Colonial Archives - Page 42 of 44

Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, Boston

February 9, 2018July 31, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The east face of Faneuil Hall, with Quincy Market to the right, taken in 1875. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library.

The same view in 2014:

Compare with the photos in this post, wheich show Faneuil Hall a little closer and about 20 years after his 1875 photo was taken. Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market are still there, having been built in 1742 and 825, respectively. However, the scene is very different in the background. Boston’s massive City Hall building is just beyond and to the left of Faneuil Hall, with other modern skyscrapers behind it. This was once the Scollay Square neighborhood of Boston, which was completely demolished in the 1960s to build City Hall and the surrounding buildings, with the neighborhood being renamed Government Center.

Fraunces Tavern, New York City

January 27, 2016April 30, 2014 by Derek Strahan

Fraunces Tavern at the corner of Broad and Pearl Streets in New York City, between 1900 and 1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

After its reconstruction, around 1907-1915. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

In 2014:

Claimed to be the oldest building in Manhattan, the building was constructed in 1719, and was used as a tavern in the second half of the 18th century and well into the 19th century. However, the building suffered some serious fires in the mid 19th century, and was consequently reconstructed several times. By the turn of the century, it looked nothing like its original appearance. In fact, when it was finally “restored” in 1907, it was redesigned based on what was presumed to be colonial appearance; its actual 18th century configuration is unknown. I don’t know how much of the original structure is left, but I would hazard a guess that it is an architectural equivalent to the ship of Theseus, with the question being, if a building has, over time, had every single part of it replaced, is it still the same building? And if not, at what point did it cease to be the same building? But, if it is the same building, what would happen if, theoretically, all of the original pieces were recovered and reconstructed, say, across the street. Which would be the “real” building? Inquiring minds want to know.

Corner of Dwight and Sanford Streets, Springfield

January 24, 2016January 12, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The building that once stood at the corner of Dwight and Sanford Streets. Photo from Springfield Present and Prospective (1905).

The location in 2014:

As seen in today’s photo, the buildings in the first photo don’t exist anymore, and in fact neither does the street on the right, Sanford Street. The first photo shows two different 17th century houses: the old Nathaniel Ely Tavern in the foreground, built in 1660, and the Margaret Bliss House just beyond it, built around 1695. Obviously both buildings are long gone. I don’t know when they were demolished, but it is safe to say they were gone before the MassMutual Center was built in the 1970’s.

Samuel Hartwell House, Lincoln, Mass.

March 29, 2024January 2, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The Samuel Hartwell House, in Lincoln, Mass, in 1961. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey Collection.

The scene in 2013:

Located along the Battle Road in the Minuteman National Historical Park, the Samuel Hartwell House was built around 1695, and was occupied by Samuel Hartwell during the battles of Lexington and Concord, when the British forces marched to and from Concord past the house. The house was used as a restaurant from 1929 until 1968, when it burned. All that remained was the central chimney and the cellarhole; the National Park Service later built the frame and roof in the style of the original building.

Old Corner Bookstore, Boston

January 23, 2016January 2, 2014 by Derek Strahan

The Old Corner Bookstore in Boston, around 1865. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library.

The building in 2014:

Once a meeting place for authors such as Longfellow, Emerson, Dickens, and Hawthorne, the Old Corner Bookstore is now a place to grab a burrito. Present use aside, the building has remarkably survived over 300 years in downtown Boston. Built in 1712 as an apothecary shop, it was later used as a bookstore in the 19th century, when the aforementioned authors were known to frequent it. Today, it is a landmark along Boston’s Freedom Trail, and is one of the oldest buildings in Boston.

Old South Meeting House, Boston

January 23, 2016December 30, 2013 by Derek Strahan

The view looking north on Washington Street toward Old South Meeting House, sometime shortly before the Great Boston Fire of 1872. Photo courtesy of New York Public Library.

The same view, in the immediate aftermath of the fire. Photo courtesy of New York Public Library.

Around 1875. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library.

Sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library.

The same scene in 2011:

The Great Boston Fire of 1872 was the most disastrous fire in Boston history. It came just a year after the Great Chicago Fire, although Boston’s fire couldn’t hold a candle to Chicago’s (pun intended) when it came to the death toll and property losses. Boston’s fire killed about 30, destroyed 776 buildings, and caused about $73.5 million in damages (about $1.4 billion in 2013 dollars). Chicago, by comparison, killed 200-330, destroyed 17,500 buildings, and caused about $222 million in damage (around $4.2 billion today).

Still, Boston’s fire was extensive in its damage – it destroyed much of downtown Boston, including sections of Washington Street as seen in the first two photos. However, the historic Old South Meeting House, built in 1729, survived thanks to volunteers using wet blankets to fend off the flames.

By the time the 1875 photo was taken, Boston was rebuilding, but so was Old South Church. Because the fire destroyed so many homes, people began relocating to the newly filled in Back Bay, and the church followed them, constructing the oxymoronically-named New Old South Church at Copley Square. No longer needed, the historic building was sold and was to be demolished. However, given the building’s role in the events leading up the the Revolutionary War, Bostonians rallied to preserve it, making it one of the first such buildings to be preserved for its historical significance.

In the last two photos, most of the buildings in the foreground remain the same, although the skyline in the background has changed. The building immediately to the right of the church is actually the same in the last three photos, and it looks similar to the burned-out building that occupied the spot before the fire. I don’t know whether it is the same facade, or if it was just rebuilt with a similar style, but at the very least the existing building dates to the immediate aftermath of the fire. As for the church, today it functions as a museum, although the congregation holds its annual Thanksgiving service at the building.