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Eleanor D.
South street at a glance
The close proximity of the harbor to this parcel of South Street allowed for the growth of the Leather District in this area. However, the Boston Fire of 1872 impacted businesses that eventually shifted Boston’s business center.
The 13-73 South Street parcel is located in Boston across the street from South Station and in the Financial District of today’s Boston. Currently, the parcel is home to the 125 Summer Street building that has a Tatte Bakery & Cafe, a Starbucks and the Summer Street Barber Shop, as well as other businesses such as Keystone Partners, General Assembly Boston and Boston Investors Services. However, in the 1800s, it was in the Leather District where leather dealers and boot and shoe makers worked. Between 13 and 73 South Street, there were mostly leather dealers selling, manufacturing and storing shoes, paper boxes for goods, equipment and clothes. There were four story buildings on South Street and in the surrounding area which had mansard roofs and granite façades. The close proximity of Boston Harbor to this parcel allowed for the growth of the Leather District. Unfortunately, the Boston Fire of 1872 reached half of the parcel on South Street and businesses had to move further down the street so that the burnt buildings could be repaired. The impact of the Boston Fire of 1872 caused a shift in Boston’s business center.
Key Features
Establishing The Leather District
The majority of my parcel consisted of leather dealers and manufacturers in the Leather District.
Rebuilding The Burnt District
Half of my parcel was burned down in the Great Boston Fire of 1872 and greatly impacted the local business patterns.
Atlascope maps 1883 - 1938
Click through the geo-aligned maps of South Street from 1883 to 1938 to see the changes throughout the years.
Click through the advertisements displayed in newspapers of South Street companies.
Bibliography
Allen, E. L. 1872. Panorama of the "Burnt District" of Boston. New York: New York Times.
Bacevich, Andrew. 2009. The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. N.p.: Henry Holt and Company.
"BOARD OF ALDERMEN.: ACTION IN REGARD TO SOUTH STREET WIDENING, MOODY AND SANKEY MEETINGS--UNION FREIGHT RAILROAD CARS--SEWERAGE DEPOSITS IN THE DOCKS-[...] REPORTS OF THE WATER BOARD AND CITY REGLSTRAR--VARIOUS MATTERS. SOUTH STREET WIDENING. MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. OTHER ORDERS PASSED." 1876.Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Aug 29, 8. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/board-aldermen/docview/492068525/se-2.
"BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT.: ANNUAL REPORT OF THE FIRE COMMISSIONERS --INTERESTING FUCTS." 1881.Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Jun 28, 2. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/boston-fire-department/docview/492349456/se-2
Boston Public Library. 1877. The Boston Directory. Boston: George Adams.
Boston Public Library. 1877. A schedule of the buildings and their occupancy, on the principal streets and wharves in the city of Boston. : Surveyed and published expressly for the use of insurance companies. Boston: Boston : Press of W.L. Deland.
Boston Public Library. 1880. The Boston Directory. Boston: George Adams.
"BY BAD WIRE.: FIRE IS STARTED AT 128 TREMONT ST. HEAVY DAMAGE FROM SMOKE AND WATER RESULTS. LOSSES OF $5000 EACH AT SOUTH AND WINTER STS. LOSS OF $5000 IN WINTER ST. FIRE IN SOUTH ST, LOSS $5000." 1904.Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Jun 26, 5. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/bad-wire/docview/500262419/se-2.
City of Boston - Public Search. 1872. 1872 permit plans of summer street connected to south street. Boston: City of Boston.
"COMMON COUNCIL.: A LARGE AMOUNT OF REGULAR BUSINESS TRANSACTED. JOHN E. FITZGERALD CONFIRMED AS FIRE COMMISSIONER. CLERK GREGG TO BE TENDERED A COMPLIMENTARY DINNER. FROM THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN. SPECIALLY, ASSIGNED. NOMINATION CONFIRMED. DIRECTOR FOR PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. SOUTH STREET WIDENING. APPROPRIATION AND TAX BILLS. COMMISSIONER OF CEDAR GROVE CEMETERY. THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. PUBLIC LANDS. PROTECTION AGAINST FIRE. THE SOMERSET STREET CHURCH. ORDERS PASSED. FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION. OTHER BUSINESS." 1882.Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Apr 05, 4. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/common-council/docview/492439038/se-2.
"COMMON COUNCIL.: A REFUSAL TO WIDEN SOUTH STREET--THE BURRILL CLAIM SPECIALLY ASSIGNED--IN GENERAL. ELECTION OF TRUSTEE OF CITY HOSPITAL. SOUTH STREET WIDENING. ORDERS PASSED. GENERAL MATTERS." 1879.Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Jul 03, 2. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/common-council/docview/492272746/se-2.
"THE COMMON COUNCIL.: RESIGNATION OF COUNCILMAN FRANCIS J. WARD--THE SOUTH STREET WIDENING APPROVED--A BUSY SESSION BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS. SOUTH STREET WIDENING. THE LOAM MATTER. ORCHARD PARK. THE MYSTIC WATER IN EAST BOSTON. EXPLOSIVE COMPOUNDS. PAPERS IN CONCURRENCE. ORDERS PASSED." 1879.Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Jul 18, 1. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/common-council/docview/492263782/se-2.
"CRIMINAL COURTS." 1872.Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), May 17, 4. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/criminal-courts/docview/491833985/se-2.
Davis, Thomas W., surveyor. "Plan of the burnt district." Map. Boston: s.n., [1900–1999]. Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center, https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:js956k590 (accessed December 11, 2022).
"Display Ad 3 -- no Title." 1872.Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Nov 14, 2. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/display-ad-3-no-title/docview/491852856/se-2.
Fibre & Fabric: A Record of American Textile Industries in the Cotton and Woolen Trade. United States: n.p., 1900.
"IN BROOKLINE POLICE DEPARTMENT.: JAMES GLEASON, NEW SERGEANT, ENTERED ON DUTIES LAST NIGHT--CHANGES CAUSED BY HIS APPOINTMENT." 1899.Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Dec 20, 5. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/brookline-police-department/docview/499269317/se-2.
Seasholes, Nancy S., ed. 2019. The Atlas of Boston History. N.p.: University of Chicago Press.
Shoe and Leather Reporter. United States: Shoe and Leather Reporter Company, 1879.
"TABLE GOSSIP." 1899.Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922), Dec 31, 34. https://holycross.idm.oclc.org/login?auth=cas&url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/table-gossip/docview/499266596/se-2.
Tufts Digital Library. 1865. Houses on South Street. Boston: Hawes, Josiah Johnson.
Tufts Digital Library. 1872. The Boston Directory. Boston: Sampson & Murdock Co.
Bromely, George Washington. Atlas of the City of Boston. Philadelphia: G.W. Bromley & Co.,1883-1938. Boston Public Library, via Atlascope.
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