A Trip Down Huntington Avenue (Boston - 1903) 

My great grandfather was a Motorman (trolley car operator) in Boston during this time. Nice to be able to look through his eyes over 100 years later.

The trolleys still run through those tracks. That is amazing!

The start is coming up Tremont turning left onto Boylston toward what we call the Liberty Tree building (Washburn's) on Washington St. in the old Combat Zone. Then up Washington past the B.F. Keith Theater on the left. It fades out at the western end of the old Jordan Marsh store, takes back up approaching the Transcript bldg & the Old South. Then we're at the North Station headed up Canal St. I think, looking at the construction of the Main (Orange) Line Elevated with the Fitchburg R.R. Depot in the background. the left along the magnificent facade of the old North Union Station on Causeway St. The next bit is unclear. I think it's headed down Summer toward The South Station. The elevated that's visible is the Atlantic Ave. branch of the Main Line. I remember those massive awnings on the So. Sta. Next we're On Boylston again heading west at Berkeley St. past M.I.T.'s Roger's & Walker buildings. Then I think it's the Hotel Bristol at the corner of Boylston & Clarendon Sts. the up Huntington through Copley Sq. past the BPL. then past the Hotel Nottingham & venerable old Copley Sq Hotel, & Mechanics Hall. After that We're heading into some construction (?), could be the Pleasant St. Portal. then out the Canal St Incline I think to the North Station again. This bit after the copyright frame is older than the first section of footage I think. Note most of the trolleys had the "West End Front", an added glass windscreen on a previously open front car, required by an act of the state legislature in 1900 requiring cars than ran in the winter to have enclosed vestibules for the comfort of the motormen. What an awesome bit of footage. What I wouldn't do to visit that Boston! This was filmed the the famed cameraman Billy Bitzer!

Many parts of Boston still have the same buildings. My Great-Grandfather and at least one Great Uncle were living in Boston about this time.

Hi guys. We've re-uploaded this video due to a technical issue.

This video is so moving. This is the Boston that almost all my ancestors immigrated into. Thank you so much for posting this. I recognize many locations!

I'm 82 years old I was born in 1940 but looking back at the past it's thrilling thank you so much for this I left Boston when I was 5 years old we went to Chicago it's nice to see both cities back then I'm just amazed great job

I notice how cold Boston is in some of these old videos. 5 STARS! --Van

Combined with the perfectly selected music (though I know that it is not of that era) this video is very touching. It caused me to reflect on many aspects of life that I don't often think about-& some that I never had. Mainly, to me, it is a reminder that we have a limited period if time here- the length of which is an unknown of course- so we should try our best to use it wisely, enjoying our stay as best we can. To me it is a reminder of the humbling reality that life is finite.

What a Great American City, Boston Massachusetts

This is certainly not all Huntington Ave. I believe some of the first footage is downtown probably It looks like you are coming up Winter Street towards Park and you can see the Common in the distance. Then I think it is down on Washington Street Downtown and you weave around the buildings downtown. I think I even see Olds South Meeting House. Then the first elevated area I think is over on near Statehouse looking out towards Custom House Tower which you can see over the top through the construction. Then back around downtown again. You can tell it’s downtown cause the streets are curving and in Back Bay, everything is a straight line grid. I believe around 5:22 that is South Station with an awning on the side. Then we are on Boylston Street off Copley Sq near the corner of Clarendon and move to Boylston and Dartmouth to the Library and then off to the left down Huntington Ave. The building where Cafe Billiards became a liquor Store Cheese and Cheer and was torn down and is now a restaurant Sorellina. You can see where Copley Square Hotel and then Exeter Street after. The last tunnel section I don’t know where it is entering but it is coming out at Pleasant Street and then forking to the right onto Washington Street.

This so great to watch. I've lived in Boston for more than 50 years and seen many changes and going back in time is fascinating. My best guess is this trip begins downtown on Washington Street and then it seems at some point to jump to lower Boylston street and at 6:42 the camera veers left and we have a great view of the Boston Public Library and shortly after we're at Blagden Street and taking a trip down Huntington Avenue. By 8:05 I wonder if that's the railroad yard that is now the prudential. Sadly it does not take us further down to Boston Symphony Hall that opened in 1900 or Horticulture Hall that opened in 1901. Neither the Opera House nor the MFA on Huntington Avenue had opened yet

A trip in time.this is very poignant and we are so lucky to be able to watch this.

Beautiful footage to see! The early part you can see the Washburn Credit House on Washington Street. The Mechanics Trust Company was at the corner of Washington and Franklin, and then the old South Meeting House at the corner of Milk Street.

Fantastic doc! Eternal historical document! TY by post!

This is beautiful, thank you.

Just Beautiful and Lovely to see!!! Love this, thanks for sharing this!

Awesome video! It was hard to recognize certain landmarks. A written reference on the video at different locations would have been helpful. Loved the video though! Thank you

Love these glimpses of the past.

Weird to think that every single person shown in this video is dead now.

This was a dope video 👍🏼

amazing footage.

The Atlantic Avenue Elevated line was still in tact ! This line was connected North and South Station. While the recently demolished green line elevated was still standing, you could see the platform for the old Atlantic Ave El at North Station. The line was destroyed by a molasses spill .. mentalfloss.com/article/27366/bostons-great-molasses-flood-1919 Remembering Boston's Great Molasses Flood of 1919 | Mental Floss

Old is gold. I wish I could go back and live a simple life.

Quite interesting. In the 70s and 80s I had to drive up Huntington Ave for my boss often. On a side note: cities back then had quite a problem with horse manure build up in the streets. A few cities had to have the military come in to shovel it into large wagons and haul it off to .....who knows where

Just watched a video of nyc from 1903, absolutely fascinating.

From the beginning , most of what you see is actually downtown Boston, Washington St. area. When you get to Copley and the public library, that is Huntington Ave..

Them trolleys are still running up and down Huntington lmao

Love these videos. I wish you would show the source of the music you use. It is wonderful. It would be nice if the composers could get credit for their contribution to these great videos. Thanks.

The year of my father’s birth 1903. Very interesting thank you. All these people have passed.

If this is Huntington Avenue, then it is not entirely so. It also cintains Copley Square, but also, I suspect Mass and Huntington, in which cas it is before 1903, I *think*, when Symphony Hall was built. I am slightly geographically twisted here though, and I'm a 57 y.o. native from a period when cobblestones still existed and the second Back Bay station still existed! In any case, I adore this rare strip o' film!

Im 61 years old now Born n raised in Boston. Roxbury. Now I see that bc they was on Huntington Ave. So that must have been Forest Hills Station. The Trolley hub was in Forest Hills. Orange Line Begining.

Absolutely fascinating video especially as it's taken with a potato camera !!!

It seemed waaay more busier back then

Don't recognize a thing in the city of my birth! My mother was born in 1908 and father 1910 a few years after this , my grandparents era! Notice that most of the ladies had fur muffs and didn't have the right to vote yet etc. My parents were married on Beacon Hill in 1939. So much has changed since then and some buildings are the same like the Back Bay and Commonwealth Ave as well as Beacon Hill and the Public Garden/Commons thankfully! Commonwealth Ave was actually designed after the boulevards of Paris! Beautiful city rich in history and culture! Affectionately known as "The HUB" or " Beantown"!! Thanks for sharing!

wow! how awesome to see a Boston of 120 years ago. some these people went through 2 world wars some of them may have died on these wars. how sad!

Hey, what's the list of songs used in this vid? Thanks

This is mislabeled. Its on Huntington avenue starting at 7 minutes in for about a minute. The rest of this is downtown/ North Station area. Love this though

People are the same in every century. The fashion changes and so does the technology but the basic human problems are the same.

Amazing. Looking at people crossing the street and dodging trolley, carriage and horse around 5:00 I realized historically why Bostonians may jaywalk - no traffic lights so It was "every person for themselves" out there! There were sadly a lot of fatalities/injuries. New Englanders might note part of the "Moxie Nerve Food" sign at 10:03.

Anybody know why cities back then seem to be way more densely packed than cities today?

😍😍😍

7:45 star market on huntington avenue on the opposite side of copley hotel

Is that mass ave at 5:06ish

@7:59 " Copyright 1906 by American Mutoscope "

When this video 1st ran it was boylston street they went up

It's odd to think about how much we advanced from 1900 to today.

Is that south station at the end?

1:58 Confirmed automobile.

DVD

Shame it is such a low quality transfer.

Great vid! My grandparents were born in the South End. My parents in Dorchester and Me in South Boston. I still live in the Boston area..Wish I could go back in time. Boston and the World is under NWO . God Bless everyone.6/2020

UK

Yeah we can see huge progress in 100 years. But who developed it, how was built with what equipment, why there are no pictures of the time of buildings? How trains were moving, what those super tall poles for??? It looks surreal, like different reality, grandiose buildings and people!!!

Read dead redemption

VHS

MGM UA HOME VIDEO VHS

This starts off going up Tremont Street, take a right on Boyleston Street, then left on Washington Street. There is no Huntington Ave. in this video. Sorry.

Australia

on Huntington Avenue for 30 seconds at most 🙄

Jeep car

Everyone is dressed up and skinny. Before gluttony, cars, tech world and crappy food

Roblox

Besides technology, there has been no moral, spiritual or intellectual advancement. “I think we are in rats’ alley where the dead men lost their bones.”

the music is horrible

Imagine then. No one took a bath that often no hot water ..well in some places.no modern hospitals or dentists. No toilets..gross. most people had no teeth. No x-rays. No modern medicine. Everyone stunk in most ways..no air conditioning no central heating 😒. It was just gross city.. I mean not all but most.. no screens on windows. Only the rich had fans. Lots of people chewed tobacco which made gross breath. 😝. People had abscess in the mouth and teeth. If you were handicapped you were screwed. The list goes on. If you were a person of color forget it.

Australia