The building was still standing in 2025, one of the very few not removed during the urban renewal.

Behind this building are the railroad tracks that are the “D” line of today’s subway.

Property-appraisal photos taken in 1965 and early 1966 for “The Marsh Urban Renewal Project” run by the Brookline Redevelopment Authority. All the buildings in the defined area save two were razed.

Behind this building are the railroad tracks that are the “D” line of today’s subway. To the left is the side of the massive Brookline Coal Co. building which had a rear loading station on the tracks.

Property-appraisal photos taken in 1965 and early 1966 for “The Marsh Urban Renewal Project” run by the Brookline Redevelopment Authority. All the buildings in the defined area save two were razed.

A bronze tablet, still in place today, was affixed to the building above the front two windows and unveiled at this afternoon ceremony. On the right the tablet is covered with a cloth and there are poles leading up to it, presumably in preparation for the unveiling. A presentation was given by Rebecca (Hyde) Silsby, perhaps the standing woman facing the group in the photo, who taught at the school from 1871-1877 and whose sister, Mary Elizabeth Hyde, taught there from 1887-1902.

The official name for the school, “Newton Street School”, was retired with the unveiling and changed back to its historical version, “The Putterham School”.

Photo by Harris W. Reynolds

Charles Chase opened an express business in Brookline in 1862 with a house and stables at the location of today’s Town Hall and the company remained family-run in Brookline for eight decades. In late 1904, Chase Express moved into this new building on the south side of Lower Washington St. and remained there until late 1941. Shown is their 1929 White model 60 truck.

This photo appeared in an unidentified publication on March 13, 1923. Driving the town’s new caterpillar tractor with snow plow is Daniel G. Lacy, then Brookline’s Forestry Department superintendent and subsequently superintendent of the combined Highway and Forestry Department.

It is likely that this is one of two photographs of a supper described in the May 7, 1887 issue of the Brookline Chronicle.

“The sewing circle connected with the First Parish closed the seasons laborers on May 3rd with a pleasant supper, and the exhibition of some views by a member recently returned from a journey to the South and West. A most important part of the entertainment was the voluntary offer of two young ladies to photograph the assembled company in a group around the table, thus giving tangible proof of the existing existence of a society which was organized in 1824.”

This room is most likely in Pierce Hall which was a common site for similar gatherings. Nineteen names were listed with the photo: Miss Potter, Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Noyes, Mrs. Barnet, Sarah Clark, Annie Stearns, Mrs. Jenney, Miss Howard, Mrs. Stodder, Sadie Brown, Bessie Noyes, Eunice Noyes, Louise Brown, Mrs. Poor, Miss Adriana Brown, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Stearns, Susie Hayens, Mrs. Guild, Mrs. Train, Mrs. Clark. Eighteen women are seated and four younger girls are serving. All the participants who have been tentatively identified lived in the immediate area of the First Parish Church and Pierce Hall. There are several clusters of extended family members.

A speculative analysis of the names shows:

Noyes Family (Walnut St.)

• Mrs. Noyes (1840-1915) - Susan Prescott (Wright) Noyes, wife of George Dana Noyes
• Elizabeth (“Bessie”) C. Noyes (1873-1955), daughter. An existing tintype of Elizabeth bears a resemblance to the older girl standing at the rear left of the table
• Emma Noyes (1876-1950), daughter. The roster actually names a “Eunice Noyes” but no records are evident for a “Eunice Noyes” in Brookline at this time, we are speculating that she is Emma, the other daughter of Susan Noyes. An existing tintype of Emma bears a significant resemblance to the young girl approaching the table on the left side

Extended family of Rev. Howard Nicolson Brown, Pastor of the First Parish Church

• Sarah (“Sadie”) Brown (1878 - 1955), daughter
• Mary Louise Brown (1873-1947), daughter
• Mary F. Wicks (1828-1904), mother of Inez Wicks, wife of Howard Brown

Extended Stearns Family

• Mrs. Stearns (1824- 1904), Anna Maria (Mellen) Stearns, wife of Charles Henry Stearns
• Annie Stearns (1864-1901). Listed with her maiden name although she married Alexander Stoddard Jenney in 1886. After Annie’s death he married her sister.
• Mrs. Jenney (1836-1912). Mary Hannah (Howes) Jenney, wife of Noah Stoddard Jenney; mother-in-law of Annie Stearns; lived on Walnut St.

Others

• Miss Adriana Brown (1805-1893), never married. Lived on Cypress St. near Walnut St. No apparent relation to the other Browns.
• Mrs. Poor (1820-1912), Wife of Henry Varnum Poor, nee Mary Wild Pierce. Daughter of Lucy Tappan and Rev. John Pierce, former pastor of the church. Lived across Walnut St. from the church. The listing of “Mrs. Stodder” should likely be two entries for Mrs. Stodder and Mrs. Poor as listed in the cousin photo.
• Frances (“Fanny”) G. Train, widow of Samuel F. Train. Lived on nearby Chestnut Pl.
• Mrs. Stodder (1830-1921), wife of Henry Franklin Stodder, nee Isabella Binney. Lived on Walnut St.
• Susan Frances Haynes (1841-1934), never married.
• Sarah Davis Clark (1813-1902), lived with her sister on Olmsted’s property nearby.

Unidentified

• Miss Howard
• Mrs. Clark
• Mrs. Guild
• Mrs. Miller
• Mrs. Barnet
• Mrs. Potter

[Source: Digital Commonwealth]

Looking south at the rear of 46 Pearl St. from the railroad tracks that are the “D” line of today’s subway. Behind the photographer is the top of Station St. where it meets Kent St. Behind the building across the street in the photo is the Esso station at the northwest corner of Brookline Ave. and Lower Washington St. Brookline Ice and Coal Co. remains in business today two blocks from this site.

Property-appraisal photos taken in 1965 and early 1966 for “The Marsh Urban Renewal Project” run by the Brookline Redevelopment Authority. All the buildings in the defined area save two were razed.

Looking northwest. Just off screen on the right is the Robert Winthrop School building which still stands. On the right is the Town of Brookline building in the pipe yard on the section of Pearl St. that was eliminated.

Property-appraisal photos taken in 1965 and early 1966 for “The Marsh Urban Renewal Project” run by the Brookline Redevelopment Authority. All the buildings in the defined area save two were razed.

Looking south at the rear of the Town of Brookline building in the pipe yard from the Brookline Ave. Playground behind the former Robert Winthrop School (note partial view of basketball backboard). On the right, 81 Pearl St. can be glimpsed across the street and on the left, the Citgo station at 615 Brookline Ave. [pg. 13, no. 2]

Property-appraisal photos taken in 1965 and early 1966 for “The Marsh Urban Renewal Project” run by the Brookline Redevelopment Authority. All the buildings in the defined area save two were razed.

Looking east at lower Kent St. Station St. connects on the right. These buildings were removed circa 1974 as part of the Marsh Urban Renewal Project. [pg. 2, no. 1]

• On the right is a partial view of a shed of the Bay State York Co., a heating and refrigeration company whose main location was across the street at 74 Kent St.
• On the right side of the brick building at 65 Kent St. is the Hamilton Printing Co.
• On the left side of the brick building at 65 Kent St. is the business of Milton Fenwick Reynolds, Carpenter and Builder. Reynolds moved his business here in early 1899. Remarkably, the company still operates today in Medford Massachusetts

Property-appraisal photos taken in 1965 and early 1966 for “The Marsh Urban Renewal Project” run by the Brookline Redevelopment Authority. All the buildings in the defined area save two were razed.

The sleighs are part of an organized procession traveling east on Beacon St. roughly across from Powell St. In the distance on the far left is the tower of the S. S. Pierce building in Coolidge Corner. The house of the Amory family is just barely visible on “Amory Hill” on the right. Another photograph showing a procession further east by Carlton St. was featured as part of an article entitled “Noted Men and Women Behind Speedy Horses on the Beacon Boulevard” that appeared in the Feb. 17, 1901 edition of the Boston Sunday Post. The article listed a number of the prominent people involved and added details of some of the high-quality horses and sleighs involved. The photograph was taken by Thomas E. Marr, then well-known as a photographer of wealthy area residents.
[Source: Boston Public Library]

The car has been tentatively identified as a Locomobile. Early town directories from 1904 – 1911 listed all automobile owners. Augustus Barring Henley, president of the Henley-Kimball Co., automobile distributors, was one and lived in this building. In the December 18, 1912 issue of the Boston Evening Transcript Henley placed ad for his personal 1912 Locomobile. It was listed as “seven-passenger” so it was probably not the automobile shown in the photo but it establishes him as the likely owner of this car. Its listed cost of $4800 was a substantial amount of money at the time.

A horse and carriage can be viewed in the driveway.

Looking west on Clinton Rd. Dean Rd. crosses from left to right. Foreground left is 204 Clinton Rd. followed by 78 Dean Rd., then a small corner of 73 Dean Rd., and 233 Clinton Rd. obscured in the distance. The lead car has an MDC license plate.
[Source: Digital Commonwealth]

This is one of three experimental school garden projects initiated in 1903 by the Brookline Education Society. Annie Crocker made the land adjacent to her house on the southeast corner of Boylston St. and Cypress St. available to the Lincoln School. In May 1903, students aged 12 – 15 from the seventh and eighth grade were each given a 7 ft. by 9 ft. plot for growing vegetables. This photo appeared on page five of the November 7, 1903 issue of the Brookline Chronicle.
[Source: Digital Commonwealth]

Looking southwest from Boylston St. On the right is the house of Annie B. Crocker at 136 Cypress St. In the center is a partial view of 161 Cypress St., still standing. The houses on East Milton St. have not yet been constructed.

This is one of three experimental school garden projects initiated by the Brookline Education Society. Annie Crocker made the land adjacent to her house available to the Lincoln School. In May 1903, students aged 12 – 15 from the seventh and eighth grade were each given a 7 ft. by 9 ft. plot for growing vegetables. Several of the photos from this series appeared in the newspapers of the time.
[Source: Digital Commonwealth]

When Sumner Rd. was laid out in 1886, the house was moved slightly eastward to its present position at 43 Sumner Rd.
[Source: Digital Commonwealth]

Thomas Cannon (1867-1940) and Bridget (Tonra) Cannon (1869-1942) both emigrated from Ireland. They married in 1892 and were listed at 1 Walter Ave. in “The Farm” neighborhood by 1900. By 1918 they had moved to “The Point” neighborhood finally settling in at 90 Highland Rd. where they lived with Cannon and Tonra extended-family members. They raised seven surviving children in Brookline.

Thomas Cannon worked for a number of years as a gardener for a private estate. This has been reported as the “Webster’s estate” but it is not yet identified. There was a “Webster’s estate” with an on-site gardener’s cottage in Chestnut Hill but that does not appear to be a likely match
[Source: University of Massachusetts Boston]

Standing in the Esso station at the northwest corner of Brookline Ave. and Lower Washington St. looking north. In the distance are the small house at 9 Emerald St. and the side of the apartment building at 657 Brookline Ave. The brick building, 100 Pearl St., was used by the Brookline Water Dept. and still stands.
[Source: Digital Commonwealth]

In the rear is 22 Osborne Rd. and on the left is 51 Winslow Rd.
[Source: Brookline Preservation Department]