History

And they gave out S&H Green Stamps

By adamg - 3/23/15 - 10:49 am

The folks at the Boston City Archives wonder if you can figure out where the Elm Hill Market was and when this picture of it was taken. See it larger.

Assyriously cool friezes in downtown Boston

By adamg - 3/15/15 - 2:34 pm

On the Samuel Appleton Building. See it larger.

In the late 1800s, the merchant princes of Boston adorned their buildings with classical Greek and Roman symbols of successful seafaring commerce, such as Neptune's tridents and Mercury's caduceuses (Mercury being the god of trade and all).

And then, it stopped. Maybe it was the decline of Boston as a seaport, but whatever the reason, in the 20th century, financial firms took over from trading companies and turned to an even older culture - the Assyrians - for symbolism on their new buildings.

Church is open

By adamg - 3/11/15 - 11:10 am

The folks at the Boston City Archives wonder if you can place this photo. See it larger.

Back in the day, they used to build elevated railroads in Boston

By adamg - 3/9/15 - 10:24 am

Elevated railroad under construction in Boston

The folks at the Boston City Archives wonder if you can place this photo. See it larger.

Before CharlieCards

By adamg - 3/2/15 - 10:47 am

The folks at the Boston City Archives wonder if you can place this photo. See it larger.

When the snow supplies came by trolley

By adamg - 2/23/15 - 10:51 am

Fighting snow with trolleys in old Boston

The folks at the Boston City Archives wonder if you can place this photo. See it larger.

Listen, sonny, lemme tell ya: In the old days, it got so cold, people could walk on the harbor

By adamg - 2/21/15 - 10:23 am

British ship leaves Boston Harbor in canal dug through ice

See it larger.

This print, from the BPL archives, shows a British steamer leaving Boston Harbor through ice, thanks to local merchants:

Where's the village smithy?

By adamg - 2/9/15 - 10:27 am

The folks at the Boston City Archives wonder if you can place this bucolic scene in old Boston. See it larger.

It all comes out in the wash?

By adamg - 2/5/15 - 10:46 am

The folks at the Boston City Archives wonder if you can place this photo. See it larger.

High court updates jury instruction that has been in use since infamous Harvard murder case in 1850

By adamg - 1/26/15 - 11:28 am

The Supreme Judicial Court today updated the definition of "reasonable doubt" that Massachusetts judges have been reading to jurors since 1850, when it was first used in the case of a Harvard professor charged with murdering and dismembering a prominent Beacon Hill doctor.

Next bus to Norfolk

By adamg - 1/21/15 - 11:17 am

Old school bus at old building in Boston

The folks at the Boston City Archives wonder if you can place this photo. See it larger.

Small South Boston condo project would have way more parking than required

By adamg - 1/15/15 - 4:09 pm

815 E. 5 Street proposal in South Boston

Architect's rendering.

A 19-unit condo development proposed to replace an old horse-trolley barn between E. 5 and E. 6 streets in South Boston would come with a 33-lot parking garage, according to the developers' filing with the BRA.

Aidan Gregory Feeney and Brendan Feeney of Feeney Brothers Excavation want to replace commercial buildings at 815 E. 5 and 812 E. 6 streets with ten-unit and a nine-unit buildings - 17 to be sold at market rates and two at "affordable" rates.

Up to their knees in molasses, looking for victims

By adamg - 1/15/15 - 11:53 am

Firefighters knee deep in molasses in Boston

Around 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 15, 1919, a large, poorly maintained tank full of molasses on a warm day burst, sending a huge wave of gooey death rampaging down Commercial Street, drowning or crushing 21 people and several horses and cats as it battered the supports of the el that ran down the street and knocked a neighboring fire station off its foundation.

As with so many other major events in the early and mid-20th century, Leslie Jones was there to chronicle the aftermath.