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Weekly where and when

Mystery Boston scene

The City of Boston Archives posted this photo. Can you figure out where and when it was taken? See it large.

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Comments

Right off of State.

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That's the only place I can think of where streets cross the way that is shown in this photo.

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The general configuration of the buildings looks familiar.

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

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That's the MF Foley Fish Company building on Union St near Faneuil Hall.

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Hard to place, but I think you are right.

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Well close to it - the address is on the sign right on the corner of the building saying the sheetmetal company's sign. Where is this union Street? Tried to google map it and only came up with a Union Street in Charlestown -but based on the large buildings I figured that couldn't be it - plus the streets don't intersect. Former part of scollay square that got eaten by city hall?

someone mentioned Arlington, Stuart and Columbus - my initial guess too - BUT - the building that's there now is much shorter - highly unlikely they would replace a big building with a smaller one and the Castle with Smith and Wolensky's would probably be visible to the left - and it's not - and I believe the castle has been there since shortly after the civil war and probably would have been in a picture with motor cars in it.

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>> Former part of scollay square that got eaten by city hall

Bingo

(Not Scollay per se, but the same urban renewal. And one block of Union St still exists.)

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Is that flat building the current location of the Bell in Hand?

Look at all that MOXIE!!!

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http://www.foleyfish.com/StoreBoston/main/about/hi...

In the historical Faneuil Hall area at Dock Square stood an imposing six story flat iron building. "M.F.", as he was known, leased a first floor space in the building from a trucking firm and the M.F. Foley Company was born.

The late 1950's brought changes to Boston and to Foley's. A major development, Government Center and the makeover of the "Quincy Market" Faneuil Hall area, were to transform Dock Square. Foley's had to make way for this progress and M.F.'s building had to come down. The retail was closed and a site chosen to build a modern processing plant in the New Market area of Boston. The historic Dock Square plant closed on Thursday, August 22, 1963 and the new plant opened for business the following morning.

The area is completely unrecognizable now.

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Isn't that the Bell In Hand Tavern in the center?

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Nope.

http://www.wardmaps.com/viewasset.php?aid=4812
http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=4...

http://oi45.tinypic.com/2lwkgmg.jpg

The Bell in Hand occupies the Union Block, in blue in the above map. MF Foley is to the lower left.

Here's roughly the same view today.

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I thought it was obviously Curious George and Cardullo's in Harvard Square. : x

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[This is the third time I've tried to submit this comment; my earlier attempts appear to have been lost in the interwebs -- apologies for any duplication if the other ones show up. For what it's worth, I'm not getting the usual confirmation message when I click on "Save".]

The flatiron building (18 Union St., with Foley Fish and Shearman Heating) would be at the present site of the Curley statue, across the street from the buildings that stand on Union Street today. The building at far right, with all the awnings, is on the site of the recently-closed McDonald's at the corner of North and Union.

The street leading off to the left of the Moxie truck is Friend Street, which was removed to make way for Government Center. (The northern end of Friend Street remains, near North Station.)

Here's a 2009 view from Google Street View, conveniently with a food delivery truck prominent in the foreground:
http://goo.gl/maps/KricU

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Thanks everyone! This is the intersection of Union and Friend Streets. We know that a Foley owned the building in 1922, so we're saying ca. 1920s for the date.

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