The Boston Elevated Railway broke ground in 1899 for a new transit service that opened in 1901, providing a seven-mile elevated railway that connected Dudley Street Station in Roxbury and Sullivan Square Station in Charlestown, two huge multilevel terminals. When the EL, as it was popularly known, opened for service, it provided an unencumbered route high above the surging traffic of Boston, until it went underground through the city. The new trains of the EL were elegant coaches of Africanmahogany, bronze hardware, plush upholstered seats, plate glass windows, and exteriors of aurora red with silver gilt striping and slate grey roofs. They stopped at ten equally distinguished train stations, designed by the noted architect Alexander WadsworthLongfellow. All of this elegance, let alone convenience, could be had for the price of a five-cent ticket. The popularity of the EL was instantaneous. The railway continued to provide transportation service high above Boston’s streets until 1987, when it was unfortunately ended after 86 years of elevated operation. Today, the squealing wheels of the Elevated trains, the rocking coaches, the fascinating views, and the fanciful copper-roofed stations of the line are a missing part of the character of Boston, when one could ride high above the city for a nickel.

When Boston Rode the EL (Images of America)

Arts & Photography

Mitchell Sammarco, Anthony

Cheney, Frank

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing

Since Boston's settlement in 1630, the North End has developed from a neighborhood of residences and artisan shops. Known for the nationally important Paul Revere House, which is the oldest standing building in Boston, and the Old North Church, the North End is a destination for tourists.

Boston's North End (MA) (Then and Now)

Settled as New Towne in 1631, Cambridge was referred to by Wood, a seventeenth-century chronicler, as “one of the neatest and best compacted towns in New England.” The founding of Harvard College in 1636 was to ensure the town’s notoriety, as it was the first college in the New World. Harvard gave Cambridge a cosmopolitan flavor, but the town retained its open farmland and its well-known fisheries along the Charles and Alewife Rivers for nearly two centuries. By the early nineteenth century Cambridge saw tremendous development, with industrial concerns in Cambridgeport. New residents swelled Cambridge’s population so much that it became a city in 1846. These changes, which included horse-drawn streetcars and, later, the Elevated Railway that is today known as the Red Line, made Cambridge a place of convenient residence. With the large-scale development in the late nineteenth century, Cambridge became a thriving nexus of cultural diversity.

Cambridge (Images of America)

Within these pages, author Anthony Mitchell Sammarcobrings to life the history of Boston’s West End―thearea of the city bound by the Charles River and Storrow Drive as well as North Station, City Hall Plaza, and Myrtle Street. Once a thriving, energetic, and diverse neighborhood, the West End was slated for complete removal following World War II. In over 200 marvelous photographs, this collection recaptures fond memories for former residents and shows newcomers the history of the West End. Now the site of luxury, high-rise apartment buildings, condominiums, and stores, Boston’s West End was once the site of many Bulfinch-designed townhouses owned by prominent families. In later years, the neighborhood was home to a diverse ethnic and religious community of families who arrived in Boston from all parts of the world. Today,three decades after the West End was virtually leveled, it is still fondly remembered by many who once called it home.

Boston's West End (Images of America)

Visit territory such as the House of Reformation at City Point and the Home for the Feeble-minded at City Point. Explore the Perkins Institute for the Blind, relocated in the former Mount Washington House in 1839. City Point boasts its own attractions, such as the old aquarium, designed by William Downer Austin; the Head House, designed by Edmund March Wheelwright; and a spectacular view from Castle Island. With more than 200 photographs, Anthony Sammarco probes yet deeper into the history of South Boston. A well-known local historian, Sammarco is a resident of Milton and the author of over twenty different titles. His extensive knowledge of the Greater Boston area promises a thorough guide to the city’s most fascinating landmarks and inhabitants.

South Boston: Volume II (Images of America)

Settled in 1630, Roxbury, Massachusetts, became one of the most affluent towns in Colonial America. Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Roxbury was the only point of access by land to the 800-acre peninsula called Boston. Over the course of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Roxbury grew and evolved from a delightful country town to a bustling streetcar suburb. Roxbury became an independent city in 1846, but it was annexed to the City of Boston in 1867. During the twenty-one-year period of its independence, Roxbury began to attract many new residents who worked in its mills, factories, and breweries, as well as others who commuted to Boston for business. After its annexation, Roxbury’s growth soared: streets were laid out, housing development escalated, and streetcar service to Boston and Charlestown began. Roxbury―or “Boston Highlands” as it was then known―was no longer home only to the descendants of its original settlers. Immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Poland, and Russia, and later, African-Americans, arrived and contributed to this Boston neighborhood’s rich and ever-evolving history.

Roxbury (Images of America)

In Dorchester Volume II, local author Anthony Mitchell Sammarco continues his detailed look at this diverse town that he began in Volume I, which the Boston Globe hailed as a best-seller. Founded in 1630 by Puritans, Dorchester has experienced spectacular growth over the last few centuries; the Old Colony Railroad and later the Red Line provided impetus for the quick development of this "streetcar suburb." From a town of twelve thousand residents in 1870, when it was annexed to the city of Boston, to one hundred thousand at the turn of the century, Dorchester became home to a quarter of a million people by 1930. The development of the town in the period from 1870 to 1920 saw architects, builders, and residents all working to create a pleasant place to live and work. Dorchester's evolution from a farming community to a vibrant, buzzing town can be seen in the unique form of American architecture developed in Dorchester--the "three decker," built between the 1890s and World War II, and popular among people of all classes and economic means. The influx of immigrants from countries around the world has given Dorchester a diverse and colorful character, which is the source of pride for many of its residents.

Dorchester: Volume II

History

Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell

Americas

Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

Originally called Noodle's Island, East Boston was once comprised of five islands connected by marshland. Today, many people identify East Boston as the location of Logan International Airport, but it is really much more than that. From colonial times through the late twentieth century, the neighborhood of East Boston has experienced significant developments in the fields of city planning, transportation, and urban development. Until the nineteenth century, East Boston was a rural community whose land was used for grazing and firewood. The East Boston Company was incorporated by William Hyslop Sumner in 1833 to plan the residential and commercial growth of this Boston neighborhood. Connecting East Boston to the city were various modes of transportation including ferries, railroads, and an underground streetcar tunnel. In the 1920s, construction of the Boston Airport, later Logan International Airport, was begun.

East Boston

Visit territory such as the House of Reformation at City Point and the Home for the Feeble-minded at City Point. Explore the Perkins Institute for the Blind, relocated in the former Mount Washington House in 1839. City Point boasts its own attractions, such as the old aquarium, designed by William Downer Austin; the Head House, designed by Edmund March Wheelwright; and a spectacular view from Castle Island. With more than 200 photographs, Anthony Sammarco probes yet deeper into the history of South Boston. A well-known local historian, Sammarco is a resident of Milton and the author of over twenty different titles. His extensive knowledge of the Greater Boston area promises a thorough guide to the city's most fascinating landmarks and inhabitants.

South Boston Volume II

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mitchell Sammarco, Anthony. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Mitchell Sammarco, Anthony