BAHS Home | Photo Collection
North Harvard Street History
Charles River Bridge, Harvard Stadium, Harvard Business School, Barry's Corner, Harvard Grammar School, Hill Baptist Church
The Great Bridge
The first road
constructed by settlers in Allston-Brighton was part
of the Roxbury Highway which was a major artery of
trade and transportation that linked Boston with
Harvard College in Cambridge. This roadway ran along
the line of present-day Washington St in Boston
through Roxbury, South End, Brookline to Harvard
Avenue, Cambridge Street, North Harvard Street over
the Charles River and into Cambridge. This was the
principal overland route to Boston before the
construction of the Mill Dam (Beacon Street) across
the Back Bay in 1820.
A ferry was established over the Charles river in 1635 between Cambridge and Brighton, then Little Cambridge, near North Harvard St. The ferry cost 1 penny per person, 3 pence for a horse and rider, 2 pence for cattle, and a half penny for sheep, goats and swine. Ferries have less value in the winter because rivers freeze and they cannot accommodate large carts and droves of cattle. The construction of a bridge was approved and replaced the ferry in 1663.
It was called the "Great Bridge" since it was larger than any previous bridge and was the only bridge across the tidal portion of the Charles River before 1786. In 1690 and again in 1715 (ice damage) and 1734, the Great Bridge was rebuilt. It operated briefly as a toll bridge, but the tolls were not enough to maintain the bridge properly. Shared maintenance costs were agreed upon: 2/6 Cambridge, 1/6 Newton, and 3/6 Middlesex county. In 1862, the bridge was rebuilt again.
There was also a ferry in the 1600s between Boston's North End and Charlestown. All revenues from this service went to Harvard College. The Charlestown route from Boston to Harvard Square was 4.75 miles and the route via Brighton was 8 miles
In 1915, the Anderson Memorial Bridge replaced the Great Bridge. The new span was named by American diplomat Larz Anderson as a tribute to his father, Nicholas Longworth Anderson, a U.S. Army officer in the Civil War. Both father and son were Harvard College graduates.
The Great Bridge is an important factor in the history of Brighton. It was here that the bridge planking was removed by American citizens to prevent the British troops from using it on their way to Lexington on April 19, 1775, but the planks were discovered and replaced. It was over this bridge that the dying Col. Gardner was carried after the Battle of Bunker Hill. George Washington crossed this bridge many times also.
Gray areas identify the portions of Boston from landfill
1729 7.1 Mile marker to Boston
2026 Mile Marker Located at 237 North Harvard St
c1890 Cambridge St looking towards Harvard Ave before the bridge over the train tracks was built
c1900 The great bridge is narrower that the connecting roads and shows the need for a new wider bridge
c1910 Speedway on the right. Heaton Coal has been replaced by housing on the left
1912 Cambridge side of the bridge
1914 Anderson Memorial bridge construction
Soldiers Field & Harvard Stadium
1885 Map - Land owned by Frederick Rindge
1899 Map
The Harvard Class of 1879 25th Reunion gift was a $100,000 towards the construction of a football stadium. The Athletic Department contributed $75,000 and the project got underway. The design was similar to the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens Greece which is consistent with Harvard's classical education and use of their building's classical Georgian Revival architectural design. Harvard Stadium opened in 1903 with the first use of reinforced concrete on a large scale and as a U-shaped structure, leaving the north end open. In1929, temporary steel bleachers were installed at the open end to increase the seating capacity but in 1951, the bleachers were removed restoring the stadium's original open-ended horseshoe design
c1903 Harvard Yale Game
c1950 Western Ave businesses at the top
Farming
c1914 Note the homes and farms on the right before the Harvard Business School was built
c1900 North Harvard St homes opposite the Stadium before it was built
Giosue and Gelsomina Pisatoro
Harvard Business School
c1926 Harvard Business School construction <hi res>
c1927 Harvard Business School construction near completion
1927 Business School Dedication. Western Ave at the top
1930s Steel Bleachers in Harvard Stadium and Harvard Business School
1942 When the United States entered World War II, Harvard Business School (HBS) found its enrollment dropping as men were called to fight overseas. At the same time, the U.S. military was facing an increased need for officers trained in statistics and supply chain logistics. Dean Wallace B. Donham proposed that the school assist with the war efforts, in part by enrolling students in a new program in Industrial Administration
c1927 Weeks Bridge was named after a Massachusetts US Senator and is a pedestrian bridge that connects the Cambridge campus with Harvard Business School. The bridge's concrete underbelly conceals branches of the University's steam, electrical, and communications networks. Initially, steam was piped from Cambridge Electric Company's generating plant on Western Ave.
1929 Barry's Corner
c1960 Barry's Corner
1960 Barry's Corner at North Harvard St (left) and Western Ave (right) (BPL)
1960 Hefferan St
1960 #162 North Harvard St. The home and coffee shop of Mrs Redgate, the leader of the effort to fight the BRA
1960 Smith St and Heffernan Place. Western Ave is on the left
1964 Smith St Kitchen
c1964 Neighborhood Protest
Barry's corner resident Mrs Hollum learns that her house was emptied by movers while she was out shopping
1969 Mrs Redgate struggles with Police.
1969 Mr Redgate fights eviction
1969 Movers at the Redgate's home and closed coffee shop
2011 Charlesview Apartments which replaced the homes at Barry's Corner (Google)
Harvard Grammar School
The second Brighton grammar school, Harvard Grammar School, opened in December 1848 and was at first located in a wooden structure at the intersection of North Harvard Street and Western Avenue. When the original building was destroyed by fire in 1853, it was replaced with a new brick building with 5 classrooms. After the fire, classes were held at the Town Hall in Brighton Center for a few years. The Harvard Grammar School was located on North Harvard Street near the Western Avenue intersection (see map below). It was demolished in the early 1900s.
1875 map Harvard Grammar School in the Blue Circle
At this time, Brighton had separated
from Cambridge (1807) and was an independent town
until it became part of Boston in 1874. The 1855
Brighton school committee report described this
building as one that "would do honor to any town.
Few in the state are superior to it." Major
improvements were made in Brighton's school
facilities in the next two decades. While
the 1840s school plants consisted of four cramped
wooden buildings, by the mid-1860s Brighton's
eleven schools (seven primary schools, two grammar
schools, a high school and an evening school) were
housed in eight relatively new structures.
All of Brighton had 12 teachers in 1848. One was educated at Harvard University, one at Dartmouth College; one at a State Normal (teachers) School; three had been educated at other Seminaries, and six at Brighton High School. In 1875, the school had 110 Boys, 95 Girls and 8 Staff - 1 Master, 1 Master assistant, 6 assistants
1903 Harvard Grammar School 3rd Grade Class <High Resolution>
Hill Memorial Baptist Church
1875 Note the many properties owned by Stephen Hill
1909 Hill Baptist Church
The Hill Memorial Baptist Church and site were purchased by the Allston-Brighton Community Development Corporation (ABCDC) in 2023 with plans to preserve the church and build much-needed affordable, age-restricted housing in the area surrounding the church.
Original Hill Memorial Baptist Church
c1910 Hill Memorial Baptist Church
C1970
c2020 Interior
2024
References
A ferry was established over the Charles river in 1635 between Cambridge and Brighton, then Little Cambridge, near North Harvard St. The ferry cost 1 penny per person, 3 pence for a horse and rider, 2 pence for cattle, and a half penny for sheep, goats and swine. Ferries have less value in the winter because rivers freeze and they cannot accommodate large carts and droves of cattle. The construction of a bridge was approved and replaced the ferry in 1663.
It was called the "Great Bridge" since it was larger than any previous bridge and was the only bridge across the tidal portion of the Charles River before 1786. In 1690 and again in 1715 (ice damage) and 1734, the Great Bridge was rebuilt. It operated briefly as a toll bridge, but the tolls were not enough to maintain the bridge properly. Shared maintenance costs were agreed upon: 2/6 Cambridge, 1/6 Newton, and 3/6 Middlesex county. In 1862, the bridge was rebuilt again.
There was also a ferry in the 1600s between Boston's North End and Charlestown. All revenues from this service went to Harvard College. The Charlestown route from Boston to Harvard Square was 4.75 miles and the route via Brighton was 8 miles
In 1915, the Anderson Memorial Bridge replaced the Great Bridge. The new span was named by American diplomat Larz Anderson as a tribute to his father, Nicholas Longworth Anderson, a U.S. Army officer in the Civil War. Both father and son were Harvard College graduates.
The Great Bridge is an important factor in the history of Brighton. It was here that the bridge planking was removed by American citizens to prevent the British troops from using it on their way to Lexington on April 19, 1775, but the planks were discovered and replaced. It was over this bridge that the dying Col. Gardner was carried after the Battle of Bunker Hill. George Washington crossed this bridge many times also.
1806 Map with the
Roxbury Highway identified with red dots: Boston
to the South End, Roxbury's Mission Hill,
Brookline Village and then onto to Harvard Ave to
Brighton. See the red dots along this route
Gray areas identify the portions of Boston from landfill
1830 map.
Roxbury Highway in Brighton - Red dots starting at
Harvard Ave at the Brookline border (near the "I"
in Brookline), right on Cambridge St, left on
North Harvard St to Charles River Crossing.
<click here
for higher resolution image>
1729 7.1 Mile marker to Boston
2026 Mile Marker Located at 237 North Harvard St
Great Bridge into
Harvard Square. The curved inlet of water to
the right of center corresponds to today's curve
at Eliot St in Harvard Square
c1890 Cambridge St looking towards Harvard Ave before the bridge over the train tracks was built
2025 William Dawes
Reenactment On April 18, 1775, William Dawes
rode from Boston along the Roxbury Highway to
North Harvard St and over the Charles River to
spread the word of a planned British military
action in Concord. Paul Revere traveled over
the Charles in a rowboat to Charlestown to start
his ride.
1875 map. Harvard
College owned only a portion of this land where
Harvard Stadium would be built
1885 map <High
Resolution> The Willard family
owned land on both sides of North Harvard St near
the river. Emery Willard was born in
Ashburnham in September, 1800. At the age of
sixteen, he purchased from his father for $200 the
5 years before he became an adult and came to
Brighton. In 1830, he started the lumber and coal
business at the Brighton end of the Great Bridge
at what became known as Willard's Wharf on the
Charles River. Mr Willard is buried in the
Mt Auburn Cemetery
1897 North Harvard
St Great Bridge over the Charles River. At
this point, the Charles was still tidal and
Harvard Stadium had not been built. All of the
area near the river were salt marshes and not
suitable for buildings. On the Cambridge side, the
high tides came up to Eliot Street and and
sometimes even to Brattle Street. In 1910,
the Charles River Dam was built near today's
Museum of Science to control the water level and
allow development along the shore. Note the tidal
water inlets (above) to the right of center.
At the time, there was an unsuccessful proposal to
locate the dam at North Harvard St.
Charles River
marshes near Coolidge Street in Watertown before the
dam was built
c1912 The center of
the bridge could be raised to allow boats to pass
c1900 The great bridge is narrower that the connecting roads and shows the need for a new wider bridge
1874 View from
Harvard's Memorial Hall (Sanders Theater)
<Higher
Resolution> Cambridge is in the
foreground. North Harvard St is on the far
right On the left is the Western Ave
bridge and the Cambridge St bridge. To the
right of center, the masts of 3 ships are
visible. They are probably docked on the
Cambridge side of the Charles River where there
were two coal and lumber companies.
c1901 North Harvard
St is on the left. Much of this Brighton
Allston land soon after the completion of the dam is
still not developed <High
Resolution>
c1910 Speedway on the right. Heaton Coal has been replaced by housing on the left
1912 Cambridge side of the bridge
The new Anderson
Memorial bridge was built in 1915
with funds donated by Larz Anderson
as a tribute to his father Nicholas Anderson, a
Civil War Colonel
1914 Anderson Memorial bridge construction
Soldiers Field & Harvard Stadium
1885 Map - Land owned by Frederick Rindge
Frederick H Rindge
owned some of the land that became the Harvard
Athletic fields (see above 1885 map). He was a Cambridge born, Harvard
graduate (1879) who funded the building of
Cambridge's public library, City Hall and Rindge
and Latin School along with land donations for
Harvard Athletics.
1899 Map
In 1869, a
slaughterhouse was proposed to be built across the
river from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Cambridge
house, which threatened to sully Longfellow’s view
of the water. This slaughterhouse proposal may
have preceded the building of the Brighton
Abattoir further down the Charles River next to
Market St. Longfellow scrambled to organize a
corporation to purchase the lot from under the
developer to stop its development. The corporation
then donated the plot to Harvard College, with the
stipulation that it remain as marshes and meadows,
or be used for gardens, public walks, ornamental
grounds, “or as the site of College buildings not
inconsistent with these uses.” The land became
known as Longfellow Meadows (red on the map) and
today is part of the Harvard University athletic
complex.
in 1890, Henry Lee Higginson, a Boston Latin graduate, former Harvard College student and Civil War veteran, donated 31 acres of land to Harvard University as a memorial to Harvard men who had died in the Civil War. Higginson stipulated that the land be called Soldiers’ Field (blue on the map) in honor of six friends of his, all Harvard graduates who gave their lives fighting for the Union in the Civil War. A copy of the original marble monument honoring these six young men is located inside Gate 1and the original is in the Murr Center. Colonel Higginson is perhaps best known for founding the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Henry Higginson Monument to Friends who died on the Civil War (Located Inside Gate 1)
in 1890, Henry Lee Higginson, a Boston Latin graduate, former Harvard College student and Civil War veteran, donated 31 acres of land to Harvard University as a memorial to Harvard men who had died in the Civil War. Higginson stipulated that the land be called Soldiers’ Field (blue on the map) in honor of six friends of his, all Harvard graduates who gave their lives fighting for the Union in the Civil War. A copy of the original marble monument honoring these six young men is located inside Gate 1and the original is in the Murr Center. Colonel Higginson is perhaps best known for founding the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Henry Higginson Monument to Friends who died on the Civil War (Located Inside Gate 1)
The Harvard Class of 1879 25th Reunion gift was a $100,000 towards the construction of a football stadium. The Athletic Department contributed $75,000 and the project got underway. The design was similar to the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens Greece which is consistent with Harvard's classical education and use of their building's classical Georgian Revival architectural design. Harvard Stadium opened in 1903 with the first use of reinforced concrete on a large scale and as a U-shaped structure, leaving the north end open. In1929, temporary steel bleachers were installed at the open end to increase the seating capacity but in 1951, the bleachers were removed restoring the stadium's original open-ended horseshoe design
In those days, football was a
running and kicking game similar to rugby. As
the sport became more dangerous with
approximately 20 deaths in 1905, some colleges
were dropping it in favor of rugby. In 1906,
U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt (Harvard class
1880) organized the Intercollegiate Football
Conference — a collection of 28 colleges and
universities and the forerunner of the NCAA —
and demanded it adopt rules changes to make the
sport safer. Some suggested widening the field
by 40 yards, but the permanent nature of the
stands at Harvard Stadium made it impractical
for the school to endorse this plan. Harvard
argued their case and influenced the final
decision to legalize the forward pass which
changed the game forever
c1903 Harvard Yale Game
c1912 Stands for
the baseball field adjacent to the football
stadium. The Speedway is on the right,
Smith Playground behind the Harvard athletic
fields and Western Ave behind that. <higher
resolution>
1916
c1950 Western Ave businesses at the top
Farming
c1914 Note the homes and farms on the right before the Harvard Business School was built
c1900 North Harvard St homes opposite the Stadium before it was built
c1926 <Higher
Resolution> Old homes and farms
across North Harvard Street being cleared for
the construction of the Harvard Business
School. The white Pisatoro farm house to the
right up on rollers is being moved to Stadium
Place in Barry's Corner where about 40 years
later it ironically ended up being demolished
with the destruction of that neighborhood
Giosue Pisatoro was born in Avellino, Italy and was called the "Bean King" because he grew the best string beans. In a BAHS interview, his grandson said that his grandfather told the story of bringing him on his horse and team when he went in to Faneuil Hall to unload the vegetables to be sold, and he would send my dad home alone on the team and buggy. After the produce was unloaded, he would slap the rear of the horse and the horse would take my father home, winding through the streets of Boston all the way back to the farm in Allston. Then upon arriving back at the farmhouse, he would get his grandmother who would unbridle the horse and put it away
Giosue was also active in the community. He loaned horses for building the foundation of St Anthony's Church and sold local pears to raise money for the church
Giosue Pisatoro was born in Avellino, Italy and was called the "Bean King" because he grew the best string beans. In a BAHS interview, his grandson said that his grandfather told the story of bringing him on his horse and team when he went in to Faneuil Hall to unload the vegetables to be sold, and he would send my dad home alone on the team and buggy. After the produce was unloaded, he would slap the rear of the horse and the horse would take my father home, winding through the streets of Boston all the way back to the farm in Allston. Then upon arriving back at the farmhouse, he would get his grandmother who would unbridle the horse and put it away
Giosue was also active in the community. He loaned horses for building the foundation of St Anthony's Church and sold local pears to raise money for the church
Giosue and Gelsomina Pisatoro
Harvard Business School
The Harvard School of
Business Administration, founded in 1908, was a
two year program for a Masters of Business
Administration. There was some resistance to
the new program with some believing it was a
school for money making. However, the
program was very successful and outgrew the
various buildings across the Harvard College
campus that it used. New facilities were
needed and a new campus was planned on the Allston
shore east of the Larz Anderson Bridge on a parcel
of land that had once been the farm of Emery
Willard. Dating from the 1925 to 1927 period, this
handsome grid of ivy-covered Georgian Revival
style buildings, with the neo-classical George F.
Baker Library as its focal point, faced the
river.
Landscaping was done by the
firm of Frederick Law Olmstead. The soggy
marshland soil was covered with fill in 1924 and
caused several project delays. At the time
of the dedication ceremonies, views of
unfilled marshes were hidden from view by
temporary fences. The halls or dormitories were
named in honor of United States Secretaries of the
Treasury.
The Business School complex, like neighboring Harvard Stadium, was designed by McKim, Mead, & White. Construction was made possible by a $5 million founding gift from George F. Baker. Mr Baker co-founded the First National Bank of the City of New York (Citibank) and became its president at age 37
c1926 Harvard Business School construction <hi res>
c1927 Harvard Business School construction near completion
1927 Business School Dedication. Western Ave at the top
1930s Steel Bleachers in Harvard Stadium and Harvard Business School
1942 When the United States entered World War II, Harvard Business School (HBS) found its enrollment dropping as men were called to fight overseas. At the same time, the U.S. military was facing an increased need for officers trained in statistics and supply chain logistics. Dean Wallace B. Donham proposed that the school assist with the war efforts, in part by enrolling students in a new program in Industrial Administration
c1927 Weeks Bridge was named after a Massachusetts US Senator and is a pedestrian bridge that connects the Cambridge campus with Harvard Business School. The bridge's concrete underbelly conceals branches of the University's steam, electrical, and communications networks. Initially, steam was piped from Cambridge Electric Company's generating plant on Western Ave.
Barry's
Corner
In 1961, the
Boston Redevelopment Authority's urban renewal
plans for the seizure of Barry's Corner, a 9.3
acre neighborhood lying at the corner of North
Harvard Street and Western Avenue became
known. It was a compact working-class
neighborhood of 9.3 consisting of 52
structures housing a total of just seventy-one
families Its ethnic composition was
mostly Irish and Italian, with a sprinkling of
Polish and French families.
At issue was the right of a
governmental agency to demolish older homes to
make way for hundreds of units of luxury
housing.
The residents resisted and declared that they would never peacefully surrender their property. "To Hell With Urban Renewal" signs began appearing in the neighborhood. When the BRA came to the neighborhood for a public hearing on the proposal in June of1962, it was met by a firestorm of protest. "Members of the BRA," the press commented, "were visibly shaken by the hostile treatment they received."
in January 1963, the Boston City Council approved the BRA plan by a 5-4 vote. In 1964, eminent domain notices were sent and by August 1965, most of Barry's Corner had been cleared with just nine of the original fifty houses remaining. Boston's Mayor Collins ordered the suspension of further demolition and appointed a Commission to reconsider how best to develop the area. The contract to build was awarded to a local non-profit corporation, the Committee for North Harvard (CNH), whose Board included many Allston Brighton community leaders. This development neutralized the Allston Brighton community’s opposition. The demolition of the remaining structures moved forward and the final demolition of Barry's Corner occurred in October 1969.
In 1971, the Charlesview Apartments, a low and moderate income housing complex, opened replacing the houses at Barry’s Corner. In 2007, Harvard acquired this land and the apartments were demolished in 2015 as part of Harvard’s Allston development. Residents of the apartments were moved to the new Charlesview Residences at 400 Western Ave
The residents resisted and declared that they would never peacefully surrender their property. "To Hell With Urban Renewal" signs began appearing in the neighborhood. When the BRA came to the neighborhood for a public hearing on the proposal in June of1962, it was met by a firestorm of protest. "Members of the BRA," the press commented, "were visibly shaken by the hostile treatment they received."
in January 1963, the Boston City Council approved the BRA plan by a 5-4 vote. In 1964, eminent domain notices were sent and by August 1965, most of Barry's Corner had been cleared with just nine of the original fifty houses remaining. Boston's Mayor Collins ordered the suspension of further demolition and appointed a Commission to reconsider how best to develop the area. The contract to build was awarded to a local non-profit corporation, the Committee for North Harvard (CNH), whose Board included many Allston Brighton community leaders. This development neutralized the Allston Brighton community’s opposition. The demolition of the remaining structures moved forward and the final demolition of Barry's Corner occurred in October 1969.
In 1971, the Charlesview Apartments, a low and moderate income housing complex, opened replacing the houses at Barry’s Corner. In 2007, Harvard acquired this land and the apartments were demolished in 2015 as part of Harvard’s Allston development. Residents of the apartments were moved to the new Charlesview Residences at 400 Western Ave
1929 Barry's
Corner area at the bottom between N Harvard St
and Western Ave
1929 Barry's Corner
c1960 Barry's Corner
1875 map. Barry's
Corner at the top of the map. At the top
left is a small piece of land owned by M.
Barry. It is believed that this is the basis
for the Barry's Corner name. <High
Resolution>
1899 map showing
increased development. James Hathaway owned
several properties in this area (see map) and
lived in the Hathaway Mansion on Chestnut Hill Ave
c1900 James Hathaway
Mansion at the corner of Chestnut Hill Ave and
Academy Hill Rd. Mr. Hathaway was heavily invested
in US and international cattle trade. In
1898 he shipped about 40,000 cattle and 50,000
sheep, doing a cash business of about
$5,000,000. This house was moved here from
another location on Academy Hill Rd.
1960 Barry's Corner at North Harvard St (left) and Western Ave (right) (BPL)
1960 Hefferan St
1960 #162 North Harvard St. The home and coffee shop of Mrs Redgate, the leader of the effort to fight the BRA
1960 Smith St and Heffernan Place. Western Ave is on the left
1964 Smith St Kitchen
c1964 Neighborhood Protest
Barry's corner resident Mrs Hollum learns that her house was emptied by movers while she was out shopping
1969 Mrs Redgate struggles with Police.
1969 Mr Redgate fights eviction
1969 Movers at the Redgate's home and closed coffee shop
2011 Charlesview Apartments which replaced the homes at Barry's Corner (Google)
<click
here> to view Bill Marchione's article:
"Barry's Corner: The Life and Death of a
Neighborhood"
<click here> to view the Allston Brighton Journal's four part article on Barry's Corner from 1988
<click here> to view the Allston Brighton Journal's four part article on Barry's Corner from 1988
Harvard Grammar School
The second Brighton grammar school, Harvard Grammar School, opened in December 1848 and was at first located in a wooden structure at the intersection of North Harvard Street and Western Avenue. When the original building was destroyed by fire in 1853, it was replaced with a new brick building with 5 classrooms. After the fire, classes were held at the Town Hall in Brighton Center for a few years. The Harvard Grammar School was located on North Harvard Street near the Western Avenue intersection (see map below). It was demolished in the early 1900s.
1875 map Harvard Grammar School in the Blue Circle
All of Brighton had 12 teachers in 1848. One was educated at Harvard University, one at Dartmouth College; one at a State Normal (teachers) School; three had been educated at other Seminaries, and six at Brighton High School. In 1875, the school had 110 Boys, 95 Girls and 8 Staff - 1 Master, 1 Master assistant, 6 assistants
1903 Harvard Grammar School 3rd Grade Class <High Resolution>
Hill Memorial Baptist Church
1875 Note the many properties owned by Stephen Hill
1909 Hill Baptist Church
The Hill Memorial
Baptist Church was constructed in 1903 on North
Harvard Street . The land was donated by George A.
Hill and his sister Georgia A. Hill, on the
condition that the chapel built there be named
after their father, Deacon Samuel Hill. The Hills
had owned and farmed this large tract of land
since the mid 1870s. The Hill family also
had a hand in the early establishment of the town
of Brighton. In 1806, before Brighton separated
from Cambridge, Aaron Hill was part of a committee
appointed by the Cambridge town meeting “to confer
with such persons as may be appointed by the
Legislature that the South Parish in this town be
set off as a separate town.”
The Baptists of Allston refused this offer from the Hills but the Baptist Sunday School Association accepted the offer and in 1897 bought the Sunday School of the Congregationalists on Western Ave for $2000 and moved it to the Hill land
The Baptists of Allston refused this offer from the Hills but the Baptist Sunday School Association accepted the offer and in 1897 bought the Sunday School of the Congregationalists on Western Ave for $2000 and moved it to the Hill land
The congregation
held its final service in this Boston neighborhood
in 2023. In a final act of generosity, members
chose to sell the land to fulfill the church’s
mission of giving back to the Allston community in
the form of senior housing, With the blessing of
its former congregation, the site will become 50
apartments for older adults on a fixed income.
The Hill Memorial Baptist Church and site were purchased by the Allston-Brighton Community Development Corporation (ABCDC) in 2023 with plans to preserve the church and build much-needed affordable, age-restricted housing in the area surrounding the church.
Original Hill Memorial Baptist Church
c1910 Hill Memorial Baptist Church
C1970
c2020 Interior
2024
<click
here> to view 1935 silent video of the
exterior and members of the Hill Baptist Church
<click
here> to view 2025 YouTube church walk
through video
References
- Uncommon
Suburbs: Suburbanization At The Western Edge Of
Boston, 1820-1873 - William Marchione
- Cambridge
Street History
- Historical Brighton, Volume 1, J. P. C. Winship
- Historical Brighton, Volume 2, J. P. C. Winship
- Brighton Allston Maps from 1875 to 1925
- Harvard on the Charles
- Brighton
Allston History
BAHS Home | Photo Collection