Transportation

Charlestown Navy Yard

by

The Boston Navy Yard, seen from across the harbor, between 1910 and 1920.  Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

238_1900-1920-loc

The view in 2014:

238_2014

The two views don’t line up perfectly; the 2014 photo was taken from the waterfront in the North End, while the original appears to have been taken from a boat slightly further into the harbor.  When the original photo was taken, the Charlestown Navy Yard (as it was then known as) was a major naval base; the photo shows a collection of ships, including at least two cruisers (a Denver-class protected cruiser, possibly the USS Des Moines (CL-17), on the far left, and a Chester-class light cruiser, with the four smokestacks in the right-center of the photo).

In the ensuing years, the navy yard built a number of ships, especially during World War II, when the yard constructed destroyers and destroyer escorts, among other naval vessels.  However, the yard closed in 1974, and became part of the Boston National Historical Park.  Today, there has been some new development, particularly the large condominium building on the right-hand side of the photo, but many of the historic structures in the yard are still there, including the building on the far left of the 2014 photo (visible just to the left of the smokestacks on the white-hulled ship), and the small round building near the left-hand side of the condominium building (visible just below and to the right of the tall smokestack near the center of the first photo).

One of the ships from the original photo still exists today, and although it’s not visible in the 2014 photo, it isn’t far away.  The USS Constitution can be seen on the left-hand side of the first photo, just beyond the white-hulled cruiser.  At the time, it was the oldest ship in the US Navy, and it remains so today; it is moored at a pier slightly to the left of the 2014 photo, and still has an active naval crew.

Agawam Ferry, Springfield Mass

by

The Agawam Ferry, sometime in the 1870s or earlier. Photo from Springfield: Present and Prospective, published in 1905.

Agawam

The view in 2014:

227_2014

The cities of Springfield and Hartford have historically had a strong connection, being located along the same river only about 25 miles apart.  However, they are located on opposite sides of the river, so travelers have had to cross it one way or another.  Before the construction of the bridges in Springfield, the Agawam ferry, located near the present-day South End Bridge, was the primary way to cross the river when coming from the south.  The ferry was used up until 1879, when the original South End Bridge opened.  This bridge, in turn, was replaced by the present South End Bridge, which is partially visible on the far right of the 2014 photo.  Both photos are taken from the Agawam side of the river, near Bondi’s Island, facing the South End of Springfield.

Old Toll Bridge, Springfield Mass

by

Springfield’s old covered bridge, around 1908. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

226_1908c-loc.tif

The same view in 2014:

226_2014

This is the first then & now recreation that I’ve done from a watercraft.  The first photo was taken from the riverbank, but because of its relatively inaccessible location today, I decided the water would be a better option.  Plus, the first photo shows some river recreation in the foreground, so I figured it would be appropriate to include a modern-day equivalent.

The building in the foreground of the first photo is the floating bathhouse for one of Springfield’s boat clubs, with a variety of small boats in the water next to it.  Today, Springfield’s waterfront is far more deserted, although there are still several boat clubs on the river nearby.

The bridge in the photo is Springfield’s Old Toll Bridge, which is featured in this post, seen from the other side of the river.  Note that in the old photo in that post, the same boathouse is visible in the distance.  The old covered bridge was replaced by the Memorial Bridge in 1922.  The Memorial Bridge was built a couple blocks downstream, and it is barely visible on the far left of the 2014 photo.

North End Bridge, West Springfield Mass

by

The view looking east over the North End Bridge from the West Springfield side of the river, around 1900-1910.  Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

225_1900-1910-loc.tif

The bridge in 2014:

225_2014

The North End Bridge was the second road bridge to be built across the Connecticut River in Springfield, and opened in 1877.  Both views show the bridge looking east from West Springfield toward Springfield.  This bridge was particularly significant to West Springfield residents, as it directly connected downtown West Springfield to the north end of Springfield and, more importantly at the time, Springfield’s railroad station.

The old bridge was described by King’s Handbook of Springfield in 1884 as being “one of the handsomest highway bridges in the United States.”  In 1923, though, it caught fire and was completely destroyed. Two years later a new bridge was completed, and it remains in use today, carrying US Route 20, the longest road in America, over the Connecticut River.  The road on the far left-hand side just before the bridge in the first photo is Riverdale Street; it didn’t look like much at the turn of the last century, but today it is part of Route 5, and is a major north-south route through the Springfield area.  It does not actually pass through this intersection anymore, though.  The 2014 photo was taken from the center of a rotary, which was built atop a tunnel for Route 5.

As an incidental historical note, there is a sign on the bridge in the first photo, which is barely legible.  In higher-resolution copies of the photo, it reads: “No person shall ride or drive a horse or mule on any part of this bridge at a rate faster than a walk under a penalty of two dollars for each offence.”  Today, the bridge traffic usually travels at a significantly higher rate of speed than a walk, except during rush hour.

28th Street Subway Station (2)

by

Another view of the 28th Street station, around 1904. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

191_1900-1906-loc

The station in 2014:

191_2014

One of the now-closed exit stairways in the 28th Street station. The first plot was probably taken around the time it opened, on October 27, 1904. Notice the mosaic of the station name to the left, which is still there after 110 years.

28th Street Subway Station (1)

by

The 28th Street subway station on the Lexington Avenue line, around the time that it opened in 1904. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

190_1900-1906-loc

The station in 2014:

190_2014

The 28th Street station on the Lexington Avenue Line was part of New York’s first subway line. The station opened on October 27, 1904, and the first photo was probably taken around that time.  Notice the lack of turnstiles – when the subway first opened, employees would stand at the entrance (between the curved iron railings on the right-hand side) and collect fares. Also, the station originally had separate stairways for entering and exiting – exiting passengers didn’t need to pass back through the fare collection area. Overall, not much looks the same today, although the mosaics on the walls are still there. Otherwise, the changes seem to be for the worse, although I’m sure the present-day photo would look far better than a photo from the 1970s or 80s.

On a different note, I am fairly certain that these two photos show the same platform (uptown), but it is difficult to distinguish the two with any degree of certainty, so the 1904 photo could actually be of the downtown platform. Either way, they look almost identical, so a photo of either one would still accurately reflect the changes over the past 110 years.