Did you know that Upham's Corner was known as "Cemetery Corner" in the 17th century? And that by the early 1900s it was a bustling center of commercial activity, immigrant success stories, and performing arts venues? How about the fact that "the world's first supermarket" was established in this very neighborhood? From the establishment of Amos Upham's dry goods store in 1804 to the 1918 opening of the Strand Theatre (hailed as Dorchester's "Million Dollar Photoplay Palace"), participants on October 17th's walking tour found out how the neighborhood became a mecca for immigrants as well as a vital city center, and discussed how its past successes can contribute to its future prosperity.
Co-sponsored by the Boston Preservation Alliance and Upham's Corner Main Streets, this interactive walking tour was one part of an exciting new historic preservation outreach initiative: the Neighborhood Preservation Partnership of Boston. With funding and support from the National Trust for Historic Preservation Partners in the Field Program, the Boston Preservation Alliance and Historic Boston Incorporated are using this initiative to extend historic preservation field services to Boston neighborhoods through workshops, priority planning and one-on-one assistance to property owners, residents, Boston Main Street districts, and community-based organizations.
To view the Google map from the walking tour, click on the blue “Upham’s Corner” link beneath the map. Once the larger map pops up, you can read a short blurb about each featured building or property by clicking on its name (which will appear to the left of the map). To move down in the text, click on the “-“ (Zoom Out) button; to move back up, click on the “+” (Zoom In) button.
(click on a photo for larger version)
Clockwise from upper left: Tour participants visited the billiards hall, and tried their hands at bowling, on a tour of 556 Columbia Road with building owner Nick Verenis. A sign on the fourth floor reminds visitors of the space’s former use as a dance hall. The bowling alley was established by Nick Verenis’s grandfather in 1931.
Clockwise from upper left: A visitor admires the now-vacant space of a former dance hall on Columbia Road; developer Peter Roth discusses the history and development of the Upham’s Corner Market Building. An early-20th-century public swimming pool today serves as the children’s room at the Boston Public Library Upham’s Corner branch; Reverend John Odams leads the group on a tour of Pilgrim Church, where a former sanctuary houses a late-19th-century organ (in background) and serves as a homeless shelter.
"A Brand New Look for Uphams Corner"
Boston Globe, October 22, 2009
(click HERE to read) |
For more information about the Alliance’s Neighborhood Preservation Workshops, please contact Erica Lindamood at elindamood@bostonpreservation.org or 617-367-2458.
For more information about Historic Boston Incorporated, please visit www.historicboston.org.
For more information about the National Trust for Historic Preservation, please visit www.PreservationNation.org.
