54-78 INDIA STREET

Several prominent buildings made up the expanse of 54-78 India Street. They include the Dean Building, Grocers Exchange, Central Wharf & Wet Dock Corpn., and a few other buildings named only to the trustees in possession of the adjoining real estate. These structures not only housed the businesses that helped keep the wharves and US Customs house flowing efficiently, but also the laborers and traders that directly carried out this system.

Most of the structures were generic, industrial multi-stories with brick exteriors. The only exception was the Dean Building, which featured a bright limestone exterior that popped out compared to the extravagant Chamber of Commerce to its west and the simple brick residences to the east. A notable difference, the Dean Building and Grocers Exchange only reached a height of ~45 feet, which is significantly less compared to the adjacent Chamber of Commerce (~65 feet) and 68-78 India Street (~65 feet). This fluctuation in datum consistency could be attributed to the Dean Building and Grocers Exchange’s primary focus on business. According to a 1916 US Census, the vast majority of people affiliated with the buildings were homeowners, meaning that while business was conducted at the site there was not a large emphasis on complimentary residences above the businesses. 

The opposite remains true for 68-74 India Street. A block best described as a conglomerate of trusts, this ~ 65ft building block was host to numerous residents of numerous labor backgrounds. Overlap between the business of the Dean Building and Grocers Exchange and the residencies of 68-74 India Street seem hard to dismiss. A large population of clerks and salesman were housed in the apartments, right next to places of trade and commerce. They were an extensively entangled and intertwined two blocks.

To truly understand the blocks of 54-78 India Street, the owners of the buildings must be identified. Five main owners and trustees were involved in the parcels: Chase A. Dean, Geo. Wigglesworth, Franklin L. Joy, Stephen L. Bartlett, and Otis H. Luke. Each were prominent members within their respective fields, most dealing with some form of commerce and trade. 

Objectively the largest presence on the block, Chas. A. Dean owned 54-64 India Street. As previously mentioned, this was a stouter building mostly focused on business.  He was born in 1845 in Massachusetts, making a living out of paper production. He didn’t not live on-site, instead in a residence near Walden Park. 

Across from the Dean Building, Stephen L. Bartlett owned 68 India Street. He was born in 1860 in Massachusetts and resided at 175 Commonwealth Avenue. As a prominent importer, he was amongst only 10.68% of other men in his district to hold such a position. Such a low percentage infers the position of importer to potentially be an important and sought-after job, especially when one can own property in the close proximity of the US Customs House, Chamber of Commerce, and two of the largest wharves in Boston. 

Next door to Bartlett was Otis H. Luke; who owned 74-78 India Street. He was born in New Hampshire in 1850. Residing on Hale Street in Ward 6, Luke was noted as being dependent on “own income”. The census also noted that his house had registered two servants. Despite the ambiguity of his occupation, it can be assumed that he had enough income to support a separate residence and employ two personal house servants. This factors can lead to the reasonable assumption that Luke was a wealthy businessman of some form, and what better place to own property than the center of commerce in Boston for a wealthy businessman. 

Behind Luke was Franklin L. Joy, trustee of 7 Sears Street. Born in 1857 in Massachusetts, he was a commission merchant. Similar to all the other owners and trustees, Joy lived separate from the property on 25 Glennaire Street. The occupation of commission merchant coincides very well with the properties proximity to India and Central wharves. 

Lastly, George Wigglesworth was located behind Joy on Sears St. He was born in 1855 in Massachusetts and lived at 133 MT Fernon St. Lawyer by occupation. Wigglesworth certainly could have been invoked heavily in the nearby US Customs House or Chamber of Commerce. Owning property next to such businesses that he may have been dealing with legal matters is certainly another interesting dimension of the blocks.

The owners of the parcels all held similar backgrounds. Born in Massachusetts, most dealing in some kind of trade or commerce, and none lived on site. These were businessmen who had made strategic purchases of property in order to advance their profits through trade, rent, or influence.

Those who truly made up the blocks were those who worked and resided there. Each building had its assortment of affiliated people, some homeowners, some not. What was most prevalent when looking at the directory information, however, was the consistency in occupation. Clerks, shippers, and salesman dominated the directory for the addresses of 54-78 India Street. 

The Dean Building was no exception, made up of clerks, shippers, and salesman. However, two homeowners affiliated with the building had been given the title of President and Vice President under occupation. Whatever business that has existed there was of decent proportion given that it had an executive branch. In addition to the presence of a large business, a rather odd boarder by the name of Frank S. was noted as being a metallurgist. Certainly a unique position for time and maybe he was involved with the construction or maintenance of the wharves. 

Under the Bartlett, Joy, Luke trusts, they are again dominated by clerks, salesman, and shippers. There are, however, a few exceptions to these occupations. These include a steamfitter, chemist, and brass rule worker. The presence of these speciality occupations could suggest the need for experts within the businesses that operated within the parcels. There was work occurring that went beyond manual labor and trade ledgers. I found this as an interesting development because it’s not often considered the role of a chemist within the fabric of an intense trade network. 

The largest takeaway from the occupations of the affiliated people were the jobs that were indicative of a person being a homeowner and the jobs who often signaled a person as being a boarder. Shippers and clerks, more often than not, were boarders at the parcel buildings. Salesmen and any other specialized occupation, more often than not, were homeowners and assumingly commuted to the parcels to conduct business. It provided an interesting dichotomy to be able to analyze who was a homeowner and who wasn’t in the early 1900s according to occupation.

The blocks of 54-78 India Street were a hotbed of commerce and trade in early 1900s Boston. A community of shippers, clerks, and salesmen overseen by prominent businessmen that helped run the shipping power that was the city of Boston. Today, the only remnant left of the parcels is the still-standing Chamber of Commerce, commonly known as the Flour and Grain Exchange present day. This building was heavily influential on the blocks that have been leveled to make way for more efficient transportation. While the wharves may not be as busy and India Street may not be the powerhouse of trade it once was, hints of the time when it was still linger.