filling in Atlantic
Avenue and the Shawmut Avenue District.
40
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From a photograph
if the Boston Real Estate Exchange
TRINITY CHURCH IN COPLEY SQUARE ABOUT 1877
Showing the Hotel Brunswick on the left. The site of the Hotel Westminster
can be seen on the right. Just beyond the tower on the extreme right of
Trinity Church is the site of the present new building of the John Hancock
jVTutual Life Insurance Co.
From a photograph
of the Exchange Cltib
THE CUSTOM HOUSE OF BOSTON
On lower State Street before its tower was built. On the right can be seen
the Boston Chamber of Commerce Building, and in the foreground the
site of the Board of Trade Building.
43
From a PendlHon lithograph Kindness of Messrs. Draper df Douling
THE FRANKLIN HOTEL IN 1829
West side of Merchants Row between Franklin Hall Square and North Street.
44
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Kindness of AVfc England Mutual Liff Insurance Co.
POST OFFICE SQUARE IN 1878
Showing the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company building,
between Pearl and Congress Streets on Milk Street.
From a lithograph Kindness of the Bostonian Society
THE BLAKE-SHAW HOUSES IN BOWDOIN SQUARE
Between Green and Cambridge Streets, built by Samuel Parkman about 1810.
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Friini a photni^raph
Kindness oj the Exchange Club
THE OLD HANCOCK HOUSE
Formerly the old Hancock Tavern, located on Corn Court offFaneuil Hall
Square. Up to the time it was torn down in 1902, it was considered the
oldest tavern in Boston.
From a photograph
Kindnen oj the Exchange Club
BOYLSTON STREET
Looking toward Tremont Street. The building in the center is the
Old Public Library.
49
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