Evening star., 1911-08-16
Summer Capital in Midst of
Homes of the Rich.
BEVERLY AND ITS SUBURBS
String of Summer Colonies From
Boston to Cape Ann.
WOODED HILLS DOWN TO OCEAN
President in New Quarters, Owner
Of Former Home Directing
to Visitors.
BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence OF The Star and the
ChicLgo Record Herald.

BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence OF The Star and the
ChicLgo Record Herald.
BEVERLY -THEDEPOT,
August T. 1911.
Within radius Of ten miles OF Bev-
erly are hundreds Of summer palaces.
Most Of them belong to wealthy Bos-
tonians, but many uitlanders from New
York. Pittsburgh. Cleveland. st. Louis.
Kansas City and Chicago are represented
here. The string OF summer colonies
reaching north from Boston to Cape Ann
are on the north shore. It differs from
the south shore. which stretches from
Boston around to the tip Of Cape Cod. In
that the topography Is bold and pictur-
esQue. beautiful wooded hills running
down to the very ocean and terminating
In high cliffs Some Of them jut into the
sea at Nahant. Marblehead and Eastern
Point
The south shore IL low and sandy.
more like the Jersey coast. The waters.
protected by the long elbow Of land
known as Cape Cod. are milder both In
temperature and behavior.
Beverly Is northeast Of Salem. Of which
1t was once a part. The coast takes
turn to the east to form Cape Ann. Next
to Beverly Is the town of Manchester.
and next to that is Gloucester, with its
seaside resortS-Magnolia, Eastern Point,
Bass Rock and Annisquam.
Beverly is divided into two distinct
parts-a manufacturing community and
summer colony, just as Gloucester COM
bines string of summer colonies with
the center Of the fishing Industry of the
United States Years ago Manchester
was the most exclusive summering place
in Massachusetts, and those who So
journed there affected the title Man
chester by-the-Sea." When DIR. Oliver
Wy
at Beverly Farms. received a note dated
Manchester by-the-Sea,' he dated the
answer at Beverly by -the-Depot." This
occurred in the good old days before the
ostentatious wealth of barbarians from
outside Boston had intruded upon the
quiet and exclusive quality of the place.
Many Changes Apparent.
There have been great changes since.
To be sure many families of excellent So
cial standing but modest means still
linger. The house formerly occupied by
DR.. Holmes. for instance, Is now the
home of his son, the Supreme Court JUS
tice. and other names might be mentioned
which would carry greater prestige in the
immediate vicinity OF Beacon Hill than
in 1.-The busy martS of trade" but the pal
aces which now give the north shore its
greatest charm to the sightseer belong, as
rule. to those who cannot boast of be-
longing to Boston.
The old Inhabitants do not quite relish
the change. and were inclined to resent
the advertising given to Beverly when
President Taft selected it for his sum-
mer home. You never hear any OF them
refer to 1t as 1.-The summer capital" for. in
their opinion. Beverly had distinction
enough before the Tafts came and will not
not lack distinction when they disappear;
yet the sad truth remains that when the
average citizen outside of Massachusetts,
hears of Beverly nowadays. he thinks or
it instinctively as the summer residence
Of the President.
The way in which the President was
obliged to go house-hunting again this
season, after having had for two sum-
mers a cottage very much to his liking.
is characteristic of the New England
temperament The house he occupied at
Burgess Point. Beverly. belonged to the
widow of a wealthy Boston mine own
er, who had her own summer home next
door. She was annoyed by the con-
stant stream of visitors who called at
| the Taft cottage, and by the automobiles
which stopped in the road to crafty
| curiosity seekers. Apparently without
weighing seriously the prestige Of hav-
ing the President of the United States
for tenant as against her personal
comfort she quietly notified the Tafts
that they could not have the cottage
any longer moved 1t across the bay to
Marblehead on a raft and proceeded to
level off the site to make an extension to
her lawn.