Topic: Business
Businesses, corporations, executives, those commonly identified with a business
Bowdoin Square has gone through many phases, including rapid development, growing population, changing fortunes, urban renewal, and attempts at revitalization. Today the name survives mainly in the name of an MBTA station, but examination of Bowdoin Square provides insight into two and a half centuries of Boston history. This article, the first part of two, covers the history of the square in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Samuel Parkman (1751-1824) and George Parkman (1790-1849) both left an enduring mark on the West End. Samuel was a Bowdoin Square real estate magnate and Charles Bulfinch patron. Like his father, George also worked in real estate, and used his fortune to donate land on North Grove Street for the site of Harvard Medical College – the building he would later be murdered in.
Scollay Square was a vibrant entertainment hub in Boston from the mid-19th century to the early 1960s, known for its burlesque theaters, comedy shows, boisterous bars, and eclectic mix of businesses. Located directly next to the West End at the intersection of Cambridge, Court, and Tremont streets, it attracted both locals and out-of-town visitors, including sailors, with its lively nightlife and commercial offerings. The area was demolished in 1962 as part of an urban renewal project, to be replaced by Government Center.
James Bowdoin II, scientist, politician, businessman and the namesake of the West End’s Bowdoin Square, embodied the powerful gentry class of his day.
From before the Civil War into the early 19th century, the Revere House was considered Boston’s most prestigious hotel, catering to the city’s elite and discerning guests from around the world.
Charles Bulfinch and his architecture transformed Boston during the Federalist era. Many of his works, such as the Massachusetts State House, still grace the city today. One of his now lost and lesser known buildings, the Parkman Market, served the West End as a public market, a factory, and an early home of St. Joseph’s congregation. Despite its historic significance, it did not survive Urban Renewal.
Throughout its history the West End has hosted the regional and national headquarters of many industry leaders, from shoes, to biscuits, and even caskets.
Inspired by his experiences at the West End House and Hale House, Joseph Rosen became one of the country’s leading engrossers, thanks in part to the kindness of James Jackson Storrow. He inscribed over 125,000 diplomas during his career, mainly for Harvard graduates, but he also produced honorary degrees for dignitaries such as the Roosevelt’s, Kennedy’s, and Winston Churchill. Despite his success, he never forgot the opportunities he received in the West End and found ways later in life to honor the West End House and its great benefactor.
