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WELCOME to State Street!
"The Financial District's Commericial & Transportation Hub"
A Brief Overview:
State Street, located in the eastern-most part of central Boston in its Financial District, is one of the oldest and most historic streets in the city. It runs west-east and extends onto the Long Wharf pier. Formerly known as King Street, this stretch of land hosted the construction of the city’s first colonial meeting house, the historic Custom house, and the founding of State Street Bank. However, it has also endured increasing urbanization, changing modes of transportation, and demolition to accommodate modernized infrastructure.
This webpage covers the history of 214-298 State Street, some of the easternmost addresses, from the early 1860s into the late 1930s. Individual sections of the website will detail the businesses, building owners, and means of transportation that characterized the corridor during this period. Relying on primary source maps, historic newspaper articles, digitally archived wills and estates, early 20th century directories, and countless historical photographs, this website will show that the State Street of the late 19th century was a transportation and commercial mecca, an identity that has since changed over the past hundred years.
Citation
State Street Events: a Brief Account of Divers Notable Persons & Sundry Stirring Events Having to Do with the History of This Ancient Street. Boston, MA: State Street Trust Co. of Boston, 1916.
ATLASCOPE MAPS : 1861-1938
Below are Atlascope geo-aligned maps of State Street from 1861-1938. Click through to see the evolution of State Street's urban landscape, building owners and modes of transportation!
Citations
Citations:
Map & Image Credit
Pinney. Map of the City of Boston. Boston: Prang & Co. Lith, 1861. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Pinney. Plan of the City of Boston [map]. 1861. “Atlascope Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.”
<https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:overlay-about-holder> (accessed May 4, 2021).
Sanborn Fire Insurance. Insurance Map of Boston. New York: D.A. Sanborn, 1867. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Sanborn Fire Insurance. Insurance Map of Boston [map]. 1867. “Atlascope Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.” <https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:map> (accessed May 4, 2021).
Hopkins. Atlas of the County of Suffolk, Massachusetts. Philadelphia : G.M. Hopkins & Co., 1874. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
G.M. Hopkins & Co. Atlas of the County of Suffolk, Massachusetts [map]. 1874. “Atlascope Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.” <https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:map> (accessed May 4, 2021).
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1883. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Geo .W. and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston [map]. 1883. “Atlascope Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.” <https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:map> (accessed May 4, 2021).
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1888. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Geo .W. and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston [map]. 1888. “Atlascope Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.” <https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:map> (accessed May 4, 2021).
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1890. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Geo .W. and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston [map]. 1890. “Atlascope Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.” <https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:map> (accessed May 4, 2021).
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1895. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Geo .W. and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston [map]. 1895. “Atlascope Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.” <https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:map> (accessed May 4, 2021).
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1898. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Geo .W. and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston [map]. 1898. “Atlascope Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.” <https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:map> (accessed May 4, 2021).
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1902. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Geo .W. and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston [map]. 1902. “Atlascope Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.” <https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:map> (accessed May 4, 2021).
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1908. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Geo .W. and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston [map]. 1908. “Atlascope Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.” <https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:map> (accessed May 4, 2021).
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1912. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Geo .W. and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston [map]. 1912. “Atlascope Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.” <https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:map> (accessed May 4, 2021).
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1922. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Geo .W. and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston [map]. 1922. “Atlascope Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.” <https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:map> (accessed May 4, 2021).
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1928. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Geo .W. and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston [map]. 1928. “Atlascope Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.” <https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:map> (accessed May 4, 2021).
Bromley, George Washington and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co., 1938. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
Geo .W. and Walter S. Bromley. Atlas of the City of Boston [map]. 1938. “Atlascope Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.” <https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:map> (accessed May 4, 2021).
What Characterizes Life on State Street?
What do Grocers, Coffin Manufacturers, and Financial Clerks have in common?
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Learn About the Businesses that Called State Street Home
Who owned the State Street buildings? What were their lives like?
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Explore Case Studies!
How did people, goods, and services move on State Street?
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Find out more about Trains, Subways & Long Wharf
Image Citations
Left: "State Street, Boston." Photograph. 1850. Digital Commonwealth, https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/7p88d7266 (accessed May 05, 2021).
Center:
Right: Griffin, Arthur. "State Street (including Long Wharf & Atlantic Ave.)." Photograph. 1935. Digital Commonwealth, https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/k930f976z (accessed May 05, 2021).
Where are they now?
What happened to the 214-298 State Street Buildings after 1938?
The buildings that occupied 214-298 State Street during the 19th and early 20th centuries no longer stand today. After the demolition of the elevated Atlantic railroad, just 40 years after its construction, the path of the elevated railway was converted into an elevated expressway known as the Central Artery. The construction of the Central Artery took place in the 1950s, and followed the route up Atlantic Avenue. During the subsequent demolition and construction periods for these new pieces of infrastructure, the eastern-most properties of State Street were also subject to removal and demolition. In certain instances the elevated highway literally bisected existing State Street buildings. Today, the John F. Fitzgerald expressway occupies the 214-232 addresses. The remainder of the parcel is now home to the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel.
Detail of State Street from 1938 Bromley Overlaid onto 2021 Google Maps
The Marriott Long Wharf
290 State Street, Boston MA
Citation
Finstein, Amy D. Modern Mobility Aloft. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2020. p 136-39 & 187.Left: https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:address-search-barRight: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3598969,-71.0510399,3a,75y,340.46h,94.21t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sTQ5eUsF2SdXWtyMV2v57nA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
RESEARCH PROCESS & METHODOLOGY
The foundation for the State Street research is grounded in the Leventhal Map Collection’s Atlascope mapping tool. Through studying the layers of the Bromley, Sanborn, and Pinney maps, I identified the types of buildings located on the State Street parcel, who owned them, and what means of transportation were in the properties’ vicinity. Using primary source databases, namely Ancestry HeritageQuest and ProQuest Historical newspapers, I traced patterns in the buildings’ ownership, occupancy, and commercial activity in order to discern what life was like on 19th Century State Street. Finally, Digital Commonwealth and digitized Boston City Archives provided the images of the State Street buildings, railroads, and subways included in the site.
Main Research Links
Atlascope
https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:address-search-barProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Boston Globe
https://search-proquest-com.holycross.idm.oclc.org/hnpnewyorkbostonglobe?accountid=11456Ancestry Heritage Quest
https://www.ancestryheritagequest.com/HQADigital Commonwealth
https://www.digitalcommonwealth.orgCity of Boston Archives
https://cityofboston.access.preservica.com
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