Looking east at Washington St. bridge before the late-1885 elevation of the road to meet the Washington Street bridge. Railroad tracks (today's Green Line) to the right. Allen & Rowell Photographers.

This photo of White Place was taken by well-known photographer James Wallace Black before the late-1885 elevation of the road to meet the Washington Street bridge. 1885 saw contentious town meetings on how best to integrate White Place, then a private roadway which ran underneath the bridge, into the town’s planned widening of the bridge. It was decided to first elevate White Place to meet the existing bridge and the proceed with the expansion of the bridge and Washington St. Several of the homes viewed here were raised and remain standing today much as they appear in this photograph. From left to right:

• “Halfenstine Tailor”. Adam Halfenstein emigrated from Prussia in 1847 and changed the family name to Halfenstine. It is not known if the current structure located at #2 White Place was constructed from the tailor’s store.
• #10 White Place, the Halfenstine house.
• #13/15 White Place
• #11 White Place
• #9 White Place
• #190 Washington St., rear. The building had several folds to conform to the slant of the road.

[Source: Brookline Preservation Department]

This house, still standing, was built circa 1857 and is known as the Jonathan D. Long house. Long later moved to 358 Washington St. circa 1868 where he also ran his carpentry business.
[Source: Fleming Collection]

This is the oldest known photograph of the full train station in the Village. Visible are the signs for the post office and the telegraph, both of which were housed in the depot. Visible in the rear is a train parked on a side track.
[Source: Brookline Public Library]

Heading east, current location of Brookline Village "D" Line stop of the MBTA. Station St. to the left

Looking east. The partially-visible building behind the station at 31 and 34 Station Street still stands.

Looking east from the Washington St. overpass. Station St. is on the left, Pearl St. is on the right. Brookline Coal on the north side of Pearl St. is visible.
[Source: Digital Commonwealth]

Looking east on the Boston and Albany railroad tracks, today’s “D” line. From west to east:

• Washington St. overpass
• The top of the building at 171-173 Washington St., no longer standing
• The train station platform
• Businesses on the north side of Pearl St. including Brookline Coal Co.

[Source: Leo Sullivan]

Looking south towards Brookline Village. To the right is the rear of the Colonnade buildings. In the background, on the left, is the only known side view of 171-173 Washington St. (at the rear of today’s 10 Brookline Place). In contrast to the ordinary front, the side of the building is embellished along the roof line and with accent pillars down the sides. The large window signs can’t be read but it can be speculated that these features were viewed by the passengers on the railroad that passed right next to the building.
[Source: Digital Commonwealth]

Looking north on the east side of Washington St. are the three Colonnade buildings that still stand today. Shortly after this photo was taken there was a major regrading and widening of Washington St. and the creation of Station St. This was undertaken to increase the width of the narrow bridge over the tracks. The dirt ramp would become an extension of the bridge and this necessitated raising the nearest brick Colonnade building to its present height.

The awnings on the near corner of the Colonnade buildings are for Nelson Bros., Grocers, "dealers in fine teas and pure coffees" Also still standing today, on the west side of Washington St., are the two tallest buildings in the photo, both brick.
[Source: Digital Commonwealth]

This unique photo is a rare photo of the early stages of the expansion of Brookline Village northward away from the business center on Lower Washington St. It shows the first two buildings of Colonnade Row which have just been built and populated with the initial businesses. A third building would be added on the right in 1875. All are still standing as are the original cast-iron pillars visible on the store fronts.

The horse-drawn car is being pulled on rails which were first laid in 1859 to effect a much-needed improvement over the slow and bumpy rides of the trackless Omnibuses which were essentially enlarged stage coaches. This horse car is being pulled northward either to the final stop at Washington and School Streets or to the final stop at Harvard and School Streets. At these final stops the horse(s) would be unhitched and attached to the other end of the car and the route retraced.

There are three stores in the building on the left:

• The first store, at #243, appears unoccupied
• In the middle, at #239, is the dry goods store of Walter Martin
• On the right, at #235, is the grocery store of George F. Joyce who would later expand and relocate up the street

There are three stores in the building on the right:

• The store on the left, at #227, is the apothecary of Charles P. Ladd
• In the middle, at #223, is the store of George Turnbull, the first tailor in Brookline
• On the right, at #219 Washington St., is the Brookline Savings Bank which had just been incorporated in 1871

In the distance the old railroad depot can be glimpsed with a sign for the American Telegraph Company. It also housed the post office.
[Source: Leo Sullivan]

Shown are the first two buildings of the three-building Colonnade group, all still standing. The three stores with awnings, left to right, are:

• Charles F. Lamb, Dry and Fancy Goods, at 239 Washington St.
• H. Frank Rich, Books and Stationery, at 235 Washington St. He lived in Brookline and his main store was at 25 West St., Boston. He opened this store in 1873 and there is no record of it past 1874.
• The apothecary of Charles P. Ladd at 227 Washington St. in the second building

[Source: Brookline Public Library]

Washington St. heading toward Rt. 9 and Boston. This is a Type Four car, in use in Boston from 1911-1950. The two brick buildings still stand.

While nominally just a photo of a subway car this photo actually contains a number of interesting details of Village life in the late 1930s. To the right is the front end of what appears to be a 1935 Chevrolet Master Deluxe Coupe. And there are glimpses of the following businesses:

• Earl Colvin, dentist, is the clearest. He was at that location (221 Washington Street) as early as 1922 and as late as 1940. In 1944 he had moved to 1 Harvard Street.
• Moore's, up the street, is Moore's Grille at 6-9 Harvard Square.
• A.J. Grennan, Chiropodist.
• Wolf & Smith, Meats. They are beneath Colvin and the name is only partly visible. They were there as early as the 1920s through at least 1944.
• Elisabeth Cleansing Shop. The name is on the corner above the back of the trolley.
• Daniel Goldberg. His name is on the window next to Grennan, but we don't find him in the city directories.

Station St., building still in use. Train station is now the Brookline Village MBTA stop. In 1891, the company developed the first successful electric carriage in the U.S.

Looking east toward Washington St. The store front of James Rooney, Boots & Shoes, at #1 Harvard Sq. can be seen. He, and later his son, maintained their store there for four decades.
[Source: Brookline Public Library]

This is the one-story building in the middle of what was known as the “Rooney Block” and still stands today. Henry Collins and Thomas H. Dyer were partners at this location from about 1873 – 1877. Dyer left to work at the provisions store of Hartwell & Skinner in Boston's New Faneuil Hall Market and, by 1883, had returned to Brookline to open his own store in the nearby Panter Building. When Dyer left, this store became Henry Collins & Co., Provisions.

In the window, the reflection of the Seaman’s Co. building, situated directly across Washington St. on the northwest corner with Davis Ave , is clearly visible.
[Source: Brookline Preservation Department]

Between Kent St. and Andem Pl. there are three buildings, two visible here, known as the Rooney Block. From left to right:

• Robert Hamilton, Dry and Fancy Goods, at #9 Harvard Sq.
• A. A. Cheney, Watchmaker and Jeweler, at #6 Harvard Sq.
• Collins and Dyer, Provisions, #5 Harvard Sq. Thomas H. Dyer left soon after this photo was taken to work at the provisions store of Hartwell & Skinner in Boston's New Faneuil Hall Market and, by 1883, had opened his own store in the nearby Panter Building. When Dyer left, this store became Henry Collins & Co., Provisions.

[Source: Digital Commonwealth]

The one-story building, still standing in the center of the complex known as the "Rooney Block", houses Henry Collins & Co., Provisions. To the right, the store of Mayo & Paine Stoves became, circa 1883, the Paine Brothers when Mr. Mayo left the business and Henry K. Paine went into business with his brother, Isaac. The store of James Rooney, Boots and Shoes, is on the far right.
[Source: Digital Commonwealth]

The eastern side of Harvard Sq. and Washington St. can be described in three sections defined by the side streets of Kent and Andem Place. All these buildings are still standing. From left to right:

LEFT BLOCK:
The National Bank building on the east side of Harvard St., between Webster Pl. and Kent St., is still standing. It housed the National Bank and the Post Office on the first floor. The horse-watering fountain in the middle of Harvard Sq. is also visible.

CENTER BLOCK:
Between Kent St. and Andem Pl. there are three buildings known as the Rooney Block, they are addressed as Harvard Sq.

• In the first building are C. A. Delano, Dry Goods, at #9 Harvard Sq.; and George M. Harper, Fish, at #6 Harvard Sq. (awning visible).
• In the one-story middle building, #5 Harvard Sq., is Horace E. Smith, Provisions.
• The right-hand building (the upper floors were later rebuilt in brick) houses Paine Brothers (Henry K. and Isaac), Plumbers, at #3 Harvard Sq.; and James Rooney Boots & Shoes at #1 Harvard Sq. In between is the door for #2, a rooming house called Somerset House. In a photo from 1908 there is a sign announcing Board and Room By Day or Week, Single Meals

RIGHT BLOCK:
Between Andem Place and Station St. are three large buildings, known as the Colonnade Buildings, all still standing.
Left Building

• On the corner at #241-243 Washington St. stands the Harvard Sq. Pharmacy, run by David C. Hickey.
• At #239 is the newsstand and stationary store of William Dexter Paine who was a son of Isaac Paine of the previously mentioned plumbing store.
• Nestled between the awnings of #239 and #235 is the door at #237 Washington leading to establishments upstairs. The awning for T. J. Turley & Son, tailors, is visible as is the window sign for Mrs. J. F. Hickey, dressmaker.
• Back on the first floor at #235 the awning of Everett E. Pierce, baker and caterer, is visible. To the right of him is the door for #231 leading to the several businesses upstairs.

Middle Building
The middle building still displays the Colonnade Buildings lettering today.

• The last store on the right, at #219 Washington St., is Frank Russell, real estate

Right Building

• The Edwin F. Crosby plumbing and kitchen goods store is on the left at #213 and #211
• On the right-side corner is Nelson Bros., Grocers, at #205 Washington St.

[Source: Digital Commonwealth]

One of a series of four photos taken from the top of the third Town Hall. In the far distance is Boston's Parker Hill and, at its foot, the long row of brick apartments along Huntington Ave. In the center of the photo is Harvard Sq. with the awning-covered storefronts on the east side of Washington St. visible to the right.

The 1903 improvements to the National Bank building, center left, are not yet in place.
[Source: Digital Commonwealth]