3-37 Barrett Street
83-103 North Street

Anthony D.

Overview and Background:

This intersecting region of the North End is bounded by JFK Surface Road south of North Street. Central are the shops and businesses that defined the parcel as a place of business and commerce within the North end. From the mid-late 19th century up until the leveling of the parcel for the Central Artery, the neighborhood transitioned from primarily small, independent shops to large businesses owned by wealthy property owners. This is seen through the ownership of the buildings, which changed from many independent owners to large businesses and wealthy estate owners that bought much of the property for use in their large businesses.

1882 map detail of Barret St subject parcel

3-37 Barret Street

1882

Sanborn. Insurance Maps of Boston. New York: Sanborn Map & Publishing Co, 1882.

1882 map detail of North St subject parcel

83-103 North street

1882

Sanborn. Insurance Maps of Boston. New York: Sanborn Map & Publishing Co, 1882.

State of the Parcel: Late 1800s

In the second half of the 19th century, this parcel was occupied primarily by small businesses. Many were general goods stores, but often the shops specialized in areas of metallurgy, carpentry and produce. These shops were generally small and high in number.


The Hitchborn Block 

1883 map detail of Hitchborn Block

Hitchborn Block

85-103 North St.

Bromley. Atlas of the city of Boston. Philadelphia : Geo .W. and Walter S. Bromley, 1883.
Good News Appliance advertisement

Good News Appliances

https://www.historicnewengland.org/explore/collections-access/gusn/319077/
Gordon Quarterly Catalogue frontispiece

Gordon quarterly Salesman

https://www.historicnewengland.org/explore/collections-access/gusn/268912/
1895 newspaper excerpt about John P. Thorndike

John. P. Thorndike

Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922); Boston, Mass. [Boston, Mass]04 Oct 1895: 9

The Hitchborn Block is representative of the small businesses that occupied this parcel. The block encompassed the odd numbers from 83-103 North Street and 35-37 Barrett Street and was home to businesses in the glass, metal, and carpentry industries as well as a variety of general goods stores. Businesses such as Good News Appliances merged with other businesses within the block to form larger stores such as the Gordon quarterly Salesman. The history of the block is tied to its ownership by estate owner John P. Thorndike, a wealthy businessman and owner of real estate. 

Wealthy Landowners and Large Corporations

1898 map detail showing Trs. Thos. E. Proctor as owner

1898

Bromley. Atlas of the city of Boston philadelphia:  G.W. Bromley and Co,  1898.

1908 map detail showing property owners

1908

Bromley. Atlas of the city of Boston Philadelphia : G.W. Bromley and Co, 1908.

1938 map detail showing property owners

1938

Bromley. Atlas of the city of Boston philadelphia:  G.W. Bromley and Co,  1938.

Thomas E. Proctor, was a wealthy landowner that owned vast amounts of property and exerted a strong influence on the developing North End through his estate. His estate included a large section of Barrett street from 1898 through the 1930s. The Proctor family became wealthy from the leather industry and Thomas E. Proctor was the first president of United States Leather, which would become one of the first twelve members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, founded in 1896. 

THOMAS E. PROCTOR

Newspaper headline reporting McKesson merger

McKesson merger

In 1928 the Eastern Drug co. along with fifteen other firms merged with McKesson and Robbins inc. in one of the largest nation wide merges among drug companies at the time.

Newspaper headline reporting McKesson fraud claims

Scandal

A large scandal involved McKesson and Robbins and the faking of twenty-one million dollars in assets. This event became a model for reforms in laws regulating book keeping. 

McKesson and Robbins: A Catalyst for Urban Change

The influence that wealthy landowners had on this parcel was seen through the evolution of the Eastern Drug Co. of Barrett Street and the buying up of large amounts of property that was previously independently owned. Originally a local Boston company, the Eastern Drug. Co supplied pharmaceuticals and was one of the most influential drug businesses in Boston during the late 19th century. Shortly after the turn of the 20th century the company was bought up and merged with McKesson and Robbins inc., which would become one of the largest company merges in American History. By the late 1930s, the majority of the odd side of Barrett Street was occupied by McKesson and Robbins inc. with the smaller businesses being pushed out. The story of the Eastern Drug co. is a key example of large corporations taking over land and buildings from smaller businesses and represents the theme of this parcel's transition from housing small business to large corporations.

Works Cited