USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Fifty years of Boston; a memorial volume issued in commemoration of the tercentenary of 1930; 1880-1930, Pt. 2 > Part 37
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On Tuesday evening a formal "Towne Meeting" was held by the city in the Boston Garden over the North Station. This included a reception to His Worship, Reuben Salter, the Mayor of Boston, England, and a large number of guests, among whom were officials from many New England and Canadian states and cities. Mayor Curley presided. Besides the many speeches, music by the Tercentenary Municipal Band and a chorus of two thousand school children, with solos by Madam Schumann-Heink, were provided to entertain the large audience.
Wednesday, September 17, the anniversary of the actual settlement by Winthrop and his party, was the day of the great parade. On Thursday there was a Field Day at Franklin Park, and a dinner was provided in the evening for the official guests of the city. On Friday the special pageant, "The Beacon," written for presentation on Independence Day on Boston Common, was repeated.
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THE TERCENTENARY OBSERVANCE
A gymnastic and musical program was given by German societies on the Com- mon on Saturday afternoon,- another event copied from the program of fifty years ago,- and huge fireworks displays in the evening on the Charles River Basin and the Strandway in South Boston brought Boston Week and the official city celebration to a close.
Some say it is overmuch the Yankee point of view to be blasé, to appear casual; to fear the spontaneous as being too self-revealing; to regard the accom- plishments of one's forbears as a mere matter of course, a tliing to be under- stood and accepted as inevitable, too much so to be an object of self-gratulation or acknowledgment. Very likely it was in somewhat this embarrassed state of mind that many descendants of the carly Puritans of New England faced the prospect of the celebration of three hundred years of their occupancy of this section of the country. If their accomplishments were actually noteworthy or commendable, was it not more dignified for that fact to be established by others - outsiders, as it were - than for them to set up any such claim or place undue emphasis upon it. A quite understandable and consistently reserved New England outlook, this; one that was shared at first, perhaps, by many of those who at last were persuaded to lend some aid or countenance to the affair.
Yet it remains a fact, that, once removed from the conservative soil of the northeastern United States, many a transplanted New Englander has blossomed into a more expansive and enthusiastic partisanship, a more flamboyant patriot- ism, such as seeins indigenous to the Middle West or California. His tempera- ment seems to have suffered some sea or mountain change. Perhaps it is the chilling salt "east wind," the frugality native to this "stern and rockbound coast," that so constrains the enthusiasm of the native New Englander as to make him sccm ill at ease even in welcoming the world to participate with him in the celebration of an important historical occasion,- his regional birthday.
However that may be, the coldest Bostonians of the old stock grew warm as the Tercentenary celebration proceeded. Whatever inertia there may have been in the initial months of the year, however slow the Puritan New Englanders may have been to respond to the opportunity to celebrate their own beginnings and the accomplishments of their ancestors, those who, by accident or design, took even the slightest part in the events that achieved fruition during the anniversary year soon realized that both participants and audiences obtained a glow of true inspiration from the demonstration in which they had united. It is indeed probable that without the more natural gayety inherent in other racial strains that have since fortunately met to combine with our Puritan blood the right and necessary festal spirit might never have been aroused. Yet the descendants of the Puritans, once awakened, did their full share; and the combination of different qualities - the dignity and culture of the older Bostonians, the vivacity and fervor of the later comers - made this celebration a memorable experience. The great civic parade of September 17 certainly can never be forgotten by any of those who were privileged to witness it. In its richness, its varicty, its majesty - the word is not too strong - it approached perfection in its kind. No doubt these are fugitive effects. The oration by Mr. Fisher, Mr. Paramino's relief, the present historical volume,
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FIFTY YEARS OF BOSTON
are destined to outlast physically the impression made by this great march of the citizenry of Boston. That is the fate of all pageantry, as of all acting and, until recently, all singing. Yet we may be permitted to hope that, through photographs and printed descriptions and in the memory of old people who survive, some afterglow of its beauty may linger, so that fifty years hence our successors may find in the parade of 1930 a model to emulate and, if possible, surpass.
It was the one great panoramic feature of a celebration which all in all was as enthusiastic as any one could reasonably wish, yet characteristically quiet, reserved and simple. A World's Fair might have attracted more atten- tion, but World's Fairs, for all their splendor, cannot escape something inherently artificial and pretentious. They do not illustrate the life of the city; usually they upset it. They require professional management, and so the native character is too often smothered. Our Boston celebration (and this is true of the celebrations in other towns and cities throughout the state) was conceived, directed and carried out by the citizens themselves. It was an exhibit of the quality and capacity of the people of Boston. We are not alone in believing that from this point of view the celebration was not only successful but unique.
CHAPTER XV A CHRONICLE OF IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING EVENTS
INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF BOSTON, 1880=1930 Compiled by EDITH GUERRIER
1880
Mayor.
Frederick O. Prince (1879-81).
Statistics:
Population.
Area.
362,839. 27,729 acres.
Valuation.
$639,462,495.
Bank Clearings. Pupils in Public Schools. Anniversaries.
50,507.
Two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Boston by John Winthrop and his company.
Education.
A new English High and Public Latin School started on Montgomery street and Warren avenue. The first of the larger High School buildings. Now used by the English High School only.
Laws.
Emerson College of Oratory founded.
People given the right to smoke in public for the first time. Smokers were formerly liable to arrest on the streets and even on the Common, except in the "Smokers' Circle."
Memorials.
Memorial History of Boston (1880-81).
Statue of Samuel Adams by Anne Whitney erected in Adams square (now in Faneuil Hall square). Statue of John Winthrop, by Richard S. Greenough, erected in Scollay square (moved in 1903 to the First Church grounds on Marlborough street).
Welfare.
A branch of the Salvation Army was established in Boston.
1881
Frederick O. Prince.
Mayor. Maritime Affairs.
The State Harbor and Land Commissioners laid out a plan for the development of docks in East Boston. This was the beginning of the present great expansion in that locality.
(715)
I
$3,326,343,166.
716
FIFTY YEARS OF BOSTON
Memorials.
The Old State House was restored in this year and reserved as a permanent memorial. This was followed by the incorporation of the Bos- tonian Society, which has occupied the building ever since.
Music.
Necrology:
Weather.
Yellow Day, September 6, caused by forest fires in Michigan and Canada, followed by one of the hottest days on record. Temperature of 102 degrees.
Mayor. Buildings.
Fellows
Business and Industries.
Mechanics Building, 97-135 Huntington avenue, completed. Used for expositions, concerts, flower shows, horse and cattle shows, drills, etc. Thompson's Spa, famous restaurant. First ad- dress, 219 Washington street. 1930 capitaliza- tion, $3,550,000.
First incandescent lamps in Boston; sixty-three installed at Hotel Vendôme, June 30.
Elgasse Finance.
Merchants Co-operative Bank, now largest of the co-operative banks, opened.
City of Boston authorized to take land for a new Public Library.
Laws. the Sar - Necrology. wrday --- 11 Theaters. None Visitors.
Richard H. Dana, author, January 6.
Henry W. Longfellow, poet, March 24.
Josiah Quincy, Jr., second Mayor of that name, November 2.
Golden jubilee of William Warren, famous actor, at the Boston Museum.
Porfirio Diaz, long President of Mexico, visited Boston this year.
1883
Albert Palmer.
Four hundredth anniversary of Luther's birth celebrated in many Protestant churches, November 11.
Fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the St. Vincent de Paul Society celebrated in St. James Catholic Church.
Y. M. C. A. building, corner of Berkeley and Boylston streets, dedicated November 14.
index for returday
Mayor. Anniversaries.
Buildings.
1882
Samuel A. Green.
Boston Symphony Orchestra founded by Major Henry L. Higginson. First concert, October 22. James T. Fields, publisher, April 24. John G. Palfrey, historian, April 26.
.
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A CHRONICLE
Business and Industries.
Walter M. Lowney Company, confectionery. First address, South street.
Government.
Governor B. F. Butler appointed George L. Ruffin judge of the Charlestown Municipal Court, the first colored judge in Massachusetts. He removed Warden Earle of the State Prison on charges of cruelty.
Parks and Playgrounds.
Marine Park and Charlesbank added to Boston Park System.
Printing and Publishing.
Christian Science Publishing Society founded. First address, 569 Columbus avenuc.
Theaters.
Henry Irving and Ellen Terry appeared in Boston for the first time, December 10 and 12.
Booth, Barrett, Mccullough, Boucicault and Charles Wyndham played engagements in Boston this year.
Visitors.
Matthew Arnold lectured before a great audience in Horticultural Hall on "Numbers," attacking "the infallibility of majorities," November 7. James Bryce lectured at Harvard December 3.
A delegation of skilled workers from France visited the great Foreign Exhibition, or Bazaar of All Nations, held in Mechanics Building during November and December.
1884
Mayor. Anniversaries.
Augustus P. Martin.
Two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the pur- chase of the Common and its reservation as a public ground.
Bridges. Buildings.
Warren Bridge, Boston to Charlestown, opened.
Massive granite reservoir on Hancock street, Beacon Hill, taken down.
Education.
Manual training first introduced in the Boston public schools.
Laws.
Law enacted providing free text-books in the public schools.
Maritime Affairs.
An association of fish dealers leased T Wharf, which remained the seat of the fishing industry for thirty years and is still occupied by Italian fishermen.
Necrology.
Wendell Phillips, orator, February 2. Services in Hollis Street Church.
Parks and Playgrounds.
Franklin Park (1883-84) added to Boston Park System.
In this year the Dcer Park on the Common, near the corner of Boylston and Tremont streets, was abandoned.
718
FIFTY YEARS OF BOSTON
Telephone.
Boston and New York long distance line opened, March 27.
1885
Mayor. Population.
Hugh O'Brien (1885-88). 390,393.
Business and Industries.
Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Boston organized. Capital stock $100,000.
Education.
Teaching of physiology and hygiene, including effects of alcoholic drinks, made compulsory in the public schools.
Fires.
Bay State Sugar Refinery, January 18. Loss, $223,278.
Maritime Affairs.
Sloop "Puritan," successful defender of the America's cup against British cutter "Gen- esta," launched from George Lawley and Sons' shipyard, May 26.
Music.
First Pop Concert, May 6, in old Music Hall.
Police.
Kneisel String Quartet organized, December 28. Control of police taken away from the City of Boston through the establishment of a state board named by the Governor.
Theaters. Hollis Street Church remodeled and converted into the present Hollis Street Theater. This agassy published rv. of a garino 1886 Letters
Mayor. Anniversaries.
Hugh O'Brien.
Two hundredth anniversary of the founding of King's Chapel.
Development.
The filling in of the Back Bay, begun in 1857, was completed this year.
Education.
Cooking incorporated into curriculum of elemen- tary public schools.
Labor.
Great Labor Parade, September 6, under auspices of Knights of Labor.
Maritime Affairs.
Sloop "Mayflower," successful defender of the America's cup against British cutter "Gala- tea," launched from George Lawley and Sons' shipyard, May 6.
Medicine.
Appendicitis described and named by Dr. R. H. Fitz of Boston.
Memorials.
Statue of Leif Ericsson, by Anne Whitney, erected on Commonwealth avenue. Statue of William Lloyd Garrison, by Olin L. Warner, erected on Commonwealth avenue.
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SARGENT CORRIDOR
CHILDREN'S ROOM BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY .
INTERIOR COURT
720
FIFTY YEARS OF BOSTON
Necrology.
Henry H. Richardson, architect, April 28. Edwin P. Whipple, author, June 16.
Parks and Playgrounds. Visitors.
Charles Francis Adams, statesman, November 21. Jamaica Pond purchased by the city. Grover Cleveland, President of the United States, came to Boston, November 8.
Welfare.
Instructive District Nursing Association organ- ized.
1887
Mayor. Athletics.
Hugh O'Brien.
Boston Athletic Association organized.
Disasters.
Train wreck at Bussey Bridge. Twenty-three killed, one hundred or more injured. March 14. First Monday in September, "Labor Day," made a legal holiday.
Holidays.
Hospitals.
The Boston Almshouse and Hospital was estab- lished on Long Island.
A hospital for the insane was established at Austin Farm.
Laws.
Police officers to be pensioned for disability in- curred in performance of duties.
Maritime Affairs.
Public reception in Faneuil Hall to Edward Burgess, designer of the "Puritan," "May- flower" and "Volunteer."
Printing and Publishing.
Boston News Bureau commenced publication at 70 State street, July 25.
Strikes.
Street railway conductors and drivers. First great tie-up of traffic.
Transportation.
West End Street Railway consolidated with a large number of transportation lines serving Boston and vicinity.
Visitors.
Queen Kapiolani and Princess (afterwards Queen) Liliuokalani of the Sandwich Islands were enter- tained in Boston in May.
1888
Mayor. . Anniversaries.
Hugh O'Brien.
Two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the found- ing of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Com- pany.
Athletics.
Boston Athletic Association Clubhouse, corner Exeter and Blagden streets, opened Decem- ber 29.
Education.
Kindergartens made part of the public school systemn.
day Club
721
A CHRONICLE
Hospitals. Pierce Farm, adjoining Austin Farm, was added to the Insane Hospital.
Memorials. Memorial to Crispus Attucks and other patriots of 1770, by Robert Kraus; erected on the Common.
Necrology.
Asa Gray, botanist, January 30. Louisa May Alcott, author, March 6. James Freeman Clarke, clergyman, June 8.
William Warren, actor, September 12.
Oliver Ditson, music publisher, December 21.
Weather.
"Great March Blizzard." Wind velocity sixty miles an hour.
1889
Thomas N. Hart.
Great Kingston street fire. Sixty buildings burned. Four firemen and one volunteer buried under the masonry. November 28. Loss, $3,681,586.
Government.
Reunion.
Two hundred and fifty "forty-niners," members of the Society of California Pioneers of New England, met in Odd Fellows Hall, Tremont street, September 9.
Theaters. Transportation.
Tremont Theater opened, the third of that name. First electric car line opened between Brookline and Boston.
Women.
Helen Keller entered Perkins Institution for the Blind, October 16.
1890
Thomas N. Hart.
448,477.
One hundredth anniversary of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Business and Industries. Clubs.
Boston Real Estate Exchange opened, January 11. The College Club, for graduates of women's col- leges, started at 76 Marlborough street, Decem- ber 15.
Disasters. Education.
Wollaston railroad accident. Twenty killed.
Swedish system of educational gymnastics intro- duced in public schools.
Minors unable to read or write obliged to attend either day or evening school.
Finance.
Old Colony Trust Company incorporated.
Sa da
Mayor. Fires.
Australian ballot, with secret voting feature, adopted.
Mayor. Population. Anniversaries.
722
FIFTY YEARS OF BOSTON
Hospitals.
Necrology. Parks and Playgrounds.
Vincent Memorial Hospital established, com- memorating the beloved actress, Mrs. Vincent, who first appeared in Boston in 1832. John Boyle O'Reilly, author, August 10. Castle Island and a part of Marine Park added to Boston Park System.
Visitors.
Henry M. Stanley, African explorer, November 18. Reception at Hotel Brunswick.
1891
Mayor. Bridges.
Nathan Matthews, Jr. (1891-94).
Harvard Bridge, Boston to Cambridge, opened, making possible the great thoroughfare, Massa- chusetts avenue.
Buildings.
New Suffolk County Court House erected on Pemberton square.
Boston Medical Library moved into its new build- ing on the Fenway.
Business and Industries.
American Sugar Refining Company organized. First address, 47 Granite street. 1930 capi- talization, $90,000,000.
Conventions.
First world convention, Women's Christian Tem- perance Union, held in Faneuil Hall, Novem- ber 10.
Epidemic. Necrology.
Influenza prevalent since December, 1889. Charles F. Chickering, piano manufacturer, March 23.
Parks and Playgrounds.
World War Memorial Park (originally Wood Island Park), East Boston, 1SS2-91, added to Boston Park System.
Welfare.
South End House, first social settlement in Bos- ton, established.
1892
Mayor. Bridges.
Nathan Matthews, Jr.
I. Street Bridge built over South Boston Reserved Channel.
Clubs.
The University Club started at 270 Beacon street. Continued prevalence of influenza.
Epidemic.
Necrology. Parks and Playgrounds.
Henry I. Bowditch, physician, January 14.
Arborway, from Jamaica Pond to Franklin Park, passing the Arnold Arboretum, completed.
Franklin Field, Blue Hill and Talbot avenues, Dorchester, completed.
alui.
James Russell Lowell, poet, August 12.
Riverway and Olmsted Park developed, extend- ing the Back Bay Fens to Jamaica Pond.
723
A CHRONICLE
Weather.
Severe snowstorm which tied up traffic. Twenty- two inches. March 1-4.
Mayor. Clubs.
Nathan Matthews, Jr.
Boys' Club of Boston established.
The Twentieth Century Club started, November 24, at 3 Joy street.
Education.
Mechanic Arts High School established.
Finance.
The greatest national panic since 1873. Normal conditions not restored for four or five years. Unemployment and distress during winter of 1893-94.
Fires.
Lincoln street. Several buildings. March 10. Loss, $949,608.
Tremont Temple, March 19. Loss, $14,707.
New England Baptist Hospital opened.
Memorials.
Statue of Admiral David G. Farragut, by Henry H. Kitson, erected in Marine Park.
Sat Phillips Brooks, clergyman, January 23.
Lucy Larcom, poet, April 17. da 1
Lucy Stone, reformer, October 18.
1
Parks and Playgrounds.
Printing and Publishing.
D. B. Updike founded the Merrymount Press. First address, 6 Beacon street.
Mayor. Buildings. Education.
1894
Nathan Matthews, Jr.
North Union Station completed this year.
Beautiful West Church, dating from 1806, bought by the city and remodeled as the West End Branch of the Boston Public Library.
Fires. Holidays.
Globe Theater, January 2. Loss, $93,104.
April 19, Patriots' Day, made a legal holiday. Fast Day, so called, abolished.
Maritime Affairs.
Total wreck of steamer "Venetian" on State Ledge, within three miles of the waterfront, led to large Federal appropriation for deepening main ship channel.
Medical examination of public school pupils started in Boston public schools. Boston said to be the first city in the world to have this system.
Hospitals. Medicine.
Tufts Medical School established.
Necrology.
Francis Parkman, author, November 8.
Copp's Hill Terraces and North End Beach added to Boston Park System.
Medicine.
1893
724
FIFTY YEARS OF BOSTON
Music.
Allen A. Brown music library presented to the city, August 14.
aturday Necrology. .
Elizabeth P. Peabody, educator, January 3. Oliver Wendell Holmes, author, October 7.
Theaters.
Keith's Theater opened, marking popularity of vaudeville as a form of entertainment.
Unemployed.
Mob of unemployed stormed State House Feb- ruary 20, demanding state aid. Finally marched to join Coxey's Army. Returned in June with- out reaching Washington.
Welfare.
Industrial School for Crippled and Deformed Children founded.
1895
Mayor.
Edwin U. Curtis. 496,920.
Population. Anniversaries.
One hundredth anniversary of laying of corner- stone of State House.
Buildings.
New building of the Boston Public Library on Copley square opened March 11. Old building on Boylston street closed.
First Church of Christ, Scientist (original church), dedicated, June 6.
Maritime Affairs.
State House extension at the rear, erected 1889-95. Minot's Ledge Light changed from fixed white to flashing 1-4-3. First use in this country of numerical system in lighthouses.
Necrology.
Eben D. Jordan, founder of Jordan Marsh Com- pany, November 15.
Samuel F. Smith, author of "America," Novem- ber 16.
Parks and Playgrounds.
Arnold Arboretum and Bussey Park (1882-95) added to Boston Park System.
Rioting.
Years of A. P. A. agitation and counter-agitation reached their climax in a riot in East Boston on Independence Day in which John W. Willis was killed.
Welfare.
First organization of the Jewish charities of Boston.
Parental School for Truants established in West Roxbury. Discontinued in 1914. Truants are no longer segregated.
1896
Mayor.
Bridges.
Josiah Quincy, third Mayor of that name (1896- 99). Cottage Farm Bridge built.
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A CHRONICLE
City Government.
City accepted legacy of $50,000 from George L.
Randidge, providing for summer excursions for poor children.
Hospitals. Labor.
Memorials.
John Boyle O'Reilly Monument, by Daniel C. French, erected in Back Bay Park.
Necrology. Strikes.
Benjamin A. Gould, astronomer, November 26. West End Street Railway employees.
1897
Mayor. Athletics.
Josiah Quincy.
First Boston Athletic Association Marathon Race, April 19, won by J. J. McDermott.
Disasters.
Explosion in the new Tremont Street Subway, March 4. Nine killed, sixty injured.
Historical.
Original manuscript of William Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation" delivered to Governor Wolcott at the State House.
Laws.
Appointment of women as assistant probation officers in Municipal Court allowed.
Maritime Affairs.
Arrival of schooner "George W. Wells" from her builder's yard. First six-masted schooner in the country and first built of steel.
Frigate "Constitution" arrived in tow from Portsmouth Navy Yard. Laid up at Charles- town Navy Yard.
Memorials.
Monument to Colonel Robert G. Shaw and 54th Massachusetts Regiment, by Augustus Saint Gaudens and McKim, Mead and White, erected on the Common.
Necrology.
Francis A. Walker, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, January 5.
William T. Adams, "Oliver Optic," author, March 27.
Justin Winsor, librarian, October 22.
Park Department.
What is said to have been the first indoor municipal gymnasium in the United States opened in East Boston, 1897. Tremont Street Subway opened to the public. First subway to be constructed for trolley car operation in America.
1898
Josiah Quincy.
The State House dome (first gilded in 1874) was illuminated for the first time, September 27.
Transportation.
Mayor. Buildings.
New England Deaconess Hospital opened.
First great Labor Day parade, 13,000 in line, September 7.
726
FIFTY YEARS OF BOSTON
City Government.
City Art Department in charge of five commis- sioners established.
Disasters.
"Portland Storm," November 26-27. Northeast gale and heavy snow destroyed over fifty vessels on New England coast. Steamer "Port- land," out of Boston, went down with all on board.
Finance.
National Shawmut Bank created out of a merger of nine national banks.
Laws.
Height of buildings in Copley Square limited to ninety and one hundred feet.
Necrology.
George Parsons Lathrop, author, April 18.
Samuel Eliot, philanthropist, September 14.
Parks and Playgrounds.
Bill passed providing for "a comprehensive system of playgrounds."
Water Supply.
Metropolitan system introduced. Boston supply system to be taken over by the state.
Welfare.
First all-year-round bath house opened to the public, Dover street, in October.
Mayor. Bridges.
Josiah Quincy.
Charlestown Bridge, Boston to Charlestown, superseded the old Charles River Bridge.
Buildings.
South Union Station opened to the public, January 1.
Masonic Temple, 49-53 Boylston street, the second on this site, opened September 4.
Massachusetts Historical Society Building, 1154 Boylston street, opened April 14. The oldest historical society in America.
Business and Industries.
United Fruit Company incorporated. Beginning of the subsequent great development in the cultivation and importation of tropical fruit. Condit Electrical Manufacturing Company. First address, 63 Oliver street. 1930 capital- ization, $3,750,020.
Memorials.
Statue of Colonel Thomas Cass, by Richard E. Brooks, erected in the Public Garden.
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