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.

Image Courtesy the Brookline Preservation Department