[Bond James Bond]

All of these photos were originally slides that my father (with some help from me at one point) scanned several years ago, of photos he had taken in Boston in 1958/59, 1961/62 (all before I was born) and a trip my whole family took in 1974.

Many of them have faded to red while others haven't. Not sure why - different kind of film? Anyway, you'll have to pretend they haven't faded to red.

First, here is a photo from 1958 of the man who took all these photos (taken by a friend, obviously). Age about 26. Just so you get an idea of the guy who took them. He looks nothing like that anymore.

 

[Bond James Bond]

Start with 1958

I've put all the photos in album on Flickr here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/albums/72157687232104745/with/35559230064/

Welcome to Boston, 1958!

Building on the right is 371 Harvard Street (in Cambridge I think?) in the snow.

Stuart Square

Filene's

Charles River and old Hancock Tower. This is foreshadowing of a pic of the new Hancock Tower under construction in my 1974 set.

Jordan Marsh

This is the corner of Boylston and Berkley

Boylston Ave from Copley Square

Stuart Street. My father has said that Boston back then was kind of a dump. I suppose like this photo.

Washington Street. I like this one.

This is in Cambridge, Mass Ave to Werdiner(?). Please note that for the titles I'm just copying my father's own captions, and his spelling isn't always great.

Boylston Street

More ...

 

[Bond James Bond]

More 1958 and one from 1959

This is the entrance to the subway station on Harvard Square

The Harvard co-op. My father had a job at the Harvard library at one point (he went to college at Emerson, however).

This one is apparently from 1959. It's Newbury Street and the offices of WBCN.

More ...

 

[Bond James Bond]

Boston Red Sox 1958

Having spent much of his teenager-hood and the first half of his 20's living in Boston, my father became a Red Sox fan. So these next ones are all Red Sox themed.

The Green Monster. Calso, not Citco.

That's Mickey Mantle at bat. Nice shot.

#25 (whoever that was) of the NY Yankees crossing home plate after hitting a home run.

That's Mickey Mantle running toward 3rd

Frank Malzone at 3rd

Jackie Jensen receiving an award

This was the taping of a TV show with some Red Sox players on WHDH (I think that's where my father worked for a while, though he was on radio - he was actually a DJ for a bit). Notice the camera says "color television." Yes they had color TV in 1958, though I don't think it was very common yet.

Anyway, here is Ted Williams and Kurt Gowdy.

Jackie Jensen was the player I showed above receiving an award.

Close-up of Ted Williams

 

[Bond James Bond]

1961 and 1962

OK now we're on to 1961 and 1962. Not as many here as 1959. In 1960 my parents married so we've got a shot of her in this set.

Here is the Prudential Center starting construction

Here is Scollay Square being torn down to make way for the Government Center.

And again ...

After they married they moved to an apartment in Brighton on Commonwealth Ave. These next 3 are the view from their apartment. Don't know the address, but maybe one of the Bostonians here could figure out where this is.

This is the 3rd. It would appear that somewhere between 1958 and 1961 Calso changed to Citco.

This is my mother shoveling some snow.

And here is their car (a Plymouth) buried in the snow. With streetcar in the background.

 

[Bond James Bond]

Family trip to Boston 1974

Flash-forward a dozen years and my father and mother had moved to NYC, then to suburban NJ, and in the meantime had me and my 3 sisters. In 1974 we took a trip up to Boston for a few days and my father once again took some pics.

There are 2 events I remember from this trip:

1. Once we were eating lunch at Burger King, I think somewhere either in the Back Bay or maybe near the Boston Common. All of a sudden a bum walked into the restaurant and started eating people's food, right in front of them. Just walked in and started helping himself, grabbing their food. Got to about 2 or 3 tables, I think, and was only a couple tables away from us when some employees finally got to him and kicked him out. Weird event I'll never forget.

2. My father had bought 3 tickets to a Red Sox game (for him, myself and my older sister, my mother and other 2 sisters didn't care). We were already in Boston for a day or two before that game, however. Now, there was this guy named Jim Rice who the Sox had recently brought up from the minors. He was already making a fair amount of news while in the minors and everybody knew he was going to be good. When we arrived he still hadn't gotten his first ML hit. The night before the game we had tickets to, my father took me to Fenway with the game already underway, in part to see this guy named Jim Rice who the Sox had just brought up. I think it was about the 7th inning. We got to the gate, and the security guy at the gate let us in - for free. Probably he saw a guy with his little kid and decided to be nice. Anyway, shortly after we got there, Jim Rice came to bat. He had not gotten a hit yet. And when we saw him, he lined (I think) a double to (I think) right-center field. So I saw Jim Rice get his first hit! For quite a long while afterwards he was my favorite player. I also saw him in his last (or 2nd-to-last) year when the Sox came to Seattle, in 1988 or 89.

This is the swan boats in the Public Garden.

That's me on the left, in the shirt with the orange and yellow smilies. Believe it or not but I remember that shirt! Mom to my left and older sister to the right.

Boylston Street.

John Hancock tower u/c

Beacon Street

Park Street

City Hall

Me and my 3 sisters playing in a fountain, looks like at the Government Center somewhere.

Me and 2 of 3 sisters in front of City Hall

Copley Square

At some point we went to the top of the Prudential Center. But for some reason I don't really remember doing this. I think I might remember that we went there, but I don't actually remember going there.

And that's it!

One other thing I remember is, we went to the Quincy Marketplace (no pics unfortunately), when it was still under (re-)construction.

 

[diddyD]

A very interesting collection.

 

[christos-greece]

Indeed a very nice, interesting collection of photos :cheers:

 

[smokiboy]

Nice, thanks for the report.

 

[Eduarqui]

Fabulous thread, thank you for sharing these images - I do love to see how cities change and improve (with their people ).

 

[BigCrunch]

Thanks for sharing this timelaps .

 

[openlyJane]

Thanks for sharing your personal photos and memories. Interesting!

 

[raider12]

OMG!!!!!! I cant wait to show my dad these. As a Bostonian, this thread was riveting and just awesome pics. Jesus, i had forgotten that the windows on the Hancock building were popping out before the dame thing was all done! .........................i iwas born in 1956 and am old enough to remember that, yes, Boston was indeed a DUMP! The cleanup started with Mayor White and on to Mayor Flynn but no one, NO ONE! did as much for Boston as the late great Mayor Tom Menino. The city is now an American jewel.

 

[Bond James Bond]

A forumer at SkyscraperPage fixed the red tint on some of the photos. These look much better!

 

[Bond James Bond]

Very minor omission, but I was looking through my pics and realized I forgot this one. It was my grandmother's house in Belmont on Chester St in 1962.

 

[Chibcha2k]

great pictures, thanks for sharing!

 

[Christi69]

Very interesting!

 

[El_Greco]

Those vintage cars are hot!

 

[ukiyo]

Really nice pictures!

Your father was quite handsome! You should tell him, from a random girl in Japan :laugh:

 

[JohnFlint1985]

Truly unique!!!