Boston

Fenway Park, Boston (2)

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Another view of Fenway Park from 1912, the year that it opened. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Bain Collection.

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The same view in July, 2011:

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One of Fenway Park’s many quirky features is “Pesky’s Pole,” the right field foul pole that stands a mere 302 feet from home plate, making it the shortest possible home run distance in any MLB park.  Much of this is due to the piecemeal way in which the park was built and modified over the course of 100 years.  See this post for the view of the park from the same spot but looking further to the right.

Fenway Park, Boston (1)

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The view of Fenway Park from the right field bleachers, about a week before the beginning of the 1912 World Series. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Bain Collection.

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Fenway Park in July 2011:

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Fenway Park is the oldest MLB park, being several years older than the Cubs’s Wrigley Field, but along the way it has been extensively transformed.  Very little of the park remains from its 1912 appearance; the bleachers on the far right side of the 1912 photo burned in 1926, and in the perfect metaphor for the team itself during this time period, the bleachers lay in the ashes of its former glory until Tom Yawkey purchased the club in 1933.  One of his first moves was to rehabilitate the park, which included constructing the present concrete and steel grandstand in the infield area.  Thus, photos from the 1930’s and later show a ballpark that very closely resembles the Fenway Park that we know today.  Curiously, although the 1912 photo shows a park with just a single deck in the grandstand area, the foundations were built to accommodate a second deck in the event that the team eventually decided to expand the seating.  This is perhaps what ensured the park’s existence into the 21st century; although small and old, it has been able to adapt in ways that most other early 20th century parks were unable to.

New Old South Church, Boston

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New Old South Church at Copley Square, between 1890 and 1899. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The same view in 2010:

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For the most part, this view hasn’t changed.  The Boston Public Library on the left is still there, as is the brick building behind the church.  The only real difference is the tower, which had to be taken down in 1931.  Like the rest of the Back Bay, the church sits on filled-in marshland, so the weight was supported by wooden piles that were driven into the soil.  However, the tower was too heavy for the piles, and as the ground settled it began to lean about three feet.  It was rebuilt in 1940 on stronger steel piles, and the new tower has stood substantially longer than the original one did.

Faneuil Hall, Boston

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Faneuil Hall in Boston, as it appeared between 1890 and 1899. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The building in 2021:

The building was completed in 1742 as a meeting hall and marketplace, and was largely reconstructed following a fire in 1762 that gutted the building.  It is well known as having been a place where patriots such as Samuel Adams and James Otis gave speeches concerning independence in the years leading up to the American Revolution.

 

 

The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston

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The view of the Original Mother Church of the Christian Science Church, as seen in 1900. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The same view in 2010:

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Shortly after the 1900 photo was taken, starting in 1904, the much larger, domed Mother Church Extension was built directly behind the original stone church from 1894.  Together, along with several other buildings in the campus, it forms the headquarters of the Christian Science Church.

Old North Church, Boston

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The view of Old North Church, looking down Hull Street, sometime in the 1890s. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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About decade later, around 1909. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

 

Old North Church in 2018:

From 1909 to 2018, not a whole lot has changed here, aside from the addition of parked cars in the 2018 photo, the only differences for the most part are minor cosmetic changes.  However, from 1898 to 1909, the scene looks very different – most of Hull Street was still dominated by small wood-framed buildings, some of which dated back to the mid 18th century.  The closest wood building on the right-hand side of the street is the Galloupe House, which purportedly was used as General Thomas Gage’s headquarters during the Battle of Bunker Hill.

The centerpiece of all three of the photos, however, is Old North Church, which looks almost unchanged.  In fact, though, the entire spire above the brick section is fairly new.  Although the church was built in 1723, making it the oldest church building in Boston, the spire was destroyed in a storm in 1804.  It was replaced with the one seen in the 1909 photo, which was destroyed by Hurricane Carol in 1954.  Despite that, the church still looks very much as it did on the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five.