The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-10-16
OLD BOSTON.
Boston Transformed Is Not SO Beau.
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From time to time comes back 10
Boston an original eForty.niner,r who,
in bis wandering about the city, easps
al every street corner and Immediately
becomes reminiscent about this and that
wonderful change which nas taken place.
The veteran scarcely known the 10.
eality, and he feels free to contradict
those pessimists who fancy that Bos-
ton, unlike Chicago and New York,
stands still. But occasionally he comes
across a building Of the 1850 vintage or
earlier, and then he exclaims loudly. II
Is really a treat TO hear him IN his en-
thusiasm wien. for example. be comes 90
Park street Not even Henry James
can express more satisfaction.
Of all views which bring a puzzled ex-
preston to the eyes Of the returned
native, that from the State House bears
off the honors. Everything il much as
It used 20 be in the forties and iifties.
once Park street is separated from the
rest Of the panoromn. There Is the
Ticknor mansion and the site Of the
Union club. the Wiggleswortb residence.
and the beautiful towering spire Of Park
street ehuren
Everything, barring the slightly com.
mereial appearance Of the lower stories
of the Tieknor mansion. il sc it was
aneiently. The returned Forty-niner as
he gazes down it, shady vista feels
very much at home
But when he turns his head few
degrees he Is frankl. put out Of eounten-
anee, The fouT-story structure which
used to bar further progress of Park
ateet Is nowhere existent. The most
conspicuous alteration in sight Il the
transformation at the corner Of Winter
and fremont streets. In 1857 tho sky.
line was unbroken; the four-stoTy
building set the style for the locality.
Here and there residence modelled al.
ter the present lower Beacon street
house showed itself quietly.
Perhaps in 1857 one of the most
charming phenomena OF the spectacle
was the frequency Of spires To north,
east, south and west they broke up the
skyline, making. as tie Forty miner
says, q city Of charm and beauty.
The spiTe of the Hollis Street church
was one of the mDst impressive in the
city. From the State House ii could he
seen In all its fine effect Strangers to
the city used to be- taken to Beacon Hill
whence they could receive their impress
sion properly of both the Park Street
church and the Hollis Street church
spires
III 1857 1t was easy to look to the
thence out into and across
The harhor. But then at that time the
fremont Congregational building, the
fremont building, the Ames structure
and The Board 0f Trade building, To say
nothing Of several score Of othev mod |
ern business temples, were unthongnt of |
Only The scolIy building appeared To
break the skyline. And chat landmark |
was BIZ modern standard ineonsequant.
ii.
Looking south from the State House |
III the year 1857 another expanse of |
four and five story buildings made all
picture. Graceful spires
added To the effectiveness al ii all. There
was DO massive Masonic building, no |
apually massive Touraine and no cOun
Eerpart Of the present Boylston street |
There was many trees-.a sart III vista /
1ne gets at the present time BY merely +
looking over the common. Yet men az 1
1851 who went up OH the hin for the /
sake OF the view fancied that they saw
! large and progressive city, much al,
perhaps, in the year 1857, the older gen
ration, rejecting on the city.that.was
n 1907, Will summon back their con
,eption Of the bigger, better and busierr
metropolis
fremont street had not ceased to &c
despite the fact that II was
ESSENTIALLY commercial And that resi-
lpntial aspect Of things was greatly
strengthened BY the trees in the back
rard From the common to the water
ront tnev sprinkled the city as they
low sprinkle cities like Worcester and
Providence.
And at that time the common was en-
rely rural That IS "a say. 1t pos
essed no miniature public libraries. and
{ was fronted b. a magnificent row Of
paddock elms. But at that time Park
street church vas more properly s
Meeting house. In fact it was called .
iaeeting house. The elms made for
erenity and beauty.
The most notable change IF ell in
he view from Beacon Hill Is the change
a the southeast. Fifty years ago tie