street life
The Shopping Scene
While certain buildings on Salem Street were strictly residential, the street itself was a whole other storefront. With shops, markets, and stands up and down the cobblestone street, Salem Street was quite the attraction for any Bostonian. The services Salem Street provided to the city became a major bonus for its local economy.
After the transition from a predominantly Jewish to a predominantly Italian community, Salem Street was crawling with small merchants; bakeries, meat markets, fruit markets, cobblers, and grocery stores. These resources were found in both the form of storefronts and the single standing stands that were set up on the sidewalks and in the street.
"Market day", which was usually Saturdays, attracted both former residents and outsiders to flock to Salem Street to purchase, "meat, antipasto, cheeses, and fresh baked bread". Aside from the fruit and vegetable stands, shoppers were especially attracted to Paces Grocery Store, Salem Food Store, and Guiffre's Fish and Meat Market.
Shoppers recounted the fast-paced deals being made, the personal exchanges between familiar faces, and the bumping of shoulders that a Saturday on Salem Street always brought.
Fruit stands located on the sidewalk of Salem Street
Flickr
A "Market day" on Salem Street
FlickrThe Residential Scene
The constant stir of business and shopping was the dream for Salem Street's economy, but it didn't come without negatives. Masses of people collecting in such a small space sparked plenty of conflict with which the residents had to contend.
Blame the Landlords!
On February 16th 1915, ~ 50 residents gathered with social workers, city officials, association leaders, and more to complain about the street conditions in the Hanover Street area. They met at 112 Salem Street, the Civic Service House.
Thomas Jordan, the chief sanitary inspector of the Board of Health, argued that it was the tenement owners' responsibility to keep the streets outside of their buildings clean. The problem got especially messy when renters of the tenements were being convicted rather than the actual tenement owners.
The Real Problem:
While tenement owners were still responsible for the cleaning of the tenements indoors, they were not the issue in regards to the dirty streets. Instead, shop owners and the heavy foot traffic of Salem Street were to blame. Those on the ground level would:
sweep dirt from their house/corridor/shop into the street
put full ashcans in the street
put things out on the street even though it wasn't collection day
allow children to play with the trash
didn't provide a trash can for shoppers to dispose trash
bring trash cans indoors after collection day
June 15, 1925
200 children that lived in the tenement district came together as a part of the Salem Street Clean Up Club to protest the conditions of the streets in the North End. Most of these children were students of North Bennett Street Industrial School and used the dirty streets as their playground. The purpose of the charge was to motivate residents to take better care of their streets, especially in the face of healthy living.
The Salem Street Clean Up Club was predominantly made up of business owners or social service workers who intended to keep both Salem Street and its surrounding streets clean. Heavy importance was put on the cleaning of Salem Street as it is the main route to Old North Church, a popular Boston destination.
Salem Street was a shopping destination, and therefore attracted a lot of shoppers from other sides of the city, and even outside of the city. People would come from as far as Lexington, Malden, Winchester, etc. to shop the local foods, clothing, and services. However, with every big attraction brings suspicious activity.
danger Attraction
At 8:30pm on July 3rd 1891, two boys set off firecrackers and cannons that spread over Hanover Street to Salem Street, causing a major disruption. The explosion was set off feet away from the engine company on the corner of Salem Street. Men camped out on the street described the explosion as, "bombs bursting in the air". At around 9pm, a bunch of "youngsters" flooded the street with more firecrackers, disturbing local residents.
rude customers
In March of 1882, shopper Joseph McLaughlin walked into Mark Lewis' suit shop and attempted to bargain with the shop owner. He offered extremely low prices in mockery of the storeowner and gave him a hard time when the storeowner respectfully declined. He continued to lower his bid out of comedy, offending the shop owner, as he was offering over less than half what the goods were worth. He was then punched by the storeowner's nephew and promptly went out on the sidewalk as they locked the door. Moments later he broke the glass and re-entered the shop. He began to fight the storeowner and gave him a bump on the side of his head. McLaughlin was arrested for assault and battery.
References
News:
“AFTER DARK ON SALEM STREET. Boys as Past Minters in Act of Making the Night Hideous.” The Boston Globe, 4 July 1891.
“DISCUSS HOUSING PROBLEM.: North End Tenement Dwellers Hear Boston and New York Officials Afternoon and Evening.” The Boston Globe, 17 Feb. 1925.
“THE MIRROR Of CITY LIFE.: How a Salem-Street Shop Was Astonished --A Colorod Gentlement Who Wouldn't Be Put Out.” The Boston Globe , 24 Mar. 1882.
“NORTH END CHILDREN PARADE, THAT STREETS OF THEIR DISTRICT MAY BE KEPT CLEAN.” The Boston Globe, 19 June 1925.
“North End's Children Still Come Home for Market Day.” The Boston Globe, 9 Jan. 1972.
Images:
Archives, Boston City. “Salem Street [TP120].” Flickr, Yahoo!, 26 Aug. 2011, https://www.flickr.com/photos/cityofbostonarchives/6082226469/in/photolist-agt12B-2j28VTF-UbNtFX-7vxJgg-9ymfML-Afrwjj-2jiLdJG-2nKrFhz-bBB2Gy-dGMcoc-9kGqqv-9kK887-2md6AJw-RSVq4p-7cHiUq-7cDqfp-2iWLamu-7cDqxt-28ZNGp7-2efjARE-M7UN1p-agvLho-2nrxwTg-dAZ2B8-2gDubNH-2nPQZqa-wifa1b-8J9Hnu-2jzscLE-SHz4ZL-81JzLb-81JzpW-5oYtYE-4GtjvV-2jpz3zd-LgATur-2jw8QiC-Bd95Cu-Nh2Jf1-2jw8SMk-2gEesen-2nQ9BRq-2i83yEX-QbczRG-2m9Dbkn-nVvq9p-Wa3r5V-6ky9vu-2mLnfRQ-JcmFuX.
MIT-Libraries. “Outdoor Grocery Display, Salem Street, 11:30 A.m.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 31 Mar. 2009, https://www.flickr.com/photos/mit-libraries/3402036648/in/photolist-6bCjYh-fEYd99-8Nx8EV-2iWnQwv-NW1wBY-2mv3kzj-TdLC9E-2nHYFbW-JGMbQ5-256x6jj-g7y2am-o3YUnT-2jwLiGy-fEdsVv-fHQaGF-2muYKKV-2b1EyZN-CWFPu7-4WPLke-4WUBds-2iLiLGd-fL5RMk-81JCL1-dWwK4R-tmua5E-gajdq4-2NKmS3-9RD8oP-7gmsMr-2mKAhU5-Vamw77-4755wY-7Tjaac-hxSp22-RLj4Fq-7tqEQy-UPC9wj-6GABr3-R3q1Vj-2mKydop-dXF9B7-9sPoCs-wETFy-8Nx8zZ-2mLUUg8-LnShBX-7vBABS-gaiqka-t3Kwtv-sGLMFA.