Boston

Bates Hall, Boston Public Library (2)

by

Another view of Bates Hall in the McKim Building, around 1895. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

966_1890-1895c bpl

Bates Hall in 2016:

966_2016
Like the previous post, these photos show Bates Hall, the main reading room at the Boston Public Library, as it appeared when it first opened in 1895 and in 2016. The view in the other post was from the opposite side of the room, but both angles give an idea of the size of this room, which runs the entire length of the building and has a 50-foot tall, cathedral-like vaulted ceiling and massive windows on the Copley Square side. The only difference here in these two photos is that the first photo has no people or books, so presumably it was taken in the weeks or months before the building was completed and opened to the public, perhaps to give Bostonians an idea of what their unprecedented new library would look like.

Bates Hall, Boston Public Library

by

Bates Hall inside the McKim Building of the Boston Public Library in 1896. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

965_1896 bpl

Bates Hall in 2016:

965_2016
The historic McKim Building opened in 1895 as the main branch of the Boston Public Library, and it is an architecturally significant building on both the exterior and interior. Bates Hall, which is 218 feet long and 50 feet to the top of the arched ceiling, is the library’s main reading room. It is named in honor of Joshua Bates, who donated $50,000 to the library shortly after it was established in 1852. Equivalent to nearly $1.5 million today, this gift helped to purchase books for the new library, which was one of the first public libraries in the country. The first photo was taken only a year after the building opened, but today, after a major restoration that was started in 1996, the room looks just as grand as it did 120 years ago.

Cornhill from Washington Street, Boston

by

Looking up Cornhill from Washington Street, on April 14, 1897. Image courtesy of the City of Boston Archives.

964_1897-04-14 coba

The scene in 2016:

964_2016
This narrow cobblestone street in downtown Boston connected Adams Square with nearby Scollay Square, and it was once a major literary center of the city, with many bookstores and publishers. When the first photo was taken, the early 19th century buildings here had a variety of businesses, with signs advertising for carpets, furniture, wallpaper, signs, trunks, and rubber goods. The first photo also shows a trolley coming down the street from Scollay Square, but this would soon change with the opening of the Tremont Street Subway in less than five months. Part of it was built under Cornhill, and it was the nation’s first subway, allowing trolleys to avoid the congested streets between Boston Common and North Station.

Nearly all of the buildings in the first photo were demolished in the early 1960s to build the Government Center complex. City Hall is just out of view on the right side of the 2016 photo, and the only building left standing in this scene is the Sears’ Crescent, partially visible in the distance on the left side of the street in both photos. Built in 1816 and renovated around 1860, this building still follows the original curve of Cornhill, serving as a reminder of what the neighborhood looked like before one of Boston’s most controversial urban renewal projects.

USS Detroit at Boston Navy Yard

by

The cruiser USS Detroit in Dry Dock 2 at Boston Navy Yard, on December 16, 1928. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

835_1923-1934c bpl

The scene in 2015:

835_2015
Taken about 23 years after the photo in the previous post, this view of Dry Dock 2 shows the USS Detroit (CL-8), an Omaha-class light cruiser, undergoing work at the Boston Navy Yard. The Detroit had been built in nearby Quincy, Massachusetts, and was commissioned in 1923. Several years after the first photo was taken, she was transferred to the Pacific, and was based out of San Diego before being moved to Pearl Harbor in 1941. She was present during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, and survived the battle without any damage, and went on to see extensive service in World War II, including being present in Tokyo Bay for the surrender in 1945. Following the war, though, the Detroit was sold for scrap in 1946, along with many other obsolete surplus ships.

The Boston Navy Yard, as mentioned in the previous post, closed in 1974, and part of it was taken over by the National Park Service. Today, many of the historic buildings and other structures have been preserved, including Dry Dock 2 and some of the buildings in the distance. One of the most distinctive buildings in the yard is the octagonal Muster House, which can be seen just to the left of the ship. It was built in the 1850s, and it is still standing today, partially hidden by trees in the distance. The long building in the center of the photo has also been preserved and repurposed; it is now the MGH Institute of Health Professions.

USS Maryland at Boston Navy Yard

by

The cruiser USS Maryland in Dry Dock 2 at the Boston Navy Yard, around 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

834_1905c loc

The scene in 2015:

834_2015
The first photo shows Dry Dock 2 at the Boston Navy Yard, which was completed in 1905, not long before the first photo was taken. It was part of a large expansion of the facility, and it supplemented the much older and smaller Dry Dock 1. At 750 feet long, it could accommodate the Navy’s newest ships, including the Maryland, a Pennsylvania-class armored cruiser that, like the dry dock, was completed in 1905.

In the years after the photo was taken, the Maryland was eventually renamed the Frederick to free up the name for a new battleship, and the ship served in World War I. Like many other early 20th century American warships, though, the ship’s service history was brief. She was decommissioned in 1922, and sold for scrap in 1930.

As for the Boston Navy Yard, it remained in use throughout World War I, World War II, and beyond. It was finally closed in 1974, and part of it was taken over by the National Park Service as part of the Boston National Historical Park. Dry Dock 2 is just outside the park limits, but it is still intact, including the pump house, the small round building directly in the center of the 2015 photo. Just to the left of the pump house is Flagship Wharf, one of several modern condominium complexes that have been built on parts of the former navy yard.

For another scene of Dry Dock 2 in use, see the historic photo in this post, taken in 1929.

Custom House Tower, Boston

by

The Custom House Tower in Boston, as seen from Quincy Market during its construction, around 1913-1915. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library.

833_1913-1915c bpl

The scene in 2015:

833_2015
As explained in this earlier post, Boston’s Custom House was built in 1849, with a convenient location near Long Wharf that easily allowed officials to inspect incoming cargoes. Boston’s role as major seaport grew over the years, though, and by the early 1900s it was necessary to expand it. Rather than demolishing the old building, though, they simply added a 32-story skyscraper on top of it. At the time, Boston had a 125 foot limit on skyscrapers in the city, but as a federal building the Custom House Tower was exempt. At 496 feet tall, it was nearly four times the maximum height, and it dominated the Boston skyline for many years, as this early 1930s view of the city shows.

The c.1913-1915 photo above shows the building during its construction, with the original 1849 structure clearly visible at its base. It would remain the tallest building in the city until the completion of the Prudential Tower nearly 50 years later, and it would be used by US Customs until 1986 when they moved into the Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Federal Building. After a long period of vacancy, the historic tower is now a Marriott Hotel, and it is part of the Custom House District on the National Register of Historic Places.