Business

What Did Jamaica Plain Look Like in the 1970s?

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Was there always a giant plastic cow head protruding from the current home of J.P. Licks? What was previously in CVS' current location? Well, check out the answers to those questions and more -- from these photos from the 1970s from the Jamaica Plain Historical Society. The following photos were taken by former Jamaica Plain resident Donald Latham, and were donated to the Jamaica Plain Historical Society by his brother Tom.  

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History

Take a Summer Tour with Jamaica Plain Historical Society (P.S. They’re Free)

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Have you wanted to know more about the neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain? Then you should take one of the free tours offered by the Jamaica Plain Historical Society this summer. Whether you just moved to Jamaica Plain or lived here all your life, you will definitely learn a thing or two, or three, or 22 things about JP neighborhoods. There are tours of Stony Brook, Hyde Square, Sumner Hill, Green Street, Woodbourne, Jamaica Pond, and of Monument Square. Click here for more info about individual tours.

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History

The Arnold Arboretum and the Legacy of Slavery

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The following was written with contributions by Jon Hetman, Lisa Pearson, and William (Ned) Friedman on behalf of the Arnold Arboretum community, and originally published on the arboretum's website. It has been republished here with permission from the Arnold Arboretum. In spring of 2022, Harvard University President Larry Bacow shared the findings of the Presidential Committee on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery, a major initiative focused on researching and day-lighting connections between Harvard and its community to both the institution and economy of slavery. Among the Committee’s findings associated with the Arnold Arboretum is a major benefactor who made his fortune trading goods produced by enslaved people, the institution’s historical connections to the Atkins Institution in Cuba, and the close ties of some instructors at the Bussey Institution to the eugenics movement. At the Arnold Arboretum, we welcome this opportunity to better understand our past as important historical context in our efforts to make our landscape more welcoming and enriching to everyone.

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Entertainment

Pride Month Book Talk ‘A Queer History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement’ Virtual Event on June 12

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In celebration of Pride Month, the Jamaica Plain Historical Society is co-sponsoring a virtual book talk with Dr. Wendy Rouse about her book Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement on June 12. Rouse is a professor of History at San Jose State University, and her book explores the important role of queerness and queer suffragists in the fight for the vote. The book highlights the alliances that queer suffragists built and the innovative strategies they developed to protect and preserve their most intimate relationships as they defied the gender and sexual norms of their day. This event is co-sponsored with the Boston Public Library Connolly Branch. Click here to register for this virtual event that begins at 6:30 pm.

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History

Video: The Sculptures of Daniel Chester French at Forest Hills Cemetery

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Many people know of Daniel Chester French's giant sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, but there are also three notable French sculptures at the Forest Hills Cemetery. Dana Pilson, a curatorial researcher at Chesterwood provided a presentation focusing on the remarkable achievements of Daniel Chester French at the Forsyth Chapel at Forest Hills Cemetery. In Forest Hills Cemetery, his works are the Milmore Memorial, the Clark Memorial, and the George Robert White Memorial, known as the Angel of Peace. Pilson's presentation places his cemetery works within the trajectory of French’s noted career, and included rarely-seen historical images that highlight French’s remarkable creative processes. The event was held on April 15, and was re-recorded on May 2 via Zoom.

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City Services

CPA Funding Approved for New Curley School Playground, Jackson Square Greenway, Churches, and More

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Community Preservation Act funds will be used to build a new school playground, support new affordable housing, and historically rehab several churches,

Mayor Michelle announced 56 projects will receive more than $40 million through CPA funds. The Boston City Council approved the funding on April 12. By law, projects must support the creation or preservation of affordable housing, historic sites, or open space and recreation. Since 2018, Boston has awarded more than $157 million to support 293 projects including 112 open space and recreation projects, 46 affordable housing projects, and 135 historic preservation projects, according to a press release. The following are the eight Jamaica Plain projects that are receiving funding:

361 Centre Street

$3,000,000 to partially fund an​ ​adaptive reuse rental proj​ect utilizing the vacant Blessed Sacrament Church in the Hyde Square neighborhood.

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History

Part II: The History of 48 Rockview Street and the Fisher-Bang Family

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This is Part II of this article that has been republished on Jamaica Plain News with permission from the author and the Jamaica Plain Historical Society. Click here for Part I.

DANA WALKER FISHER, SR. AND EDITH GEORGE (TWEEDY) FISHER
Learn more about Joy’s Fisher ancestors from Mansfield, MA in a supplemental article here. Joy’s paternal grandparents Dana Sr. and Edith Fisher lived in Mansfield until 1900, at which time they moved to 17 Akron Street in Boston. On October 23, 1900, Dana Sr. joined the Boston Police Department as a reserve officer in Division 2, at the Milk Street station. On May 16, 1901, he was appointed as a patrolman at the same station.  On January 21, 1904, Dana Sr. and Edith had their first child, Dana Walker Fisher, Jr. (Joy’s father).

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History

Part I: The History of 48 Rockview Street and the Fisher-Bang Family

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The following article has been republished on Jamaica Plain News with permission from the author and the Jamaica Plain Historical Society. “I was introduced to Joyce “Joy” Fisher by a mutual friend who knew I loved Jamaica Plain history, especially the history of houses and the people that lived in them. Joy and I met for the first time in November 2021 to talk about the history of her family. From then on, I visited her every Monday at her house to kibbitz about history and our lives, and most importantly, to bake! The following article is part oral history and part research from primary sources, including publicly available records and Joy’s personal family collection.

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Arts

JPHS Presenting Play About JP Woman Who Was First to Graduate MIT with Architecture Degree

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In 1891, a 23-year-old woman from Jamaica Plain won an architecture contest to design the Woman’s Building for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago -- and while that should have been the beginning of a great career for Sophia Hayden -- her life's story ended being quite harrowing. While doing research, a Jamaica Plain Historical Society member learned that Hayden was from Jamaica Plain, and was the first woman to get an architecture degree at MIT. "We thought her story deserved to be better known and we always do an event for Women's History Month," said JPHS President Gretchen Grozier. On March 12, there will be a reading of the play Sophia Hayden Deserves Better by Stephanie Alison Walker. It is a fictionalized version of her story for dramatic purposes.

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History

What Is Jamaica Plain’s Most Beautiful Building? Here Are Your Answers

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Jamaica Plain News asked people for their thoughts on what they feel is the most beautiful building in Jamaica Plain. Beauty is subjective, right? And the answers varied from the Loring-Greenough House to beautifully painted Victorian houses, a 12-sided home, and many others. We have to give props to GBH's Jeremy Siegel for the idea. And here are your answers, starting with a lovely home.

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