Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

Southern corner, Main and Centre Streets, circa 1938

Description

"The downtown area of Wakefield was transformed in the late 1930s and early 1940s, with the razing of houses and brick buildings. The Gould Block, on the northern corner of Main and Centre Streets, was razed in the late 1930s and, like most of the older buildings, replaced with a one or two story 'modern' building that housed a variety of new and established businesses. The Cheney Block on the southern corner of Main and Centre Streets was home to Wakefield's first jewelry store, Cheney's, which also served as a periodical and newsstand. Mr. McMasters, who was well known for his newsstand, eventually bought the business. After the buildings within the block were razed, new one-story structures were built to house Nagle's Drug Store, Friend's Bakery, the Atlantic and Pacific store, and Russell's Electric. Boothby's (at the far right) remained intact while buildings on either side were razed and rebuilt."

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2012

Photo courtesy of JC Marketing Associates

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

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

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Main Street (Wakefield, Mass.)

Centre Street (Wakefield, Mass.)

Date

ca. 1938

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

Wakefield, Mass. : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

Streets

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture: b & w

Extent

31 x 18 cm.