Creator(s)	Folsom, A. H. (Augustine H.), -1926, photographer.
Title	[East Side of Cove Street, Boston, Mass.]
Additional Title(s)	[Collection of photographs documenting the demolition of the Cove Street neighborhood, Boston, Mass.]
Link to library catalog	http://catalog.bostonathenaeum.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=522148
Date created	1897.
Publishing details	Boston, Mass. : A.H. Folsom, 48 Alleghany St.,
Physical Description	1 of a series of 30 photographs pasted down on cream-colored mount ; prints 33.8 x 43.2 cm. or smaller, mounts 45.7 x 55.8 cm.
Wall Label	In the mid-to-late 1890s, Boston underwent a major urban renewal project with the development of South Station and vicinity. Surrounding wharf and residential areas were purchased and demolished by the Boston Terminal Company. The Cove Street neighborhood, seen here, was home to an “Armenian Colony,” “the Cove Street Gang,” and tenement houses. The Boston Herald referred to the tenements as “old and poorly fitted for residential purposes; the smell from them is offensive and their general condition is unclean.” The entire Cove Street neighborhood was annihilated and replaced by an extension of Atlantic Avenue. As with later urban renewal schemes, the reconfiguration of this part of Boston was controversial and widely covered by local newspapers. These two photographs are part of a series documenting the former residential and wharf neighborhoods along present-day Atlantic Avenue. The photographer, Augustine H. Folsom, specialized in architectural and interior photography. Some of his work suggests that he also may have been employed by the Boston Street Department to record thoroughfares and buildings before their demise.
Summary	Part of a group of 30 photographs recording the demolition of buildings in preparation for the construction of Boston's South Station and the extension of Atlantic Avenue in the mid- to late 1890s. The images document the taking down of buildings along Cove Street, Federal Street (between East and Oak Streets), Beach Street (between South and Federal Streets) in Boston. The photographs also show the buildings slated for destruction on Adam's Wharf, Hobb's Wharf, Tirrell's Wharf, and Wales Wharf. Many of the buildings photographed were tenements houses, stores, and coal or wood sheds. Corporate or commercial buildings that appear in the photograph include: Old Colony Railroad freight house (Federal Street), Boston Gas Light Company gasometers (Federal Street near Furnace Street), G. W. & F. Smith Iron Company (405-413 Federal Street), Wales Wharf building (264-280 Federal Street), S. Atwood & Co. (oysters, 291 Federal Street), H. G. Hall & Son (hardward, 151-155 Beach Street), J. E. Doherty & Co. (liquor, wholesale, 26-30 Cove Street), D. S. Simpson & Co. (blacksmith, 144 Beach Street), J. H. Costello & Co. (liquors, wholesale, 154-158 Beach Street), Thomas F. Phillips & Co. (coal, 424 Federal Street), and W. H. & S. L. Emery (coal and wood, cart and storage on Hobb's Wharf near their building at 288 Federal Street).
Notes	Photographs were possibly commissioned by the City of Boston as a visual record of a neighborhood destined to be destroyed . This urban renewal project was originally known in Boston as the Southern Union Station improvements. (Southern Union Station is now known as South Station.) The designs, street alterations, demolition of buildings, and the taking of buildings by eminent domain were all widely covered in Boston newspapers in the 1890s . 26 of the photographs were numbered in the upper left corner by creator or original owner . Photographer's stamp appears under most of the photographic prints and on the verso of some of the mounts . Graphite and ink inscriptions on mounts identify location. Inscriptions appear to be contemporary to photographs . 29 of the 30 photographs are in horizontal format . Collection title created by curator.
Local notes	Gift; Naef Family in honor of the Peters Family; January 2016; #2016.1 (no.3).
Provenance	Naef family, donor.
Subject	Old Colony Railroad Company--Buildings--Pictorial works. Boston Gas Light Company--Buildings--Pictorial works. G. W. & F. Smith Iron Company--Buildings--Pictorial works. S. Atwood & Co.--Buildings--Pictorial works. H. G. Hall & Son--Buildings--Pictorial works. J. E. Doherty & Co.--Buildings--Pictorial works. D. S. Simpson & Co.--Buildings--Pictorial works. J. H. Costello & Co.--Buildings--Pictorial works. Thomas F. Phillips & Co.--Buildings--Pictorial works. W. H. & S.L. Emery--Pictorial works. Lost architecture--Massachusetts--Boston--Pictorial works. Tenement houses--Massachusetts--Boston--Pictorial works. Urban renewal--Massachusetts--Boston--Pictorial works. Wrecking--Massachusetts--Boston--Pictorial works. Beach Street (Boston, Mass.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works. Cove Street (Boston, Mass.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works. Federal Street (Boston, Mass.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works. Furnace Street (Boston, Mass.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works. Simpson's Court (Boston, Mass.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works. Adam's Wharf (Boston, Mass.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works. Hobb's Wharf (Boston, Mass.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works. Tirrell's Wharf (Boston, Mass.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works. Wales Wharf (Boston, Mass.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works.
Genre terms	Photographs--United States--1890-1900.
Location/Call number	Prints and Photographs Dept. (Appointment required) (photo) C B64B6 Dem.c. (nos.1-30)
Source	8441.tif
Rights	Collection of the Boston Athenaeum. May not be reproduced or quoted without written permission. For more information, see http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/node/46