The Boston & Maine and Malden
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The Boston & Maine and Malden: The Railroad's Impact on the Development of Malden's West End Neighborhood, 1845-1900 The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Solo, Rebecca. 2017. The Boston & Maine and Malden: The Railroad's Impact on the Development of Malden's West End Neighborhood, 1845-1900. Master's thesis, Harvard Extension School. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:33826105 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA The Boston & Maine and Malden: The Railroad’s Impact on the Development of Malden’s West End Neighborhood, 1845–1900 Rebecca Joy Solo A Thesis in the Field of Visual Arts for the Degree of Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies Harvard University May 2017 © 2017 Rebecca Joy Solo Abstract This thesis explores the impact of the Boston & Maine Railroad on the development of the West End neighborhood in Malden, Massachusetts. Specifically, I will examine the time-period between the opening of the Boston & Maine Railroad station in Malden in 1845 and the transformation of the West End into a railroad suburb during the final two decades of the nineteenth century. Additionally, I consider the relationship between suburban residential development and the park and nature conservation movements. Supported by a wealth of primary sources, including local newspapers, town annual reports, and city directories, I argue that the opening of the Boston & Maine Railroad changed the trajectory of the West End neighborhood’s development. The railroad, in collaboration with other forms of urban transportation, spurred a wave of suburban development for individuals desiring to live closer to nature, but with the availability of the railroad that provided commuters with access to the city for work. This discussion of the West End neighborhood through the context of nineteenth-century suburban development and the transportation revolution demonstrates the importance of preserving our historic districts and promoting local history as a source of community pride. “What relief one experiences when finally the mind is made up to abandon the noise, turmoil and disquietude of city life, and exchange it for the quiet one in the country, with the pure, clear, strength-giving air, fragrant with the perfume of violets, rose-buds, apple- blossoms, and all the freshness and sweetness of a summer’s morning in the country.” Edward O. Skelton, Handbook of the Boston & Maine Railroad, 1874 “The Boston & Maine Railroad running directly through the town, has brought it within easy transit of the city. It is now beginning to be known that the face of the country in Malden is diversified with various attractions of land and water scenery. Here, within five miles of Boston, are woody heights and rocky glens, and smoothly rounded hills, clothed in the summer’s livery of green; and affording numerous prospects combining the charms of city, seas, and country.” The Bi-centennial Book of Malden, 1850 “The life history of humanity has proved nothing more clearly than that crowded populations, if they would live in health and happiness, must have space for light, for exercise, for rest, and for the enjoyment of that peaceful beauty of nature which, because it is the opposite of the noisy ugliness of towns, is so wonderfully refreshing to the tired souls of townspeople.” Charles Eliot, 1893 iv Acknowledgments I am indebted to my thesis director Alexander von Hoffman, research advisor Cynthia Fowler, and Extension School staff Sarah Powell and Chuck Houston for guiding me through this process. Alexander’s “Architecture in Boston” course and his book on the development of Jamaica Plain initially inspired me to research Malden’s architectural history and suburban development. The Malden Public Library and Malden Historical Society—especially Joe Anderson, Marilyn Glover, Stephen Nedell, Kenneth Pease, Frank Russell, Jack Ryan, Dora St. Martin, and John Tramondozzi—were wonderful sources of local history. It would have been impossible to complete this thesis if not for Harvard’s Tuition Assistance Program and Education Release Time policy, as well as the flexibility and encouragement of my co-workers and managers in the FAS Development office. I am forever grateful for the help of a special group of family, friends, and colleagues: Arthur Bergevin, Jen Davison, Katherine Evans, Karissa Johnson, Ariel Linet, Amy Luskin, Dave Solo, and Mika Solo. They went above and beyond to read, edit, and provide thoughtful feedback on this thesis. I am especially grateful for my friend Sarah Gaby and mother Gail Solo for reading and editing my thesis, in full. Finally, thank you to Eric. Like the commuters I’ve studied, we purchased a house based solely on its proximity to transportation and nature. Your love and encouragement gave me the motivation to keep writing about them. Thank you for convincing me that we should move to Malden, a city neither of us knew anything about, and now love. v Table of Contents Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................... v List of Tables ............................................................................................................ viii List of Figures ........................................................................................................... ix I. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 II. A Brief History of Malden ................................................................................... 8 Malden’s Industry and Manufacturing .......................................................... 13 III. Railroad Suburbs ................................................................................................. 16 Commuting to the City .................................................................................. 21 IV. The Boston & Maine Railroad and the West End Railroad Suburb ................... 24 The Boston & Maine Railroad Arrives in Malden ........................................ 28 Advertising the West End ............................................................................. 31 Moving to the West End ............................................................................... 35 V. Developing Malden’s West End .......................................................................... 39 Richard and Samuel G. Dexter ..................................................................... 44 Francisco Beltran de Las Casas and William Beltran de Las Casas ............. 49 Benjamin F. Dutton ....................................................................................... 53 Alexander Grant ............................................................................................ 57 Ezra Pratt ....................................................................................................... 58 VI. The West End and the Importance of Nature ..................................................... 59 The Impact of Preserving the Middlesex Fells ............................................. 65 vi The Park Movement in Boston and Malden ................................................. 66 The Fellsway and Boston’s Parkways .......................................................... 71 VII. Conclusion: Preserving the West End’s Past .................................................... 73 Appendix ................................................................................................................... 77 Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 78 vii List of Tables Table 1: Population of Malden, 1850 to 1900 ........................................................... 11 Table 2: Occupational Distribution, Ward 3 (Malden, Massachusetts), 1886 .......... 38 viii List of Figures Figure 1: 279 Dexter Street and 107 Dexter Street. Malden, MA ............................. 1 Figure 2: Peter Tufts, Jr. Map of Malden, 1795 ........................................................ 10 Figure 3: Malden Neighborhoods Map with parcel boundaries ................................ 13 Figure 4: Diagram of Railroads Diverging from Boston by Alonzo Lewis .............. 25 Figure 5: City of Malden, Massachusetts by Albert E. Downs .................................. 31 Figure 6: Plan of lots on the highlands in Malden belonging to the Edgeworth Company ..................................................................................................... 41 Figure 7: Map of the Town of Malden....................................................................... 42 Figure 8: House on the corner of Cedar and Chestnut Streets .................................. 45 Figure 9: Dexter House, Elm Street .......................................................................... 46 Figure 10: Index Map of the City of Malden. 1885 Atlas of Malden ........................ 47 Figure 11: Development of portion of Dexter land, 1885 to 1897 ........................... 47 Figure 12: View from Grandfather’s Hill, also known as Las Casas’ Hill ................ 50 Figure 13: Greenleaf Street, looking north from the corner of Clifton Street .......... 50 Figure