359-439 Atlantic Ave

By Chris B.

Enclosed by Belcher, Purchase, and Oliver Streets, 359-439 Atlantic Avenue was a product of an ever-changing environment. The dynamic nature of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Boston was reflected by a block of buildings that withstood threatening fires, witnessed the groundbreaking construction of the Boston Elevated Railway, and was home to businesses that defined the era. Watch each story unfold by visiting the subpages below.

photo of elevated railway tracks running between buildings

Visit the Elevated Railway page to learn more about how the railway that lived on top of Boston's streets is intertwined with 359-439 Atlantic Ave

newspaper headline: Bad Fire on Waterfront

Visit the Troublesome Fires page to learn about the many fires that plagued 359-439 Atlantic, and what the city of Boston did to stop them

historic photograph of Atlantic Ave and surrounding buildings

Visit the Architectural Features page to get a better understanding of the architectural features of the buildings that existed on 359-439 Atlantic Ave

Bibliography

Works Cited


“Atlascope Boston.” Atlascope Boston · Historic Urban Atlases from the Norman B. Leventhal 

                Map & Education Center, Norman B Leventhal Map & Education Center at the      

            Boston Public Library, 2020, https://atlascope.leventhalmap.org/#view:address-search-bar. 


Boston Elevated Railway Company. "Atlantic Avenue looking south from near Oliver Street" Photograph. February  20, 1901. Digital Commonwealth, https://cityofboston.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_fee1d596-670c-41e9-958c-0a02822612eb/ (accessed November 30, 2022).


"BAD FIRE ON WATER FRONT: BUILDING AT FOSTER'S WHARF BURNED. THREE ALARMS FOR BLAZE AT 4 O'CLOCK THIS MORNING. LOSS IS HEAVY--FIREMEN SUFFER WITH COLD." Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Dec 09, 1912. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/bad-fire-on-water-front/docview/502144131/se-2.


"REAL ESTATE: TUFTS COLLEGEBUYS 373 ATLANTIC AV. FIVE-STORY BRICK BUILDING AND LAND TAXED FOR $40,000. SYNDICATE ALSO BUYS ON SAME THOROUGHFARE. WEST END SALES CLOSED. ROXBURY HOUSES SOLD. DORCHESTER DISTRICT SALES WINTHROP DWELLING." Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Nov 28, 1907. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/real-estate/docview/500933945/se-2.