Just a Typical Day Wandering in Boston

From Dave Brigham:

Today I offer a collection of photos that represent fairly well a typical stroll I take when I ride the subway into Boston with my son. Usually I have at least one destination in mind, but typically I keep wandering after I've satisfied my curiosity. On a recent trek into the Hub of the Universe I checked out a corner of the Government Center area I'd never seen before, and then traipsed along through back alleys and a funky passageway in Downtown Crossing.

I first checked out Court Square, a small block in Government Center next to One Boston Place and across the street from the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans. Previously, I'd strolled past the former Boston School Department building at 26 Court Street and snapped a picture of a plaque (see July 3, 2019, "The Good Kind of Plaque"), and wanted to return.

I walked down the narrow, one-way street adjacent to the building -- built in 1912, 26 Court Street replaced a courthouse erected in 1836 by the City of Boston -- and found the Hungry Traveler restaurant.

I was there on a weekend, but I just had a feeling the place was out of business. And indeed, in July 2018 the Hungry Traveler shut its doors for good after many, many years. I don't know whether anything has replaced the eatery since I took this picture earlier this year. This place was a no-frills joint serving those who worked in the area, from what I've read online.

I walked around the corner and was somewhat taken aback by this building.

This is the former Edward Kirstein Memorial Library, which was designed by the architectural firm Putnam and Cox, and opened in 1930. The firm also designed the American Unitarian Association headquarters on Beacon Street, Angell Memorial Animal Hospital, and a number of fraternity buildings at Amherst College and Mt. Holyoke College, per this blog post. "The first floor housed statistical data, city directories and atlases from all over the United States, and trade magazines," per this post from the Boston Public Library web site. On the third floor was general reading. The library was largely financed by Louis Kirstein, who was both the vice president of Filene's Department store and a member of the Boston Public Library board at the time. He named the library for his father Edward.

The Kirstein library was consolidated into the Boston Public Library's main building in Copley Square in 2009. The old library, which is sandwiched between the One Boston Place skyscraper, the Pi Alley Parking Garage, Boston's Old City Hall and other buildings, is still owned by the City of Boston, but I'm not sure what's located there.

After shooting this cool little corner of Boston, I strolled through nearby Downtown Crossing. I've walked through this shopping district countless times over the last few decades, but not always with my head on a swivel looking for cool details. I saw not one, but two new things.

FOUNDED BY

OLIVER DITSON

1840

Well, that steered me to the Internet right quick. Oliver Ditson founded an eponymous music and publishing company in 1840, after buying out a partner. The company "gained national prominence under his personal direction in the middle years of the 19th century, and had a great deal of success well into the 20th century," per this New England Conservatory web page. The company expanded into Cincinnati, Philadelphia and New York. Ditson's son Charles took over the New York business, which was named Chas. H. Ditson & Co. Here's a blog post from the Daytonian in Manhattan about the NYC building.

Oliver Ditson & Co. was purchased by Theodore Presser Co. of Philadelphia in 1931.

Now, back to the building.

This building does not date to 1840, as you probably guessed. According to a Waymarking post I found, it was built in 1900 by Charles Henry Ditson, relation to Oliver Ditson unknown but I would assume a son. The building replaced a five-story edifice that the company's founder erected at this location, per the Waymarking post, date unknown. Oliver Ditson & Co. was only at this location until 1904, when the music publisher moved to Tremont Street.

So what's here now? At least part of the building, perhaps all of it, is the Dexter Ditson Lofts. Check out the detail at the roofline!

Around the corner, on Temple Place, I stumbled across a cozy passageway, just past Stoddard's Fine Food & Ale.

Cutting from Temple Place to Winter Place, where it deposits you at the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education building, this cool tunnel was covered in amazing murals from end to end. The works were done by the Mayor’s Mural Crew in January 2017 and depict literary figures who have lived and worked in Boston, per this Boston Magazine post about similar murals around Boston.

I say "was covered" because I read online recently that these beautiful works of art have been painted over. The new artwork is a series of bold, colorful lines, but have approximately 0% of the personality of the literary works.

Just across the street from the Temple Place entrance to the passageway is Wig World.

From Temple Place, I scooted over to parallel West Street, and then down Mason Street, which runs behind the Opera House, subject of a deep dive post from September 20, 2019, "A Peek Behind the Curtain of Boston's Vaudeville History."

There, on the side of Empire Beauty School I found this great mural.

Turns out this building is also home to a branch of the Service Employees International Union. This artwork is one of many along this wall advocating for the union.