By John Hanson, LIS 471
Here unfolds the unbelievably true story that took place on a small patch of land near my apartment in Forest Hills, Jamaica Plain (JP). Its a story about a journey through time filled with heartbreak, sweat, toil, dreams, civil conversation over tea, dirty fingernails, and white gloved hands. Let me begin with what set me off: the mere reading of the front page of the local JP Gazette, an article about the Casey Arborway, which is a link in the Emerald Necklace, where I found out allegations that "the State was biased in favor of an at-grade street network plan before the public process even started" and "early internal meeting notes mention an "Eisenhower Concept" and an "Olmsted Concept", referring to a new bridge and an at-grade street network. I wanted to understand, operationalize (for you LIS 403 fans) if you will, these concepts. I had a vague idea of myself as an urban archaeologist uncovering physical evidence, i.e. photographs and cultural objects that could then be photographed and ultimately could add a discourse of Hegelian proportions to the democratic decision making process.
I set out with a shovel and a digital camera to the center of Forest Hills. Because this was a report for LIS 471, I decided to dig as far back as the beginning of photography, Niepce's "View from a Window", 1826.
Forest Hills MBTA station and surrounding roadways and walkways occupy an important link (between Arnold Arboreteum and Franklin Park) of the Emerald Necklace, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.
Here are some photos that I took in order to document the present state of this portion of the Emerald Necklace:
I started to dig with the shovel. I quickly realized that I would need a jack hammer. So, I scrapped the physical labor for punching keys and I decided to look for pre-photographic evidence of the site, i.e.a map of the area circa 1826 online. I searched the Boston Public Library website and I found a map of Boston, circa 1800. Forest Hills was part of Roxbury, located around the middle bottom of this map. Note the Muddy River to the left, which is an important part of the Emerald Necklace and is still resisting suppression.
Map of Forest Hills and surrounding area, Circa 1800.
Retrieved from http://www.bpl.org/research/print/
From here, having a conversation over tea with a friend and finding out that a railroad went through Forest Hills before the Emerald Necklace was designed, I began a search for this evidence online. I found that seven years after Niepce's photo (1826) and more than 50
years before the Emerald Necklace extended to Forest Hills, the Boston and
Providence Railroad made its way through Forest Hills.
Here is a map of the Emerald Necklace, which shows the Boston and Providence Railroad cutting through Forest Hills, middle left side of map,
Emerald Necklace, Circa late 1880's.
Retrieved from maps.bpl.org/exhibitions.
I remembered that there is a JP Historical Society. I visited the JPHS
and they let me check out there photo archives with white gloves. The
room was well heated and while toiling, I broke a sweat and found some interesting
artifacts. The following postcard and photos, unless otherwise noted, are from the JPHS.
I sought photographic evidence of the railway passing through Forest Hills. Here is a postcard showing the railway with what appears to be landscaped portions of the Emerald Necklace and Arborway making there way underneath. The railway was elevated through Boston because of the swampy conditions and difficulty with engineering those conditions. I don't have the creator info or print type. It could be a half tone production like those we examined in class.
The Forest Hills elevated Orange line T station was completed in 1901. Here is a photo taken in 1908, photographer unknown, of the station. The B and P railroad station can be seen to the right.
The Casey Overpass was built in 1955 to carry cars quickly over the elevated B+P railroad and elevated Orange line. Eisenhower advocated a National Highway system and signed an act in 1956. So, the "Eisenhower Concept" suggests that a highway is being built through Forest Hills. Here is a photo of the overpass being built.
This is a caption that was included with the photo on the JPHS website. "As a train travels towards downtown Boston along the Boston Elevated Railway at Forest Hills, a portion of the new Monsignor William J. Casey Overpass (Morton St.) is being constructed above. A commuter train on the former Boston & Providence Railroad route can be seen between the columns at the lower left. Courtesy of Anthony Sammarco.
Here is a photo of the completed Casey Overpass. This is facing East and you can see a train passing in front of the Elevated T station. Photo was taken in the 1980's, photographer unknown.
I visited the Arnold Arboreteum Historical Society for more photographic evidence. Here is an aerial view taken in 1978. Photographer unknown. Lower bottom left shows evidence of the convergence of the Overpass and railroad and elevated T. Note: Aerial photography goes back as far as 1858 in France but it is James Wallace Black's photo of Boston in 1860 that is the earliest surviving aerial photograph. It would take more research to uncover other early aerial photographs of Forest Hills.
Courtesy of Arnold Arboreteum Historical Society
Taken in 1978. Photographer unknown.
In the 1980's the railroad and Orange line were routed together along the "Southwest Corridor" which was designated to be a highway. Here is a photo of the old Forest Hills station with a new one on the right. A bus terminal sits atop the railways. Photo taken in 1987 by unknown photographer.
Here is the Forest Hills shortly before being taken down in the 1980's. Photographer unknown.
Here is a photo of the Casey Overpass taken after the Elevated T station was taken down. Taken circa 1990's, photographer unknown.
Here are photos that I have taken of the Forest Hills, Emerald Necklace link in 2013.
This shows the below street level subway and Amtrak train rails heading toward Boston.
Casey Overpass and current at-grade street heading to the Arnold Arboreteum.
I leave with a panoramic view (scroll to the side) of the Eastern edge of the Arnold Arboreteum, Casey Overpass and Forest Hills station.
Resources:
Arnold Arboreteum Horticultural Society, Arnold Arboreteum, Jamaica Plain, Ma. - http://arboretum.harvard.edu/library/
Boston Public Library Online- www.bpl.org
Jamaica Plain Historical Society, 12 Sedgewick St., Jamaica Plain, Ma. - www.jphs.org
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