45-83 Albany street  boston, ma

Welcome to 45-83 Albany Street! In this section you will learn about urban continuity and change in Boston via a niche look at a small parcel situated next to the Boston and Albany Railyard. This parcel is a unique look into the residential landscape of downtown Boston and the changes that this landscape underwent from the 19th into the 20th centuries. Enjoy!

The people

We start our journey with the Hopkins map from 1874. This is a good place to ground our understanding of the parcel and it's evolution overtime. From this map we can see that the parcel residents are primarily of mixed Anglo and Irish origin. This is suggested by the surnames of the residents. Some have more Anglo surnames such as Wellington and Bennett, while others have typical Irish surnames like Riley, Casey, Kimball and McLaughlin. The Bennetts, for example, are an American family and live on the property of their father. The map states that the property belongs to "Joshua Bennett Heirs". The resident, however, is Andrew Bennett, a policeman, and his wife Elizabeth and two children. On the other hand, you have the McLaughlins, who are a prime example of Irish residents. James McClaughlin was a physician born in Ireland. According to the 1870 census, Dr. James McLaughlin resided on Albany Street and was 53 years old at the time of the census. He had a wife, Mary, and a son, James age 10. It is also interesting that Dr. McLaughlin was employed as a physician and lived in such a working class neighborhood adjacent to the policeman Mr. Bennett. If we look at proceeding maps over twenty or so year intervals we can see a substantial increase in the number of Irish residents and the flight of the Anglo residents. What is interesting, however, is that the Bennetts held their plot all the way into the 1920s. The only time they do not appear as property owners is in the 1938 map, when their property is bought by the Irish Cadigans. This story of increasing "Irishitization" makes sense as the US saw continuous increases in Irish immigration as the 19th century progressed, especially in East Coast cities like Boston. In the 1895 Bromley map we see a great many more Irish owners and substantial continuity of ownership as well. The Kimball heirs now own the parcels of their father's and the McLaughlins still reside on the parcel as well.