At the apex of Harvard and Washington Streets in Brookline Village, looking northwest on Washington St. The building on the right is the post office, at 283 Washington St. Identifiable businesses in the store on the left are the Postal Telegraph & Cable Co. and Frank A. Carnes, Real Estate at 289 Washington St.

This photo has long been misidentified (e.g. page 59 in Brookline, Massachusetts, A Pictorial History by Jean Kramer) as being part of the town’s 1905 bicentennial celebration. The clue to its real identity is the anomaly of the large picture of a man above the store fronts. It is Admiral George Dewey and he is being feted for his victory at the Battle of Manila in the Spanish American War. When Dewey returned from the Philippines to the United States on September 27, 1899, large parades in his honor were held in several major cities, including Boston on October 14, 1899 and it is probable that Brookline was also celebrating his victory in the fall of 1899, captured in this photo.

[Courtesy of the Digital Commonwealth (CC BY-NC-ND). From the Brookline Photograph Collection published by the Public Library of Brookline]