Bowdoin Square (Boston)
Encyclopedia
Bowdoin Square in Boston
, Massachusetts
was located in the West End. In the 18th-19th centuries it featured residential houses, leafy trees, a church, hotel, theatre and other buildings. Among the notables who have lived in the square: physician Thomas Bulfinch; merchant Kirk Boott; and mayor Theodore Lyman
. Since the 20th century the area has become a traffic intersection at Cambridge Street, Bowdoin Street
, and New Chardon Street
. Bowdoin Square is served by the MBTA Blue Line
station Bowdoin
.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
was located in the West End. In the 18th-19th centuries it featured residential houses, leafy trees, a church, hotel, theatre and other buildings. Among the notables who have lived in the square: physician Thomas Bulfinch; merchant Kirk Boott; and mayor Theodore Lyman
Theodore Lyman (militiaman)
Theodore Lyman II was an American philanthropist, politician, and author, born in Boston, the son of Theodore Lyman and Lydia Pickering Williams. He graduated at Harvard in 1810, visited Europe , studied law, and with Edward Everett, revisited Europe in 1817-19...
. Since the 20th century the area has become a traffic intersection at Cambridge Street, Bowdoin Street
Bowdoin Street (Boston)
Bowdoin Street in Boston, Massachusetts extends from the top of Beacon Street, down Beacon Hill to Cambridge Street, near the West End. It was originally called "Middlecott Street" as early as the 1750s. In 1805 it was re-named after the Governor James Bowdoin....
, and New Chardon Street
New Chardon Street (Boston)
New Chardon Street is a street in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, USA, north of Government Center. It begins at Cambridge Street at Bowdoin Square, across from Bowdoin Street. The two-way street continues east across Congress Street, ending at Haymarket Square with access to the Sumner and Callahan...
. Bowdoin Square is served by the MBTA Blue Line
Blue Line (MBTA)
The Blue Line is one of four subway lines of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority serving Downtown, East Boston and the North Shore. It runs from northeast to southwest, extending from Wonderland station in Revere, Massachusetts to Bowdoin station near Beacon Hill in Boston...
station Bowdoin
Bowdoin (MBTA station)
Bowdoin of the MBTA, is a station on the Blue Line, serving Bowdoin Square in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood. It is currently the downtown terminus of the line, although it may close if the line is extended or after Government Center is rebuilt.-History:...
.
Brief history
Some of the features of Bowdoin Square in its heyday included:- Kirk BoottKirk BoottKirk Boott was an American Industrialist instrumental in the early history of Lowell, Massachusetts.-Biography:...
house (built 1804). "The half-acre lot on which Boott build his brick house was then a pasture in Boston's West End, an area that was just beginning to be developed. Boott's 3-story FederalFederal architectureFederal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
mansion, with its tall PalladianPalladian architecturePalladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
windows lighting the staircase overlooking the garden, was very likely designed by Charles BulfinchCharles BulfinchCharles Bulfinch was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first native-born American to practice architecture as a profession....
." - Samuel Parkman house (built ca.1816). "The large granite double house which stood for years at the western end of Bowdoin Square was built about 1816 by Hon. Samuel Parkman, a rich merchant. He was father of Dr.George ParkmanGeorge ParkmanGeorge Parkman , a Boston Brahmin , belonged to one of Boston's richest families...
who was murdered in 1849 by John White WebsterJohn White WebsterJohn White Webster , born in Boston, Massachusetts, was a professor of chemistry and geology at Harvard Medical College...
, ... [and] grandfather of Francis ParkmanFrancis ParkmanFrancis Parkman was an American historian, best known as author of The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life and his monumental seven-volume France and England in North America. These works are still valued as history and especially as literature, although the biases of his...
, the historian." - Baptist Tabernacle (built 1840); also known as the Bowdoin-Square Church or the Bowdoin Square Baptist Church
- Revere HouseRevere HouseRevere House was an upscale hotel in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts, located on Bowdoin Square in the West End. Fire destroyed the building in 1912.-Brief history:...
hotel (1847-1912) - United States Court House (19th c.)
- Bowdoin Square Hotel
- Bowdoin Square Theatre
Further reading
- Fire in Bowdoin Square, Last Evening. Boston Daily Globe, Jan 7, 1874. p.1.
- Bowdoin Square Literary Union Entertainment. Boston Daily Globe (1872-1922); Boston, Mass. Dec 1, 1875. p.4.
- The Outside Show: Illuminations Along the Line of March- Columns Avenue a Blaze of Light--The Display Elsewhere--Some of the More Prominent Illuminations and Decorations. Boston Daily Globe, Oct 27, 1876. p.8.
- Twelve missing in Boston fire; Blaze Starts in Old Revere House and Spreads to Nearby Buildings. New York Times, Jan 16, 1912. p.1.
- Alan Emmet. "Radishes and orchids: the Boott's garden in Boston." So Fine a Prospect: Historic New England Gardens. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1997.
- Robert Campbell. From square to bare; once filled with stately homes, Bowdoin Square's modern incarnation is decidedly less impressive. Boston Globe. May 21, 2006.
External links
- Google news archive. Articles about Bowdoin Square
- Flickr. Photo of Cambridge Street looking toward Bowdoin Square, 1950s
- Flickr. Photos of area that was Bowdoin Square by Gig Harmon, 2009
- Flickr. Gleason's. Cambridge omnibus, Benjamin Franklin, passing Bowdoin Square church in a snow storm, 1852
- Flickr. Boston and Cambridge New Horse Railroad (Bowdoin Square), ca.1856 engraving