House in Flux in SoHo

From Dave Brigham:

This plaque is located outside a Guess store at 538 Broadway in New York City's SoHo district, marking the former location of a Fluxhouse artist cooperative live-work space. These are the kinds of things I make photos of while all around me people are window-shopping, taking selfies in front of a Brandy Melville store and generally not taking photos of things like this.

If, like me before October 13, 2024, you have no idea what a Fluxhouse is, let me tell you all about it...in the words of web sites that know what they're talking about. I made this photo because I was somewhat familiar with the Fluxus art movement. What did I know about it? Well, that the musician Beck's grandfather, Al Hansen was a member of the movement.

"Founded in 1960 by the Lithuanian/American artist George Maciunas, Fluxus began as a small but international network of artists and composers, and was characterised as a shared attitude rather than a movement," according to this article from London's Tate galleries. "Rooted in experimental music, it was named after a magazine which featured the work of musicians and artists centred around avant-garde composer John Cage."

"Drawn together by their disenchantment with the elitist attitudes that they perceived in the art world at the time, they looked to the Futurists and Dadaists for inspiration, especially focusing on the performance aspects of these movements," per this article from The Art Story. "The two most dominant forces, however, were Marcel Duchamp and John Cage, who championed the use of everyday objects and the element of chance in art, both of which became fundamental to Fluxus practices. Whilst Cage was part of the Fluxus movement, Duchamp was never directly involved."

"From 1966 to 1975, George Maciunas realized the social objectives of Fluxus towards a pragmatic and non-elitist conception of art in his work as an urban planner in the Fluxhouse Cooperatives," according to the George Maciunas Foundation web site. Over that decade, he livened the SoHo and Lower East Side neighborhoods by creating Fluxhouse cooperatives in 17 buildings.

This is the fifth in a series of short posts about my trip to New York City last fall. Links to the others are below:

March 1, 2025, "Hoofin' It to the Bowery Ballroom"

February 22, 2025, "Shoot Your Shot at Amsterdam Billiards"

February 15, 2025, "Webster Hall Was Right Across from My Hotel"

February 8, 2025, "The Carl Fischer"

Keep the Ladies in the House

From Dave Brigham:

I saw the plaque above and figured it was a historic marker or relic from a time gone by. But, just as with every single thing that Donald Trump has ever said, I was wrong. And what I assumed would be a simple blog post about a historic institution for women turned out to be something much more complicated.

Located on the outskirts of Boston's Kenmore Square, Our Lady's Guild House (OLGH) is a short-term residence in Boston for women, including students, according to its web site. The residence contains 137 single-occupancy rooms, along with a chapel, a lounge, a conference room and two shared kitchens. In operation since 1947, the house is run by the Daughters of Mary of the Immaculate Conception and is open to women of all faiths and national origins.

So far, so good.

In the early 2010's, though, there was a change in the Daughters' leadership, and the group "essentially stopped running OLGH as a charity," according to a September 15, 2021, article from The Boston Sun. "The Daughters hired Boston realtor Marc Roostaie (known as Marc Roos) to run the property. They raised rents, set time limits on the tenancies of residents, and began evicting long-term residents," the Sun article continues. "....[T]he Daughters rented vacant rooms as high-priced Air BNB (sic) units until Boston outlawed the practice....They set an illegal age limit of 50 years old for applicants and used discriminatory language to discourage applicants with disabilities. The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) found probable cause to conclude that these actions discriminated on the basis of age and disability."

Not so good.

In late 2021, seven residents of Our Lady’s Guild House submitted a bid on the 20 Charlesgate West property, according to a December 14, 2021, article from Banker & Tradesman. Greater Boston Legal Services represented the group and asked the attorney general’s office to block any sale that would convert the building into market-rate apartments, attorney Margaret Turner told B&T.

"The charitable purpose of OLGH Inc. is to provide permanent [single-room occupancy] housing for low and moderate-income women," Turner said in the article. "The proposed sale to the highest bidder will undermine this purpose."

A Boston Globe article posted on the web site for the Fenway Community Development Corporation indicates that Fenway CDC and the Planning Office of Urban Affairs, an affordable housing developer affiliated with the Archdiocese of Boston, were interested in purchasing the Guild House and turning it into permanent affordable housing.

I've seen articles indicating that the Daughters agreed to sell the building, but I haven't seen confirmation that a sale went through, nor have I seen anything about who the purchasers might be.

Free-forming in Ashland

From Dave Brigham:

The times are rare that I explore a new town, city or neighborhood without a plan. I like to prepare ahead of time by zooming in on Google Maps/Street View, and doing a bit of research online to get some ideas of where to explore in a given place. This helps me maximize what is usually a somewhat tight schedule.

Recently, I had a plan to explore Norwood, Mass.** I had completed my online inquiries and found several places that I knew I wanted to make photos of. But when my daughter asked to go to the Natick Mall, I realized that I wouldn't have time to travel from there to Norwood and back and satisfy my curiosity, so I called an audible and ventured into nearby Ashland for the first time ever.

I found some great places, none better than the first building to catch my eye.

Known historically as the Abner Greenwood Block, this place on Front Street, as you can probably guess, is a Masonic Lodge, the North Star Lodge A.F. & A.M., to be exact.

I've made photos of many Masonic Lodges, but I've never seen one with the fraternal organization's logo rendered to large and obvious. Built in 1882, the Greenwood Block "is the only example of Panel Brick design observed in Ashland, and a major late 19th-century business block at the town center," per MACRIS. Greenwood was a blacksmith by trade. "One of his first contracts was the sharpening of spikes for the Boston & Worcester Railroad," MACRIS reports. "He remained in the blacksmith business for twenty-one years [and] subsequently established a large business selling coal...dealing in anthracite coal exclusively, and handling one thousands (sic) tons annually. He also sold hay, lime, and cement."

"From 1884 to 1920, the North Star Lodge, A. F. & A. M. (Ancient Free and Accepted Masons) occupied the building’s upper floors," per MACRIS. "Following a change in ownership that forced the lodge to vacate the Greenwood Block, the Masons returned and acquired the building in 1923, undertook a thorough renovation, and dedicated the building as a Masonic Home, serving the North Star Lodge as well as its sister organization, the Olive Branch Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star."

The building is also currently home to Ashland Reiki and Wellness Center and Anthony's Barber Shop.

Around the bend on Main Street, in front of the Needham Bank branch office, is a plaque and a clock recognizing Henry Ellis Warren, inventor of the self-starting, synchronous electric motor to power clock and timer devices. Warren held 135 patents.

"Warren's early career started as an engineer for Nathaniel Lombard, designing water-driven machinery for the N. Lombard Improved Governor Co. in Roxbury, MA," per Wikipedia. "He worked his way up to Plant Superintendent, eventually purchasing the company in 1937, at which time it was renamed Lombard Governor Company. He was owner and president of Lombard up until his death in 1957."

The Lombard Governor Co. eventually moved to Ashland, which I will discuss below. Concurrently, Warren founded Warren Telechron Company in 1912. That business was acquired by General Electric in 1943, and went out of business in 1992. "Just between 1916 and 1926 the company sold 20 million clocks," according to Wikipedia. "The clocks remained popular into the 1950s. In 1940 he also invented the 'singing clock' which instead of a pendulum had a vibrating metal string." I will talk about that company below, as well.

Walking south-southeast along Main Street, I spied a nicely restored train station, as well as a large complex further down Homer Avenue that I knew I had to check out next.

Ashland Station was built in 1887 for the Boston & Albany Railroad. "The Ashland station represents a major construction campaign undertaken by the Boston & Albany Railroad between 1881 and 1894, when over thirty new passenger stations were built on the line," according to MACRIS. "Nationally known Boston-area architect Henry Hobson Richardson designed nine stations before his death in 1886, after which his three chief assistants continued the firm as Shepley Rutan & Coolidge, designing another twenty-three stations consistent with the architectural program Richardson had established."

I have written about some of these other stations, including ones in Natick, Newton and Wellesley. While trains pass by this historic station, they no longer stop here. There have been businesses located in the station over the years, but I believe it is currently vacant.

From the station, I looked due east down Homer Avenue, and I saw a large brick buildilng looming in the distance. "Probably an old factory," I said to myself. Despite the rising heat and humidity, I knew I had to walk the quarter-mile or so past an auto service center and a bunch of nice houses that I cared not a whit about, and hope the short trek would be worth my time.

It was.

This is part of the complex where Warren Telechron Company once operated. Known as Building #3, it was erected in 1937. Warren started the company in 1916 in a barn in Ashland, per MACRIS. "By 1927, he employed 150 people; in 1930, there were 250 employees in the Ashland plant plus others throughout the United States and Canada. By 1942, Telechron had 1,500 employees."

(Close-up of clock on the old Warren Telechron building.)

(Former Warren Telechron buildings.)

The old clock-making facility is currently home to several companies, including BioSurfaces, which makes "devices and coatings out of FDA-approved polymers via electrospinning"; medical device maker NuVascular Technologies; Encompass Fitness; gourmet chocolate maker Dulce D Leche; and other companies.

Across Union Street from the old Telechron complex is a sad sight indeed....

...a shuttered Dairy Queen. No more soft-serve pineapple sundaes?! No more Blizzards?! No more, gulp, Dilly Bars?!

So very sad. This building, with its ridiculously oversized roof, sits on a fairly large lot, and I imagine the site will be redeveloped before too long. But what the hell do I know.

I headed back downtown, said "Good morning" to a postal worker outside the post office even though it was mid-afternoon, and then spied the fantastic mural below on the side of Main Street Wine & Spirits.

This work was done by Jared Goulette.

Just north of the liquor store is Stone's Public House, which has a long history of hospitality...and ghosts.

"When [John Stone] heard that the railroad was to be built through the center of town (on his own land) he decided to build a hotel right alongside the tracks," according to the restaurant's web site. "The Railroad House (the property also included a barn and a cow-yard and later a home for his family) opened on September 20, 1834, to an enthusiastic crowd of (some say) 300 people.

"John operated the Railroad House for less than two years (though he continued to live on the property), then leasing it to a long list of innkeepers. John died in 1858, and W.A. Scott bought the business in 1868," the web site continues. "Over the years the building fell into disrepair and disrepute. The man credited with helping to return the building to its former glory is Leonard 'Cappy' Fournier, who bought the building in 1976. Cappy is also the man credited with first exploring the paranormal side of the building."

I'm listening...or rather, reading.

The web site quotes from a newspaper article written in 1984: "Bizarre happenings at John Stone's Inn 'began seven years ago when Fournier bought the old inn' with doors that will not remain bolted and lights that turn themselves on. A number of psychics and mystics poured through the 152-year old inn sniffing out spirits after Fournier went public about strange events at the inn five years ago. While Fournier said the stories of each expert vary wildly, they all detected one thing in common. 'When I bought (sic) them to the upstairs function room they all felt the strangest feelings in the back half of that room,' he said. 'Every single one said the same thing in that upstairs room. That's what made a believer out of me.'"

Spooky.

North of Stone's, across the railroad tracks, is Lunker's.

Started in 1995 as a small bait and tackle shop, the store now offers sales and installation services of fireplaces, stoves, grills and fire pits, and much more. Named for a word that means an especially large fish, Lunker's is located in the John West-Arnold Bean Block, which is known historically as the Ashland News Store, per MACRIS. Built in 1835, this place has housed a number of businesses in the ensuing centuries, from a general store to a boot shop, a tailor shop to a news stand.

Next is the wonderfully restored Ashland House, part of the town's affordable housing stock.

Known alternately as the Rev. James McIntire House, the James Jackson House and the Henry E. Warren House, this fantastic Federal style home dates to 1836. "The James Jackson House is significant for its associations with the development of Unionville, as this section of Hopkinton was known prior to its incorporation in 1846 as part of the new town of Ashland," per MACRIS. "...James McIntire appears to have been the first resident. McIntire, a Maryland native who then resided in Framingham, was a student in the senior class at Andover Theological Seminary [when] he began, reportedly in April 1834, to conduct Congregational worship services at Unionville....His father-in-law, Edmund Bartlett of Newburyport, a manufacturer, built this house for McIntire and his new bride, Lydia Coombs Bartlett, directly across the street from the church (now the Federated Church of Ashland...). Following the untimely death of his wife in August 1837 at age 27, McIntire sold the house to James Jackson in 1838 and returned to Maryland.

"Jackson came to Unionville from Sutton...to serve as superintendent...of the Middlesex Manufacturing Company cotton-cloth mill that preceded the granite mill buildings on the site of 10-60 Main Street," per MACRIS. From 1944 to 1957, Henry E. Warren, the aforementioned inventor and clock manufacturer, used this house as an office."

Just up the street, at the intersection of Main, Pleasant and Cherry streets, is The Corner Spot.

Billed as "a place in downtown Ashland where businesses can test-drive their market and residents can come together," the Corner Spot features a small "pop up" store front where local entrepreneurs can test the market for their ideas; hosts events for kids (gymnastics, parachute parties) and grown-ups (shopping, beer garden) alike. Owned by the Town of Ashland, the site is open for folks to enjoy during daylight hours, and is also available to rent for events.

Across Main Street from The Corner Spot is a newer building from the old Lombard Governor Company complex, which manufactured water regulating devices that controlled the irregularities of free-flowing water to produce a constant power source, according to the Ashland Historical Society.

I'll get to more of this complex, and the company's history, in a moment. I made this photo because I was intrigued by the variety of purposes this building now serves, including as church space. Listed on signs around the doorway are: Middlesex Mattress Outlet; Professional Furniture Services; Cascao Brazilian jiu-jitsu training; Grace & Truth Chapel; and a Foursquare Church.

Attached to this building is a mill complex unlike any I've seen in my travels for this blog.

I dubbed it the "Mansard Mill" before I got home, did my research and learned this was the home of the Lombard Governor Company, which relocated here from Roxbury, Mass., in 1904. The buildings housed other manufacturers over the past 150 years. Today, tenants include a cosmetic dentistry office, a home audio store, a pest control business, a boxing club and other operations.

"While the Dwight Printing Company constructed the oldest buildings on this site in 1869-1870, the site has supported industrial activity since the early 19th century, after the Middlesex Manufacturing Company purchased the property in 1811 for the production of cotton cloth," according to MACRIS. "A four-story mill was built ca. 1816, later acquired by Boston parties and incorporated in 1828 as the Middlesex Union Factory Company. The presence of industry on this Sudbury River site contributed to the growth of the village of Unionville, as this section of Hopkinton was known prior to its incorporation in 1846 as part of the new town of Ashland."

Dwight Printing was founded in 1868 as a bleaching, dyeing and printing business for cotton cloth. One of the original three stockholders was Jordan, Marsh & Co., the Boston department store established in 1851 by Eben Dyer Jordan, per MACRIS.

"[T]he Dwight company would be processing cloth for the department store. Dwight Printing acquired several parcels in Ashland between 1868 and 1871 and began construction of a substantial complex of granite mills. The complex was not completed and the business never opened."

Wow.

More from MACRIS: "There is disagreement in period sources as to whether the 1872 land takings in Ashland to create the metropolitan Boston water supply system precipitated or followed the company’s decision to suspend construction. The Metropolitan Water Commission maintained that Dwight Printing had depleted its financial resources before the land takings occurred."

Warren Thread Company occupied some of the buildings in the 19th century. The Lombard Governor Company moved here in 1904, as was previously noted. At that time, the company employed Henry Ellis Warren, he of the Warren Telechron Company mentioned earlier. Upon founding that company, he moved it into some of the space here at Mansard Mill.

"In the early 1910s, the Angier Corporation, manufacturer of waterproof paper products, occupied other buildings immediately to the south of Lombard’s," per MACRIS. "A fire at Angier mills destroyed their complex in 1922, and the company subsequently moved to Framingham."

The Lombard operation was here into the 1960s before it was acquired and moved to Toledo, Ohio.

Check out the video below for more information, and some drone footage of the complex.

Directly across Myrtle Street from the portion of the mill shown in the photo above, is Mill Pond Park. I decided to take a stroll around here to take advantage of the cooler temps the shade offered.

(Dam of Sudbury River at Mill Pond.)

There are some nice walking trails here, and a fantastic foot bridge.

Before getting back in my car near the Masonic Lodge, I spied something that brought a smile to my sweaty, weather-beaten face.

Christmas is right around the corner!

**I eventually made a few trips to Norwood; stay tuned for a few posts about that town.

A Wonderful Walk in Wellesley Hills

From Dave Brigham:

While I've written a few posts about Wellesley (see May 18, 2012, "Aqueduct, My Friend" and January 20, 2018, "The Fabulous Baker Estate," which is more about Needham than Wellesley), this well-to-do town in Boston's western suburbs isn't the first town I think of when pondering on the backside of America. That's a bias I recently set about changing.

I started with a tour of Wellesley Hills, the neighborhood bounded by the Route 9/Washington Street intersection to the east, Wellesley Square to the west, Babson Park to the south and Wellesley Farms to the north. The commuter rail runs parallel to Washington Street here, and there are many commercial buildings, churches, apartment buildings, stores and older homes.

I started at Elm Park, a triangular slice of heaven tucked between Washington Street and Route 9. The park's prominent feature is the gorgeous Isaac Sprague Clocktower.

The brick-and-masonry tower rises 75 feet and features a clock and bell given to the town in 1874 by John Shaw, who worked in Wellesley's school system for many years. The tower itself wasn't erected until 1928. It is named for Isaac Sprague, who "sat on the committee which oversaw its construction, and donated materials for that purpose," according to Wikipedia.

There is also a very cool antique water fountain in the park.

The fountain was made by Murdock Manufacturing out of Cincinnati. I'm not sure how old the fountain is, or whether it works.

If you visit, look for the stone labyrinth at the southeast corner of the park, near the Unitarian Universalist Church.

Speaking of that church....

Built in 1888, the church has some wonderful architectural quirks, from the eyebrow window over the front door and the unusual spire, to the rounded, turret-like entrance near the rear of the building. The church was built for a congregation that formed in 1871 in what was then known as the Grantville neighborhood of Needham. Wellesley broke off from Needham in 1881. The grounds of the church also include an auditorium and a parish house.

Continuing southwest on the north side of Washington Street, I had to check out the bridge that carries Cliff Road over the commuter train tracks.

I don't check out bridges that often, but when I find one with such a great patina, I go out of my way. And I'm glad I did, as I spied a couple of nice relics.

Boston Bridge Works, Inc. was in business in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as best as I can tell. The company had a factory somewhere in East Cambridge. To see a bunch of cool bridges built by the company, check out this Flick album.

(A nice plaque on the bridge featuring the Massachusetts State Seal, upon which I will not comment.)

I wasn't going to shoot a photo of the building below, but when I saw the sign indicating "PLAYHOUSE SQUARE" I figured this building had history to it.

Currently home to a law office and I'm not sure what else (the bakery went out of business in 2020), this building along Washington Street is known historically as the Wellesley Community Playhouse, and also the Babson College Clubhouse. It was built in 1921 by Babson for conferences, movies and theater productions, per MACRIS. From 1923 to 1986 the building was operated privately as a movie theater with 499 seats.

"The theatre closed because it losts (sic) its lease, not because it was unsuccessful (to the contrary, it did great business with second-run art stuff and kids' matinees [which I attended regularly] in the '80s)," according to a commenter on the Cinema Tour web site. The marquee was removed in 2008, according to a commenter on the Cinema Treasures web site.

The furthest west I went on Washington Street was to a neat old bus shelter in front of the town's police department.

Approved by the town's zoming board of appeals in October 1978 in order to provide residents of an adjacent housing authority complex with easier access to bus service, the shelter dates from the late '70s or early '80s. I've never come across a public transportation building quite like this one.

UPDATE: As of late June 2022, this bus shelter has been torn down.

Heading back east along Washington Street, I spied something in a parking lot behind the UPS Store that I decided to check out.

The Local is part of a three-restaurant chain (it was four until recently, when the Newton location closed). The Wellesley spot is situated in what I believe is a former trucking company building. MACRIS indicates a circa-1838 Greek Revival house was moved to this site in 1916 (and demolished at an unknown date after 1981). William and Mabel Diehl operated a moving company out of the house, which included a large barn at the rear of the property where they parked their vans and trucks, according to MACRIS. The barn burned down at some point. Albert and Laura DeBello operated the Wellesley Trucking Company here in the 1970s. I'm assuming the brick building housing The Local replaced the burned-down barn and was used to house the trucks.

Just steps away from the restaurant I found an entry point to the Crosstown Trail on Forest Street.

The trail starts at Wellesley's border with Natick, where the Cochituate Aqueduct Trail enters town. It winds through residential neighborhoods, borders Morses Pond, runs behind town hall, skirts the high school athletic complex, parallels Washington Street and eventually meets up with the Charles River Path.

I love paths like this that allow people to cut behind the main streets and through neighborhoods, getting views that we don't get when driving. Paths like this often upset residents (not just in Wellesley), because they bring the hoi polloi into close contact with locals.

OK, that's it for Wellesley Hills. I hope to check out other parts of town in the near future.

I Seek Newton, Part XI: Newton Corner (Section 2)

From Dave Brigham:

As we learned in the first post about Newton Corner -- see December 11, 2021, "I Seek Newton, Part XI: Newton Corner (Section 1)" -- this village has changed more than most in the city over the past 60 years. In this installment, I will move away from the commercial hub of Newton Corner and into some of its spots for reflection: churches, former churches, graveyards, memorials of all sorts and more.

Welcome to the latest chapter in my survey of the 13 villages of my adopted hometown of Newton, Mass. For links to previous posts, see the bottom of this one.

I'm starting off with a simple memorial to a fallen soldier.

The W. Wallace Richard Bridge, which carries Church Street over the Mass. Pike, was dedicated in 1968 to Newton's first casualty of the Vietnam War. Wallace was born July 12, 1941, and died December 21, 1965. He was a member of the 1st Infantry Division.

Plaques and signs like this are everywhere in Greater Boston. While I'm sure most people walk right past them without looking -- and I'm just as guilty as the next person -- they are important reminders that those who serve and sacrifice aren't just numbers from a battle, but were actual people with families and friends and coworkers. I'm glad to see that somebody is keeping this memorial in mind, with a flag and flowers.

The next memorial doesn't honor a war casualty, but rather a Founding Father of the United States.

Roger Sherman "is the only person to have signed all four great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution, and also signed the 1774 Petition to the King," according to Wikipedia. Located on Waverley Avenue, between Lorna Road and Montrose Street, this stone marker is placed near the spot where Sherman was born on April 19, 1721. It was erected in 1910 by the Lucy Jackson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to honor a man who was a delegate to the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, which produced the U.S. Constitution, and served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate before his death in 1793.

Nearby, on Eliot Memorial Road, is a much bigger memorial, tucked away between two private homes and the Newton Commonwealth Golf Course.

This little promontory overlooking a golf-course fairway was erected to memorialize a man whom I'm guessing many Newtonians might not wish to honor. "In the 1646 to 1674 period, the Reverend John Eliot of Roxbury, the so-called Apostle to the Indians, converted some 1100 Massachusetts natives to the Christian religion and played a central role in establishing fourteen 'Praying Indian' communities in the eastern part of Massachusetts," according to William Marchione's blog post. "Though not the first English missionary to attempt the conversion of New England’s natives...the Roxbury clergyman had far more success than earlier missionaries, thanks largely to his unrivalled command of the native language, Algonquian."

After a failure to convert Native Americans in what is now Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, Eliot turned his proselytizing ways toward Nonantum Hill, and a man named Waban, who led a small group. "Accompanying Eliot to Waban’s encampment were three companions, Thomas Shepard, Minister of Cambridge; Daniel Gookin, afterwards Supervisor of Indian towns for the Massachusetts Bay Colony; and either John Wilson, Minister of Boston, or Elder Heath of Roxbury (on this point the record is unclear)," per Marchione's blog post. "The presence of these notables demonstrated the support that Eliot’s missionary effort enjoyed from the Massachusetts Bay magistrates."

Eliot's legacy is complicated. "A fundamental tenet of the Puritan faith held that anyone seeking to know the will of God had to be able to read and interpret the Bible for himself," according to Marchione, a retired history professor. "The natives had no written language into which holy scripture could be translated. Eliot dealt with this problem, first, by devising an Algonquian grammar (thus giving the language written form), and then by translating both the Old and New Testaments into that complex tongue, a herculean task that he did not finally complete until 1663."

That is an impressive and commendable feat. However...."There was also a measure of cultural imperialism in Eliot’s approach to conversion, for the Roxbury minister required his converts to adopt an English style of living — to give up their semi-migratory habits and to settle into English-style villages under the watchful eye and rigid regulations of a Puritan church community." To that end, Eliot entreated the General Court to grant land to Waban and his followers, and provided them with shovels, spades and other tools.

Eliot's first group of Praying Indians moved in 1651 to Natick. Eventually, Eliot formed 14 such communities. "The praying Indian experiment was decisively undermined, however, by King Philip’s War of 1675-76, the most severe Indian conflict in Massachusetts history, which led to the abandonment of most of Eliot’s praying Indian communities," Marchione reports. Eliot died in 1690. His other achievements include founding the Roxbury Latin School in 1645.

I'm not sure how often folks go to any of the above memorials to reflect on life or meditate or clear their heads. But half a mile away from the Eliot Memorial, at the corner of Cotton and Centre streets, is the East Parish Burying Ground, a spot where I certainly enjoy getting lost in my thoughts, and thinking about Newton's history. Among those buried here is the son of the Apostle to the Indians, Rev. John Eliot, Jr. There are many others buried here, including some of the first settlers of what was known as the East Parish Church (aka First Church in Newton), which was organized in 1664.

The First Settlers Monument was erected September 1, 1852, with inscriptions on each of the four sides. Rev. John Eliot, Jr., is mentioned on one side. Others commemorated include Thomas Wiswall, one of the founders of Cambridge Village, which eventually became Newton; Deacon John Jackson, his son, Abraham Jackson, and Edward Jackson, who each gave land for the burial site and church; and "20 early settlers with the year each settled in Newton as well as the year of death," per Wikipedia.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the burying ground dates from the 1660s. The oldest burial plot I found is below, although I'm pretty sure the stone isn't original to the date of death.

(HERE LIES THE BOdy of WILLIAM HIdES (SP?) AGEd 37 dYed THe 8 OF dECEMBER 1699)

I love exploring old graveyards. I never know what I'll find.

Let's switch gears here a little bit. Mount Alvernia High School on Centre Street, not far from the East Parish Burying Ground, was founded in 1935 in Newton's Chestnut Hill neighborhood (Mount Alvernia Academy, which serves pre-schoolers through 6th grade, is still located in Chestnut Hill). In 1972, the all-girls Catholic high school, with grades 7-12, moved to its current location on Centre Street, across from Newton Country Day School.

The building dates to 1910, and, according to the school's web site, was "used as a novitiate (a place housing those studying for a career in religion) and, for a short time, as a college for the Franciscan community." The school is located in one side of the building, while the other side serves as a residence for the Franciscan sisters who teach and work at the school.

I imagine the Sisters spend a fair amount of time contemplating/reflecting/meditating/praying, especially after the students have gone home for the day.

I'm going to stretch my theme even more now, by talking about an old Quonset hut on the campus of Boston College, across Centre Street from Mount Alvernia.

Set at the back of the college's property, bordering the neighborhood of Rochester and Westchester roads, the hut contains a gym with cardio machines and weight equipment; a basketball court; a designated ping pong area; and locker rooms, showers and bathrooms for use by the Boston College community. Perhaps there isn't much meditation or praying going on here, but still, this place is a good one for reflecting on one's physical health.

So why is there an old Quonset hut here?

I put the question out on a Newton-specific Facebook group, and received some answers. "Quonset huts were set up behind the [Boston College] Business school for Returning Soldiers using the GI Bill, i believe," said one respondent. "They were removed when [McGuinn Hall] was built in late 60s if I remember correctly."

Another person remembered that the hut "was there when my family moved to Rochester Road in the mid-50s. I was told it was used during WWII." The U.S. military produced hundreds of thousands of the huts during World War II, for use on bases. The huts take their name from "the site of their first manufacture at Quonset Point at the Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center in Davisville, Rhode Island," according to Wikipedia. Surplus huts were sold to the public in the post-war years.

I'll wrap up this post with a look at some of Newton Corner's churches, as well as a former house of worship that was converted to condos. Let's start there.

Just south of the Church Street/Centre Street intersection is the former Newton Methodist Episcopal Church. Built in 1897 from a design by Cram, Wentworth and Goodhue (the firm lives on in Cram & Ferguson Architects), the Neoclassical building became the Newton Cerebral Palsy Center before being converted to condos about 20 years ago.

The church's design "influence was thought to have been Byzantine," per MACRIS. "[H]owever, an article...published in Mexico relates Goodhue's design to Hispanic colonial influence which may be a result of an 1891 trip to Mexico and a known intellectual interest in Mexican architecture." MACRIS continues: "Laid out with a Greek cross plan and large central dome over the crossing, the church is faced with cream-colored brick and trimmed with white, matt-glazed terra cotta." I'd love to get inside one of the condos here....

You could throw an offering plate and hit the next house of worship on the list, the Eliot Church of Newton.

Built in 1957, the church is named for the Rev. John Eliot, Sr., the "Apostle to the Indians" discussed above. The structure is the fourth on this site for the congregation, which is "in covenant with the United Church of Christ," according to its web site. The first church rose in 1845 and was replaced by a larger church in 1860. That second building was destroyed by fire in 1887, as was its replacement, in 1956.

A little bit east along Church Street is Grace Episcopal. The church is beautiful, but I was especially struck by the stained-glass window on the chapel/parish hall attached to the main structure.

Erected in 1873, the building was the first stone church in Newton, per the history page at the congregation's web site. The first Grace chapel was located at the corner of Washington and Hovey streets, current site of a Walgreens pharmacy. Take a close look at this photo, if you don't mind.

Just up Eldredge Street from Grace Episcopal is Newton Presbyterian Church, on the corner of Vernon Street.

Built in 1881, this Gothic Revival building was originally home to a Unitarian congregation known as the Channing Religious Society, per MACRIS. The church "was named after William Ellery Channing, a leader of the Unitarian movement," according to MACRIS. "Like other Newton Corner congregations, the society first occupied a church on Washington Street and then moved southward to Farlow Park as the focus of the village's population shifted."

I love the castle-like details at the side entrance, below.

To wrap up this post, I want to discuss the building known historically as the Immanuel Baptist Church, on Church Street. Erected in 1885, this building is well beyond its glory days. I hope the current owners can find a preservation partner.

Even in its dirty, boarded-up condition, this place is beautiful. It's unlike any church in the village, and perhaps the whole city of Newton. Designed by architectural legend H.H. Richardson (Boston's Trinity Church, Chicago's Marshall Field store, etc.) and Charles A. Coolidge (the latter doing a large part of the work, per MACRIS), this Richardsonian Romanesque (what else could it be?!) pile is made of Longmeadow brownstone, which a friend of mine who knows her shit tells me is a color that isn't available anymore. "Imagine how it would pop if it was clean!" she commented when I posted a photo of the church on Instagram.

"Both the massing and detail are simple in design," the MACRIS write-up indicates. "[T]he church is laid out in a cruciform plan with short transepts and an apsidal baptistry at the rear. Emphasis is concentrated on the large square tower at the crossing and the front wing, which features compound arches at the entry and massive foot tables extending from the cornice." Some folks call that type of steeple a witch's hat.

Now known simply as The Worship Center, it is home to several congregations, including the Hellenic Gospel Church, the Philippine International Church, Beth Yeshua Messianic Congregation and the Arabic Baptist Church.

It is the Arabic Baptist Church that owns the building. "In 2005, Rev. Sinote [Ibrahim] planted the second church when he started the current Ministry of the Arabic Baptist Church Boston at the Newton Corner Worship Center...with the help of faithful brothers and sisters," according to the congregation's web site. "In the summer of 2012 and through the dedicated support and work of Rev. Sinote with the owners of the current Newton Corner Worship Center, the owners of the facility gifted the facility to the Arabic Baptist Church Boston."

Rev. Ibrahim has a master's degree in mechanical engineering, and has also studied theology, of course. I stumbled across a comment at the Flickr photo-sharing web site where someone indicated they have talked to the pastor about the building. I'm guessing those discussions have covered the possibility of restoring this building, one of the last to rise before H.H. Richardson's death in 1886. It's a shame to have a Richardson building in use, but in rough shape. There are other of his buildings in Newton - train stations in Newton Centre, Newton Highlands and Auburndale (hidden on the grounds of the Woodlands Golf Club). And while some of his train stations were torn down long ago, I'm hoping that the Immanuel church won't join them.

That's it for the second part of Newton Corner. Make sure to check back for the final installment, in which I will feature some cool old homes, former estates, public parks, a yacht club and more.

Here are links to previous posts in the series:

April 10, 2021, "I Seek Newton, Part X: Newton Centre (Section 3)"

April 3, 2021, "I Seek Newton, Part X: Newton Centre (Section 2)"

March 27, 2021, "I Seek Newton, Part X: Newton Centre (Section 1)"

November 15, 2020, "I Seek Newton, Part IX: Nonantum (Section 3)"

October 29, 2020, "I Seek Newton, Part IX: Nonantum (Section 2)"

September 24, 2020, "I Seek Newton, Part IX: Nonantum (Section 1)"

March 14, 2018, "I Seek Newton, Part VIII: Upper Falls (Section 3)"

March 8, 2018, "I Seek Newton, Part VIII: Upper Falls (Section 2)"

March 1, 2018, "I Seek Newton, Part VIII: Upper Falls (Section 1)"

March 7, 2017, "I Seek Newton, Part VII: Thompsonville"

December 5, 2016, "I Seek Newton, Part VI: Chestnut Hill"

September 26, 2016, "I Seek Newton, Part V: Oak Hill"

June 3, 2016, "I Seek Newton, Part IV: Waban"

March 23, 2016, "I Seek Newton, Part III: Newton Highlands"

September 20, 2015, "I Seek Newton, Part II: Auburndale"

May 21, 2015, "I Seek Newton, Part I: Lower Falls"