A Little Boston Street With Big History

From That Same Old Guy:

As I've mentioned elsewhere on the blog, I had jobs in the 1990s for which I spent a fair amount of time walking through Boston's Financial District and other downtown areas (and man do I wish I had a camera and the backside inspiration then....). So I've been familiar with a lot of the main roads and side streets of the city for nearly three decades. But every once in a while I stumble across a nook or a cranny that I don't recall ever treading upon before.

Spring Lane is just such a hidden gem.

(Looking west from the Devonshire end of Spring Lane. On the right is the Winthrop Building, which was the first skyscraper in Boston erected with a steel frame.)

Little more than an alley connecting Devonshire Street in the Financial District with Washington Street in Downtown Crossing, Spring Lane has an unmatched pedigree in the annals of Boston history.

"HERE WAS THE GREAT SPRING," reads the plaque above, which hangs on the side of the Winthrop Building. For more than two centuries, the sign continues, the spring provided water to the growing city of Boston. Eventually, as the city grew and other water sources were created or discovered, the Great Spring was covered up and paved over (I wonder if this area of the city has weird water issues once in a while). The lower plaque is for the Winthrop Building.

Two plaques of notable locations in one somewhat claustrophobic alleyway -- the oldest street in Boston -- is remarkable enough, but there is a third marker along this little lane that most people pass on by.

Located on the opposite side of Spring Lane, tacked on to the side of 111 Devonshire Street (which dates to 1911), the Mary Chilton marker memorializes the "only Mayflower passenger who removed from Plymouth to Boston." Chilton -- who may or may not be related to power pop icon Alex Chilton of Box Tops fame -- married John Winslow in Plymouth about 1624 and the pair "came to Boston about 1657 and bought a house on this site in 1671," per the plaque. "John Winslow died here in 1674. As a passenger on the Mayflower in 1620 Mary Chilton came to America before any other white woman who settled in Boston."

As if all that Colonial and architecture history isn't enough to inspire you to seek out Spring Lane, there is also a very cool book and old prints store called, strangely enough, Books & Old Prints (actually it's called Commonwealth Books).

"We have extensive holdings in art monographs, decorative arts, poetry, history, and literature, among others," says the store's web site. "Our antiquarian selection is quite strong. We also offer bins of old prints and engravings spanning from the 1600's to 1940's." I'm not sure how long the store has been in business, but it feels like it's been there forever. Even if musty old books and maps aren't your thing, it's worth springing in for a quick visit.