Boston

USS Constitution, Boston (2)

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The USS Constitution at Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, around 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The Constitution at the same dock in 2022:

As explained in more detail in the previous post, the frigate USS Constitution has a long history with Boston, dating back to its construction in the North End in 1797. The ship served with distinction in many American conflicts, most notably in the War of 1812, when it captured or sank five British warships and earned the nickname “Old Ironsides.”

The Constitution remained in active service for nearly a century, but by the end of the 19th century it had been converted into a receiving ship, with a large barracks structure that was constructed atop its deck, as shown in the top photo. In this role, the ship served as temporary housing for new recruits and other sailors who were not currently assigned to a crew. It was in use as a receiving ship at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in the late 19th century, before being moved to the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston in time for its centennial in 1897.

When the top photo was taken, its future was uncertain. it was in need of major repairs, and there was a possibility that the navy might choose to sink it for target practice. However, it was ultimately restored, including the removal of the barracks, and it became a museum ship. It underwent several other major restorations over the course of the 20th century, and also embarked on a three-year tour of the country, including visiting ports along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts.

Another ship is also visible in the top photo, on the right side. It is the passenger liner SS Arabic of the White Star Line, the same company that would later construct the Titanic. The Arabic was built in 1903, so it was only a few years old in the top photo, providing a dramatic contrast to the Constitution. Ironically, though, despite being more than a century older, the Constitution would outlive the Arabic by more than a century. The Arabic was ultimately torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine in 1915 during World War I, in an incident that caused a diplomatic crisis similar to the sinking of the Lusitania several months earlier.

Today, the Constitution is still moored at the same dock in Charlestown Navy Yard, although it now much more closely resembles its appearance in its fighting days, when compared to its appearance in the top photo. It remains a commissioned United States warship with its own officers and crew, and it is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. Only Britain’s HMS Victory is older, although it has been in drydock since 1922.

USS Constitution, Boston

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The USS Constitution at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, around 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The Constitution at the same dock in 2022:

These two photos show the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. Constructed across the harbor in Boston at Edmund Hartt’s shipyard, the Constitution was one of six frigates that were authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. Prior to this act, the United States did not have a standing navy, with the earlier Continental Navy having been disbanded after the end of the American Revolution. The initial motivation for constructing these ships was to protect American shipping from Barbary pirates in North Africa, but they would also see extensive service in the Quasi War against France and in the War of 1812 against Britain.

The Constitution was launched in 1797 and departed on its first patrol in 1798, during the Quasi War. It later served in the First Barbary War, but the Constitution would earn its fame for its role in the War of 1812. Over the course of the war, it sank or captured five British warships, and it earned the nickname of “Old Ironsides” after its August 19, 1812 defeat of the HMS Guerriere. The ship was later further immortalized by Oliver Wendell Holmes’s 1830 poem “Old Ironsides,” which was written in response to a news article that the navy was planning to scrap the Constitution.

The ship would remain in active service throughout most of the 19th century, including being used as a training ship during and after the Civil War. However, by 1881 it was in poor condition, and it was brought to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and converted into a receiving ship for housing sailors who were not currently assigned to a crew. This conversion included the construction of barracks on the deck of the ship, as shown in the top photo.

In 1897, the Constitution was moved back to Boston, just in time for the centennial of its launch. The top photo was taken about 8 years later, showing the ship moored on the western side of the Charlestown Navy Yard. At this point, the fate of the famous ship was still very uncertain. That year, the secretary of the navy proposed sinking it as a target ship, but it prompted an outcry similar to that which had prompted Holmes’s poem some 75 years earlier.

This sentiment led to the restoration of the ship, including removal of the barracks structure, and it was subsequently opened to the public as a museum ship. However, within a few decades it once again needed significant repairs due to rot. This prompted a campaign in which schoolchildren across the country contributed pennies to raise money to save the ship. The restoration work began in 1927, and it took nearly three years to complete. During this time, about 85% of the ship’s wood was replaced. The Constitution then embarked on a three-year tour of the country, including transiting the Panama Canal and visiting ports on the Pacific coast. However, while the ship was seaworthy enough to make the voyage, it did not actually sail, but was instead towed from port to port.

The Constitution ended up needing additional repairs in the 1970s, and then another major overhaul in the mid-1990s. The latter was completed in time for the ship’s 200th anniversary, which was celebrated with a trip from Boston to Marblehead. Along the way, the Constitution sailed unassisted for part of the voyage, marking the first time that it had done so since before it was retired from active duty in 1881.

Today, more than a century after the top photo was taken, the Constitution is still moored at the same wharf at the former Charlestown Navy Yard, which is now part of the Boston National Historical Park. The ship is still a commissioned warship of the United States Navy, with officers and crew members who are assigned to it. Thanks to the many restorations over the years, the ship now looks much more like its historic appearance than it did when the first photo was taken. The Constitution is one of the many famous historic landmarks along Boston’s Freedom Trail, and it is open to the public for tours.

Boston Skyline from Boston Harbor

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The view of Boston from Boston Harbor, around 1928-1938. Image photographed by Samuel Chamberlain; courtesy of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum.

The same scene in 2021:

These two photos show the view of Boston from the northeast, from near the waterfront of the North End. The most visible landmark in the top photo is the Custom House Tower, which was completed in 1915. It was the tallest building in the city by a considerable margin, with a height of 496 feet. At the time, the city had a height limit of 125 feet for buildings, but as a federal building the Custom House was exempt from the limit. This restriction was eventually lifted, but the Custom House Tower would dominate the city’s skyline throughout much of the 20th century, and it remained the tallest building in the city until the construction of the Prudential Tower in 1964.

Today, the Custom House Tower is still here, although it is a much less prominent part of the skyline, due to the many other tall buildings in and around the Financial District. Aside from the skyline, other major changes to this scene include the waterfront, which was primarily comprised of commercial wharves in the top photo. Over the years, the port facilities in Boston have moved out of the North End area, and most of the wharves have been redeveloped with hotels, condominiums, and marinas, as shown in the 2021 photo.

Fenway Park Grandstands, Boston (2)

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The view looking toward the outfield bleachers from the right field grandstands at Fenway Park, in the fall of 1914. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Bain Collection.

The scene in 2024:

These two photos were taken from around the same spot as the ones in the previous post, just facing the opposite direction. As with the previous post, the top photo here was taken in 1914, when workers were preparing the park for the upcoming 1914 World Series. Although the Red Sox were not in that particular World Series, the Boston Braves were, and they played their home games here because it had a larger seating capacity than their own home field, the South End Grounds.

Fenway Park was just two years old when the top photo was taken, and it shows the original outfield bleachers and right field grandstands. These were constructed of wood, and they remained in use until 1934, when the park was heavily renovated. The outfield and right field seating areas were reconstructed with concrete and steel, while keeping roughly the same footprint and field dimensions. Additional changes occurred in 1940, when the bullpens were added in front of the bleachers. This significantly shortened the home run distance to left field, and was supposedly done in order to benefit left-handed hitter Ted Williams.

Later changes included the addition of the large video screen atop the bleachers, and a seating area on the right field roof. Overall, though, this part of the park still looks largely the same as it did after the 1934 renovations. Although there is likely no original 1912 material here in this part of the park, other portions of Fenway Park are original to 1912, and it remains in use as the oldest active Major League Baseball park.

Fenway Park Grandstands, Boston (1)

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The view looking toward home plate from the right field grandstands in Fenway Park, on September 28, 1914. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Bain Collection.

The scene in 2024:

These two photos were taken from close to the same spot, although the top one was likely taken a little closer to home plate. Either way, they both show the infield area of Fenway Park from the right field grandstands, and they show the many changes that have occurred here over the years.

The origins of the Boston Red Sox date back to 1901, although the team would not acquire its Red Sox name until 1908. For the first 11 years, the team played at Huntington Avenue Grounds, located on the modern-day campus of Northeastern University. It was there that the team won the first World Series, in 1903, and the Red Sox played there until the end of the 1911 season.

Fenway Park was constructed the following winter, and it opened on April 20, 1912. In that game, the Red Sox played the New York Highlanders—the future Yankees—and defeated them by a score of 7 to 6 in 11 innings. The Red Sox would go on to win the American League pennant that year, and defeated the New York Giants to win the World Series.

The top photo shows the grandstands and home plate area two years later, on September 28, 1914. At the time, preparations were underway to host another World Series here, but this time it wasn’t for the Red Sox. Instead, it was for the Boston Braves, the city’s original Major League Baseball team. The team played in the National League, where they had been one of the most dominant teams in baseball during the 19th century. However, with the establishment of the rival American League in 1901, the new Boston quickly eclipsed the older National League team in popularity.

Going into the 1914 season, the Braves had not been contenders in many years. The team had finished in last place for four consecutive seasons from 1909 to 1912, and they appeared to be headed for the same fate in 1914. By July 4, the Braves were in last place with a 26-40 record, and were 15 games behind first place. However, the “Miracle Braves,” as they came to be known, then went on to win 68 of the remaining 87 games in the season, and finished in first place, 10.5 games ahead of the second place Giants.

Throughout most of the 1914 season, the Braves played their home games at the South End Grounds. However, by September they were renting Fenway Park, in order to accommodate the larger crowds who came to watch their dramatic reversal and pennant run. Likewise, the Braves played their home games here at Fenway Park during the World Series, which they won in four games against the Philadelphia Athletics.

The following year, the Braves moved into a new park, Braves Field. However, it was the Red Sox who went to the World Series in 1915 and again in 1916, and they chose to play their home games at the larger Braves Field, rather than here at Fenway Park. But, the World Series would return to Fenway two years later in 1918, when the Red Sox played their home games here rather than at Braves Field. This would famously prove to be the final World Series championship for the Red Sox for the next 86 years, before their championship in 2004.

Overall, the 1910s were a successful time for the Red Sox, who won the World Series four times in the decade. Prominent players who played here at Fenway Park during this time included Hall of Famers such as Babe Ruth, Harry Hooper, Herb Pennock, and Tris Speaker. Other notable players included pitcher Smoky Joe Wood, catcher Bill Carrigan, third baseman Larry Gardner, and left fielder Duffy Lewis, the namesake of “Duffy’s Cliff,” an embankment that was once located on what is now the site of the Green Monster.

Despite the success of the 1910s, it was followed by a decade of abysmal seasons during the 1920s, due in large part to the sale of Babe Ruth and other top players to the Yankees. The team continued to use Fenway Park during this time, but in 1926 a fire destroyed the wooden left field bleachers, which are partially visible on the far right side of the 1914 photo. The owners did not have the financial ability to rebuild the bleachers, nor was there much demand for the seating with such paltry attendance figures, so that part of Fenway Park remained vacant for the next few years.

The most dramatic changes to Fenway Park occurred in 1934, shortly after businessman Tom Yawkey purchased the team. He had much of the park rebuilt, including replacing the wooden sections with fireproof concrete and steel. Most of the modern-day park dates to this renovation, including the Green Monster wall in left field. The field dimensions also changed, and home plate was moved forward to accommodate more seating. Then, in 1947 the light towers were added to the park, enabling the Red Sox to play night games here for the first time.

Over the years, Fenway Park has continued to evolve. Later changes here in this scene included work in the 1980s to increase the park’s seating capacity. Most significantly, this included adding seating areas and luxury boxes on the grandstand roof, along with a large press box and an enclosed seating area directly behind home plate. Known as the 600 Club and later as the .406 club, this seating area was eventually remodeled after the 2005 season, and it now has two separate seating areas without any glass between the seats and the field.

Today, Fenway Park is still the home of the Red Sox, and it stands as the oldest active Major League Baseball field. Although much of it has been altered over the years, it still has largely the same layout, including the field dimensions and the footprints of the grandstands and bleachers. Portions of the park are original to 1912, including the exterior along Jersey Street, and the park was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, during its centennial year.

Boston Light

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Boston Light on Little Brewster Island in Boston Harbor, around 1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2021:

These two photos were not taken from the exact same angle; the first one was probably taken from a boat near the island, while the second one was taken with a telephoto lens from about two miles away on Georges Island. But, they both show essentially the same view of Little Brewster Island, the site of the first lighthouse in the present-day United States and the second-oldest existing lighthouse in the country.

During the colonial era, Boston was one of the most important seaports in British North America. Boston benefited from a large natural harbor, protected from the open ocean by a number of islands and peninsulas, but these same landforms also posed hazards to ships entering and leaving the harbor. So, to protect ships and the lives of their sailors, the first lighthouse in the British colonies was constructed here on Little Brewster Island, a small outcropping near the outer edge of the harbor. It was about 60 feet tall, built of rubble masonry, and it was lit for the first time on September 14, 1716.

The occasion was noted in The Boston News-Letter three days later, with the paper describing:

Boston, By vertue of An Act of Assembly made in the First Year of His Majesty’s Reign, For Building & Maintaining a Light House upon the Great Brewster [sic] (called Beacon Island) at the Entrance of the Harbour of Boston, in order to prevent the loss of the Lives & Estates of His Majesty’s Subjects; The said Light House has been built; And on Fryday last the 14th Currant the Light was kindled, which will be very useful for all Vessels going out and coming in to the Harbour of Boston, or any other Harbours in the Massachusets-Bay, for which all Masters shall pay to the Receiver of Impost, One Peny per Ton Inwards, and another Peny Outwards, except Coasters, who are to pay Two Shillings each, at their clearing Out. And all Fishing Vessels, Wood Sloops, etc. Five Shillings each by the year.

The first lighthouse keeper was George Worthylake, but he would soon become the first American lighthouse keeper to die in the line of duty. On November 3, 1718, he was returning to the lighthouse accompanied by his wife Ann and their daughter Ruth, along with an enslaved man, a servant, and a friend of the family. They took a sloop back to the vicinity of island, then boarded a canoe to make their landing. However, the canoe capsized, and all six people drowned.

Here again, The Boston News-Letter reported the tragedy:

Boston, On Monday last the 3d Currant an awful and Lamentable Providence fell out here, Mr. George Worthylake (Master of the Light-House upon the Great Brewster (called Beacon-Island) at the Entrance of the Harbour of Boston) Anne his Wife, Ruth their Daughter, George Cutler, a Servant, Shadwell their Negro Slave, and Mr. John Edge a Passenger; being on the Lord’s Day here at Sermon, and going home in a Sloop, drop Anchor near the Landing place and all got into a little Boat or Cannoo, designing to go on Shoar, but by Accident it overwhelmed, so that they were Drowned, and all found and Interred except George Cutler.

Although the article does not mention the specific burial place, George, Ann, and Ruth were all buried in Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, beneath a triple headstone that still survives today.

Aside from this article in the News-Letter, other writers covered the event. Perhaps most famously, 12-year-old Benjamin Franklin wrote a ballad, which he titled “The Lighthouse Tragedy.” No copies of the poem are known to survive, but in his autobiography Franklin referenced this and another similar poem that he wrote about Blackbeard, observing that:

They were wretched stuff, in the Grub-street-ballad style; and when they were printed he sent me about the town to sell them. The first [the lighthouse poem] sold wonderfully, the event being recent, having made a great noise. This flattered my vanity; but my father discouraged me by ridiculing my performances, and telling me verse-makers were generally beggars. So I escaped being a poet, most probably a very bad one.

In the meantime, the lighthouse continued in operation under a new keeper, and in 1719 a cannon was installed on the island for use as a fog signal. The tower was badly damaged by a fire in 1751, but it was subsequently repaired and remained in use until the start of the American Revolution. It was ultimately destroyed by the British on July 13, 1776, following their evacuation of Boston several months earlier.

Little Brewster Island remained devoid of a lighthouse for the rest of the American Revolution, but as the war was winding down in 1783 the Massachusetts legislature authorized the funding to construct a new lighthouse here. It was completed by the end of the year, and like its predecessor it was built of rubble masonry. However, it was somewhat taller, standing 75 feet in height. This tower, with some alterations over the years, is still standing today, as shown in the two photos in this post.

The lighthouse was completed prior to the current U.S. Constitution. At the time, the national government had very limited powers, so matters such as lighthouses were the responsibility of the individual states. Under the new Constitution, though, this became a part of the role of the federal government, which took over the operation of Boston Light in 1790.

Over the years, the exterior appearance of the lighthouse changed several times. In 1809, in response to large cracks in the walls, six iron bands were installed around the tower in order to provide additional structural support. Then, in 1859 the height of the tower was increased to 89 feet, and a new second-order Fresnel lens was installed in the lantern. Also during this time, the interior of the tower was lined with brick, and a brick entryway was added to the base of the tower.

By the time the first photo was taken around 1906, the lighthouse was joined by a number of other buildings on the island. Among these were two houses for the lighthouse keepers, along with ancillary structures such as the fog signal, cistern, oil house, and boathouse. The boathouse was situated next to a pier, and it was equipped with a marine railway. At the time, the light station was staffed by a head keeper and two assistant keepers, and they often lived here with their families as well.

Although still in active use as a lighthouse, the importance of Boston Light had diminished somewhat by the time this photo was taken. Around the turn of the 20th century, most large vessels began taking a more northerly channel into Boston Harbor, bypassing the old lighthouse. To accommodate this traffic, a new lighthouse was constructed in 1905 at the Graves, a rocky ledge about three miles to the northeast of Boston Light. This new lighthouse was taller than Boston Light, and it was also equipped with a larger first-order Fresnel lens.

Despite these changes in shipping routes, Boston Light remained an important lighthouse. There were some changes here in 1939, when the U.S. Lighthouse Service was absorbed by the Coast Guard, and there were further changes during World War II, when the light was extinguished for security purposes, although it was relit after the war. Then, in the postwar era, the role of lighthouse keepers started to become redundant, and lighthouses across the country were steadily automated, which eliminated the need for light stations that were staffed full time. However, just as Boston Light was the first lighthouse in the country, it was also the last one to be automated, in 1998.

Today, this scene is still easily recognizable from the first photo more than 115 years later. The large duplex keeper’s house is gone, having been deliberately burned in 1960, and the pier was destroyed during the blizzard of 1978.  Overall, though,  most of the other buildings are still here, including the 1884 keeper’s house, the 1899 boathouse, the 1889 oil house, and the 1876 fog signal building, which now also houses a generator. And, of course, the lighthouse is still here, with few exterior changes aside from the removal of one of the metal bands, leaving only five in its current appearance. It is the second oldest active lighthouse structure in the country, predated only by the 1764 Sandy Hook Light in New Jersey.

Despite being automated in 1998, Boston Light is still staffed by a resident keeper, although this is largely a ceremonial role. Along with most of the other harbor islands, Little Brewster Island is now part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. Unlike some of the larger islands, there is no ferry service or public access to Little Brewster, although the lighthouse can be seen from passing boats, from the mainland in Hull, or from Georges Island, as shown in the present-day photo.