Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

West Side of Wakefield, circa 1909

Description

"This photograph was probably taken somewhere in the vicinity of Fairmount Avenue in the early 1900s. Although it is interesting to note the various architectural styles of the houses, it is even more interesting to note the buildings which grace the skyline, all of which are no longer standing. At the upper right of the picture stands St. Joseph's Church on Albion Street. In the center of the skyline is the spire of the Methodist Episcopal Church on Albion Street, east of the railroad tracks. Dedicated in 1874, the Methodist Church was built of Swiss timber construction adapted to 14th Century Gothic outline. The 130' spire was struck by lightning three times; in 1916, 1917 and 1926. The church's chimney crashed through the roof during the Hurricane of 1928, doing enough damage to weaken the structure of the building. The church building was condemned and razed on October 11, 1938. Just to the left of the Methodist Church in the picture was the Town Hall at the corner of Main and Water Streets. Built with funding from Cyrus Wakefield, and dedicated in 1871, the Town Hall served the community until a fire in the building in December 1950 left it unoccupied. The building was razed in October 1958. In the upper left is a billowing smoke stack at the Heywood Brothers & Wakefield Company rattan factory on Water Street. Founded by Cyrus Wakefield, the rattan factory relocated to South Reading (Wakefield) in 1855 on the Mill Rover. The Wakefield Rattan Company prospered over the years, eventually ceasing operations as the Heywood-Wakefield Company in 1930. A major fire destroyed all but three of the original buildings in 1972."

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2011

Photo courtesy of Frederik D. Bodin, Bodin Historic Photo.

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Date

ca. 1909

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

Wakefield, Mass. : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

Church buildings

Architecture, Domestic

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture: b & w

Extent

28 x 22 cm.