Local Business

"Cross Street Widening from North Street to Commercial Street," 1933, Boston Public Works Department Photograph Collection, City Archives.

Harry L. Doten owned his own metal sheet manufacturing business and, as mentioned above, was so successful in the industry that he earned the title of “The Father of the Boston Steel Industry.” He is referred to by this title in several newspaper articles. He owned and operated his business from 1928 to 1938 at 107-113 Cross Street - the image to the left shows his sign displayed on the building in 1933. He originally entered the sheet metal industry at age 15, and, as the article to the left mentions, he made only $100 a year. As he began to master the job, he started his own business, Austin & Doten, with longtime colleague, William Austin. Upon Austin’s death some years later, Harry L. Doten changed the name of his business to Harry L. Doten & Sons and continued to manufacture sheet metal. 

Doten spent 50+ years in the industry until his death in 1955 at age 92. In addition to his successful business, Harry L. Doten was a valued member of the Boston community, husband to wife Gertrude, and father to sons Nathanial and Chauncey.

The Boston Directory 1881/1882. HathiTrust.

The Dover Stamping Company owned and operated out of 86-90 North Street from 1882 to 1888. The business worked mostly in tin and aluminum products. Their merchandise included different home appliances, kitchen tools, and more, as illustrated by the advertisement to the left. The advertisements to the bottom left highlight two of their products in particular - the Dover Egg Beater and the Wood Dish Drainer. They sold their products directly to the user via mail and made a profit off their many different award-winning (as they claimed them to be) products. The billhead below shows what a customer would have received along with their product notifying them of the amount due.

"Simpson Bros," 1898-1907, Boston Wharf Company Collection, Digital Commonwealth.

The Simpson Bros. Corporation owned 89-99 North Street from 1928 to 1938, though for a portion of time the land was split between the Corporation and a Post Office. The Simpson Bros. Corporation worked in the asphalt construction industry. Newspaper articles chronicle the Corporation winning bids for construction projects varying from a pipe tunnel in Arlington (see article title below), to a new pumping station in Gloucester. The image to the left shows a sign displaying the business name either as an advertisement or on a project site. Below that is a portion of an advertisement from the Corporation in the 1922 Boston Directory.