37-45 Merchant's Row
33-49 North Street
12-28 Clinton Street
Claire G.
Lay of the Land
The parcel that once housed 37-45 Merchant's Row, 33-49 North St., and 12-28 Clinton St. (#92 in fig 1) was more than just the site of businesses and lodging houses. It is here that the various facets that make of Boston's identity were forged. Situated North of Boston's Faneuil Hall (fig 2), the stories of this parcel explore the tension between workers' rights movements and the mythologized business tycoons; public spectacle of the lives of the elite; and the sociological ecology of boarding and lodging houses.
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The man, the myth, the legend: jp Squire
A case study of a self-made Boston millionaire
John P. Squire is the single most prominent owner of land in the parcel, owning property actively from 1883 to 1928 for the sale of his pork products. Lauded as a self-made millionaire, the construction and reception of his story, as detailed through hundreds of news articles, represents the mythification of business tycoons, at the expense of the health of Boston's natural ecology, public health and workers' rights.
Environmental Degradation and Public Health
The pork products sold at JP Squire's property on North St. originated from his slaughterhouse in Cambridge, MA. The company was involved in a well known incident regarding the stench and pollution of Miller's River, which was discussed in 1873 in the Boston Medical & Surgical Journal, stating that the slaughterhouses "seek to lay the blame entirely on the very imperfect drainage system that has been adopted by all cities bordering on the Charles River" (Aug.11 p 192). The editorial places most of the cause behind the pollution on the use of the drainage basins by slaughterhouses, such as that of JP Squire.
The next month saw a response from Squire & Co. to the editorial board of the Journal, stating their goal of directing attention to the "true causes" of the pollution, which "do not emanate from the slaughterhouses" (p 272).
Unions + Workers' Rights
In 1919, Squire & Co. once again felt the effects of the labor union movement which had been gaining traction for years in Boston. A thousand members of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butchers of North America union voted to enact a strike against "big three" meat packing plants, which includes Squire, employees of which 85-90% belong to the union. These workers received an hourly wage of 42 cents, and demanded a raise to 60 cents. This was predicted to, and did, impact the supply and sale of the pork throughout Boston, including the Squire market on North St.
This event echoes the 1886 labor events, which saw JP Squire personally refuse arbitration proceedings with the Knights of Labor, stating, "we shall not submit to dictation in any measure of our business". (Boston Globe Jul. 11 1886).
Live fast, die rich
Public spectacle and the lives of Boston's elite in the North End.
Many of the named property owners of the Merchant's Row/North St./ Clinton St. parcel generated hereditary wealth in the form of these real estate assets. These owners, and their decedents, belonged to the wealthy elite of Boston. The newspaper coverage of their lives created a public spectacle around the upper class, for the entertainment and consumption by the lower classes. Included among these public figures were the Boardmans, Morrills, and Squires.
Below Left: Figure 8 "THE STORY OF A TRAMP. " Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Dec 13, 1878Below Right: Figure 9 "TABLE GOSSIP." Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Apr 28, 1929.
Boardman
Benjamin Greenleaf Boardman, and later his heirs, owned property on 37 Merchant's Row since at least 1883. As a wealthy landowner of Boston's elite class, his life was documented in local periodicals. Above, the 1878 Boston Daily Globe article reports the minor robbery that took place in one of Boardman's other numerous properties at the hands of a "tramp." Class relations in Boston's developing industrial economy were produced and maintained via the public consumption of the lives of the wealthy elite. By placing Boardman in stark contrast to the low class, thieving "tramp" the social order which gives the wealthy a higher moral status is maintained. The wealthy are raised up at any cost, and the downtrodden are punished. This is emblematic of the unregulated market economy which further solidified the wealth gap.
Morrill
Joseph Morrill owned the property on 12-28 Clinton St., previously the place of the New England House. Similarly, to Boardman, the life of Morrill and his family was extensively covered in the Boston media. In the article above from 1929, the impact of generational wealth is evident as the social calendar of the Boston elite is celebrated for the mass consumption of the public. In the newspaper above, Morrill's daughter's status as a bridesmaid for her brother's wedding is covered in great detail.
JP Squire
As one of Boston's richest businessmen, the life and times of JP Squire (1819-1893) was thoroughly documented in the newspapers of the time. His personal "rags to riches" mythos was established and celebrated through these articles. The veritable public obsession with him is emblematic of the laissez-faire economic environment of that time that produced many such ultra-rich robber barons and industry tycoons. In Squire's lifetime, the citizens of Boston had a personal stake in the maintenance of his status as a successful millionaire entrepreneur.
The effects of Squire were such that even in 1944, the news coverage of the company consisted of strongly emotional language which connects Squire to the character of Boston on a fundamental level (see fig. 10).
Above, Figure 10: 1944 Boston Daily Globe coverage of JP Squire Co. party, hailing it as "modern version of the old New England Town Meetings." In drawing such a connection between the legacy of the millionaire meat tycoon and the foundational roots of New England and Boston, the importance of such figures to the identity of Boston is cemented. Subsequently, this attitude generates resistance against any criticism of the wealthy elite and the economic system from which they derive their power, money, and influence.
hotels, lodgers, and boarders, oh my!
The New England House and the Development of a New Urban Subculture
The most permanent fixture of this North End parcel was the New England House, erected in 1832, by John D. Williams, with its last record in 1917. Its 85 year history illuminates the complex relationship between the moral reformers of Boston and its community of lodging houses and the thousands of people who called them home (Peel, 813).
Lodging houses developed in response to the large influx of people into the rapidly industrializing city. The amount of lodging houses increased from 927 in 1860, to nearly 3,000 by the turn of the century (Peel, 818).
They came to replace boarding houses, which were smaller scale and acted as a surrogate family, and which emphasized maintaining the social ties to the community and the boarders. In contrast, lodging houses such as the New England House only provided a room; Any additional meals would cost extra, and would not be served in the familial dinning room style of the boarding houses. As a result, most lodgers had to go to local bars and cafés for their meals and socialization (Peel, 819).
The lodging houses drew attention from moral reformers, including the YMCA, Boston's Student Union, and the Women's Educational and Industrial Union. One reformer, Robert A. Woods called the lodging houses “the advance of irresistible forces, pushing all the earlier types of American life entirely outside the confines of old Boston.” They pointed to the lack of social rituals, such as the full board and family dinning provided in boarding houses, as evidence for the corrupting influence and encouragement of antisocial behavior within the lodgers (Peel, 814).
As such, lodging houses were found most frequently at the edges of the commercial districts, as seen in the New England House, while boarding houses were found in upper class and residential areas (Peel, 819).
As seen above, the New England House provided lodgers with the European Plan, meaning that there was no familial, dinning room meals included in their stay. The New England House had a bar and café at its ground floor, creating an independent space for lodgers staying within its 80 chambers, within which they could socialize freely. This facilitated the development of an alternative array of ethnic and occupational identities, fitting for the changing relationship of class, occupation, and ethnic background.
Most likely to be found here were the Irish, the Canadians, and the British, who made up the largest group of foreign born people in lodging and boarding houses (Peel, 817). As the 20th century approached, the ethnic grouping patterns for lodging houses loosened up, and saw much more inter-ethnic interaction. Overall, the lodgers tended to be single, white, men looking for employment. In the area surrounding the New England House, such possible places of employment included the Feather Warehouse and the Eastern Cold Storage Co (Fig 14). South of the parcel was Faneuil Hall Square and Market, which was a bustling commercial center (Fig 15). Also nearby was Commercial St, another industrial and economic hub (Fig 16).
Paved paradise and put up a parking lot
Changes and Continuities
In place of the New England House at the corner of what is now North St and Clinton St, bordered to the east by the John F. Fitzgerald Surface Rd. is the Hard Rock Café. The Dock Square parking garage makes up the rest of the parcel.
The function of the Hard Rock Café echoes of the New England House bar and café found at its ground level. For over 80 years, people of all walks of life, new to the city, found refuge and solace at the lodging house. Now, in 2021, just a short walk from the bus station, a similar phenomenon occurs on the remains of that site. Though it may no longer be called the New England House, a diverse crowd of people still converge at this corner to eat, drink, listen to music, and socialize.